Rev Up Your Engines for Mountain Tales & Tunes

Three Days in Bristol - Johnson City - Kingsport

Day One – Bristol

Jump-start your arrival to the Tri-Cities with a one-of-a-kind “tailgate” party. Fuel up your appetites and savor the flavor of Northeast Tennessee hospitality with two local specialties: racin’ and pickin’.

After checking in at one of several group-friendly accommodations, get your engine started at the famous Bristol Motor Speedway & Dragway, America’s favorite NASCAR track, according to ESPN, Sports Illustratedand SportingNews. Get a taste of the driver’s perspective around “America’s fastest half mile” with a guided track tour, which even includes a ride around the half-mile high banks. Racin’…the way it oughtta be!

If you visit during the holiday season, Speedway in Lights is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to drive your motorcoach on the Speedway’s high-banks while more than 1.5 million lights, Santa’s Village, and ice skating rink illuminate your way. Speedway In Lights is also an ABA 2007 Top 100 Event!

When you are ready to slow the pace a little, retrace the footsteps of some of America’s greatest country music legends in a historic downtown Bristol tour. Find out why Bristol is known as the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance Museum. Learn about America’s first country music record, made by the Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, and the Stoneman Family. From downtown, head over to the Tennessee Ernie Ford Home, the birthplace of the internationally renowned entertainer, filled with memorabilia from his legendary career.

For nightlife, the sounds of traditional country and bluegrass music can be found every night throughout Bristol and the Tri-Cities in several venues, including Pickin’ Porch performances every Thursday night. On Saturday nights, travel the few miles from the Tri-Cities to hear the music at the historic Carter Family Fold in southwest Virginia.

Day Two – Kingsport

The next morning, pack your bags and head to Kingsport. Don’t be surprised if a mountain couple hijacks your whole tour group for an entertaining “hillbilly” wedding ceremony. Follow up with lunch at Exchange Place Living History Farm, a historic 1800’s living history farmstead where the “Huggins Family” will welcome you into their family. Special events vary by the season.

If you’re the outdoorsy type, spend part of the afternoon at Bays Mountain Park & Planetarium outdoor classroom and enjoy a “wolf howling.” If shopping is your thing, stroll through historic Downtown Kingsport Association, with the largest concentration of antique stores in the Southeast.

For evening entertainment, embrace our gracious hospitality as a southern belle welcomes your group to Allandale Mansion, Kingsport’s “White House,” for a tour and murder mystery dinner.

Day Three – Johnson City

Capture the pioneer spirit with traditional Appalachian music as Mr. & Mrs. Cobb welcome you to the year 1772 at Rocky Mount Museum, first territorial capital of the Southwest Territory. Costumed interpreters will give you a glimpse of the lifestyles of the 18th century.

After a down-home southern lunch, explore the “Big Dig” as we uncover 7.5 million years of history. Imagine critters like red pandas, ‘gators, tapirs, rhinos, shovel-tusked elephants, and saber-toothed cats roaming around these hills. The ETSU Museum of Natural History and Gray Fossil Site Visitor's Interpretive Center is slated to open in Spring, 2007; a 33,000-square-foot museum will display these Miocene-era critters in permanent exhibits. Watch first-hand as the paleontologists continue to dig up bones. The interactive museum will be a one-of kind look at history in the making.

For a little more recent history, stroll in the footsteps of pioneers and presidents in Jonesborough Historic District and Visitors Center, Tennessee’s oldest town. Enjoy Jonesborough’s antique blend of historic sites, distinctive architecture, specialty shops and restaurants. World-famous storytellers bring history to life while spinning tall tales at the only International Storytelling Center in the world, site of renowned Storytelling Festival held each October.

Custom itineraries and unique experiences abound through Northeast Tennessee’s Tales & Tunes. Your experience to the Tri-Cities will be a never-ending story that adds more chapters to your group’s next visit. Here is a list of attractions and tour themes that can be incorporated into your group’s next visit:

Additional Attractions

Country Music Marker/Mural, Bristol
Farmhouse Gallery & Gardens, Johnson City
Paramount Center for the Arts, Bristol

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