Rhea County & the Plateau
Local Events Near Dayton and Spring City
We keep this page because the best part of parking here is everything within an easy drive. Festivals, fall fairs, lake days, and the kind of small-town Saturday you cannot plan from an interstate exit. Dates come straight from the organizers. Call ahead before you drive.
The Next Twelve Months
January 2027 —
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June 2027 1
August 2027 —
Tap a highlighted day to jump to it. A solid day is confirmed by the organizer and each dot is one event, so Saturday, October 17 has three. A dashed day is an annual event whose 2027 date has not been published yet, placed on its usual weekend. Months showing a dash have nothing announced yet.
October 2026
Tales Among the Oaks Storytelling Festival
Dayton’s first storytelling festival, with national-level tellers. Friday ticket pick-up starts at 5 p.m. at Centennial Park and the stories start at 7 in the storytelling tent; Saturday runs 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. with breaks for lunch and dinner. Ticketed and seating is limited, so this is not a wander-up-and-see kind of thing. Bring a cushion or your own chair. Run by the Clyde W. Roddy Public Library.
Upper Cumberland Bigfoot Festival
Sixth year, Saturday 10 to 5 and Sunday 10 to 3, rain or shine with no rain date. Vendors, food and a kids zone. The festival changed hands this year and the new organizers have not published a gate price, so check their page before you go.
Green Eyes Festival
Free, 10 to 6, honoring the folklore of northwest Georgia and southeast Tennessee. Named for a local legend, which is the kind of thing we are contractually obliged to care about.
The Family Church Fall Festival & Vendor Market
Free fall activities for families and a vendor market, starting at 9 in the morning. No closing time posted. The one local thing on a weekend when most of the big festivals are an hour away.
Christmas at the Barn
A holiday market that has run for more than twenty years: vendors, holiday décor, gifts and food, from 10 a.m. Thursday, October 22 through 6 p.m. Sunday, October 25. Hosted by Between the Vines.
Civil Air Patrol Fly-In, Drive-In Breakfast
All you can eat, 7:30 to 11, rain or shine, with airplanes on the ground. Cheap and easy, and it runs the fourth Saturday most months.
Haunted Grounds at McDonald Farm
The closest haunt to us. Wednesday and Thursday 4 to 10, Friday and Saturday noon to 10. Seven to twenty dollars depending on what you do.
Trunk or Treat at The Grove
Trunk-or-treat at the church, 6 to 8 in the evening. The first one in Rhea County to post a 2026 date.
Pumpkin Fest
Twentieth year, 10 to 9 both days on the courthouse lawn. Costume contest, pie eating, petting zoo and craft vendors. The biggest weekend of the year in Dayton.
The Time Machine, radio theater
Five dollars, 2 p.m., upstairs in the old courtroom as part of Pumpkin Fest. A good rain plan.
Sweetwater’s Historic Halloween
Vendors and trunk-or-treat downtown, 5 to 8.
Cleveland Downtown Halloween Block Party
Free, 5 to 10, streets closed for trick-or-treating and a costume contest.
November 2026
Sh-Boom! A Christmas Miracle
Opens Friday, November 6, and runs Thursdays and Saturdays through December 19. One of the largest professional theatres in rural America and an easy evening out.
Little Debbie Hamilton County Fair
Three days at McDonald Farm with a rodeo, a lumberjack show and pig races, and Rodney Atkins headlining Saturday night. The fair has not posted its 2026 hours or ticket prices yet, so check with them before you go.
Sweetwater Veterans Day Parade
Steps off at noon.
Pony Pumpkin Patch
Ponies and pumpkins, 10 to 2 Central time, about sixteen dollars and free for ages three and under. Runs again on the 14th. Dunlap is an hour behind us.
Legends of Rock: A Tribute to the ’80s
A tribute show to the music of the ’80s, 7:30 p.m. at the historic Princess Theatre. Ticketed, through the theatre’s events page.
Holiday Stroll
Evening shopping stroll downtown from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Quiet, local, and the easiest holiday evening on this list.
Kilbride Run Wild Trail Race
Trail race put on by the Rhea County Community Center. One day only, whatever the listings elsewhere say.
Pony Pumpkin Patch
The second and last date, 10 to 2 Central time.
Historic Dunlap Cruise-In
Car cruise-in downtown, noon to 4 p.m. Central time, which is 1 to 5 p.m. on our clocks. Runs again on December 12. Dunlap is an hour behind us.
It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play
The Christmas standard staged as a 1940s radio broadcast, sound effects and all.
Fall Creek 100
Ultra distances on the plateau trails. Worth watching even if you are not running.
Small Town Christmas
Lights, vendors and the tree downtown the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
December 2026
Christmas at the Courthouse
Dayton’s main Christmas day at the historic courthouse, noon to 4 p.m. according to MainStreet Dayton. Their listing mentions a parade, but no parade time has been posted, so check with them before you go.
Historic Dunlap Cruise-In
The second cruise-in, noon to 4 p.m. Central time, 1 to 5 p.m. on our clocks. Dunlap is an hour behind us.
June 2027
National MooFestExpected
Athens’ long-running dairy festival, traditionally the first Saturday of June. Expected date, not yet published by the organizer.
July 2027
Smokin’ the WaterExpected
Kingston’s July 4 barbecue and fireworks event on the water. Held on the holiday each year.
Scopes Trial Play & FestivalExpected
Dayton reenacts the 1925 trial in the original courtroom, with a street festival around it. Traditionally the third weekend of July. Expected dates, not yet published.
Why January through May look empty. Small-town organizers around here publish two to four months out, not a year. Nothing is missing; it simply has not been announced. This page is rebuilt every week from what the organizers have actually posted, so those months fill in as the dates land.
Announced but not yet confirmed by the organizer: Graysville has trick-or-treat on October 31, but the city has not posted a time. Rhea County Tourism lists a guided hike at Pine Branch Falls on November 7, with a time posted but no organizer named. A Jingle Bell Run 5K in Dayton is listed for Saturday, December 5 by race-registration sites, but not yet by United Way of Rhea County. A Thanksgiving morning Turkey Trot in Rockwood is listed by a registration site only. Christmas parades in Spring City, Kingston, Harriman, Athens and Etowah have not posted 2026 dates yet. These towns usually announce in late October, and we will add them here as they are published.
Every Year, Around Here
If you are planning a stay months out, these are the ones worth building a trip around. Timing is typical, not promised. Check the organizer before you book.
Spring
Tennessee Strawberry Festival, Dayton, May
National MooFest, Athens, first Saturday of June
Summer Nights & Shake the Lake, Spring City, May to June
Summer
Scopes Trial Play & Festival, Dayton, third weekend of July
Smokin’ the Water, Kingston, July 4
Rhea County Fair, Evensville fairgrounds, mid-August
Meigs County Fair, Decatur, mid-August
Sounds of Summer concerts, Athens, Saturdays June to August
Fall
Mountaineer Folk Festival, Fall Creek Falls, second weekend of September
Spring City Autumn Festival, late September or early October
Kingston Country Fair, Fort Southwest Point, early October
Pumpkintown, Athens, second Saturday of October
Pumpkin Fest, Dayton courthouse, Halloween weekend
Winter
Holiday Stroll, Dayton, mid-November
Christmas at the Courthouse, Dayton, first Saturday of December
Christmas at the Depot, Spring City, early December
Cumberland County Playhouse holiday season, Crossville, November to December
Tennessee Sandhill Crane Festival, Birchwood, mid-January
Open Whenever You Are
The standing list. Nothing here needs a date on the calendar.
On the Water
Spring City Boat Ramp, 417 Toestring Valley Rd, public ramp and tournament launch
Blue Water Resort & Marina, Dayton
Rhea Harbor, Terrace View and Whites Creek, Spring City
Long Island Marina, Kingston, 24-hour fuel, bait, The Perch restaurant
On Foot
Laurel-Snow Pocket Wilderness, Dayton, 4.6 mi
Stinging Fork Falls, Spring City, 2.8 mi, good with kids
Piney Falls, Grandview, 1.7 mi loop
Cumberland Trail, Piney River segment
Fall Creek Falls State Park, Spencer, 256-ft falls
History & Culture
Rhea County Courthouse & Scopes Trial Museum, Dayton
Spring City Museum & Depot
Tennessee Valley Theatre, Spring City
The Lost Sea Adventure, Sweetwater
Cumberland County Playhouse, Crossville
Eat & Drink
Monkey Town Brewing Company, Dayton
Watts Bar Beer Works, Spring City
Alexander’s BBQ, Dayton
Harmony House Coffee Co., Dayton
Arrowhead Resort & Front Porch, Spring City
Sweetwater Valley Farm, farmstead cheddar and a cafe
Last updated October 12, 2026. Dates come from the organizers’ own pages and were checked against the calendar. Small-town events still move. Call ahead before you drive an hour. Know something we have missed? Tell us at kurt@gryptidrvpark.com and we will add it.
Checking on a Site
Availability moves around. Call or email and we will tell you straight what is open and when. If we are full, we can put you on the waitlist.
Phone: 423-602-3085
Email: kurt@gryptidrvpark.com
Address: 1702 Pleasant Rd, Evensville, TN 37332