Secret City Festival:
East Tennessee's Premiere Summer Event

The 6th Annual Secret City Festival was the best one the City of Oak Ridge has ever hosted, with the biggest attendance ever seen on both days of the event. Over 25,000 festivalgoers enjoyed two days of perfect weather and fun-filled activities.

2008 festival highlights included Friday night’s entertainers, The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie, and Saturday’s performance by Mary Wilson of the Supremes.  Concertgoers enjoyed perfect summer weather as they danced to the oldies and crooned along to their favorite tunes of yesteryear.

During daytime festival hours, crowds were gathered at the SunTrust Pavilion Stage, where youngsters aged 10 – 18 performed on a pogo-stick, played the guitar and jazz piano, and sang some groovy tunes as they showed off their talents to an awe-struck audience during the annual “Secret City’s Got Talent” kid’s talent show.  Oscar the Robot flirted, teased, and won over crowds with his charm and wit.  Entertainers performed on various stages, anything from the PuppetoneRockers to Scottish dancers.

The award-winning World War II Re-enactment returned this year with more troops than ever before, making it the largest multi-battle WWII event in the South.  Living history demonstrations took place all day Friday and Saturday, and two battle sequences took place on Saturday featuring period artillery in-action on the field.

The antiques and collectibles vendor list grew so large that they had a waiting list for vendors to set up under the big tent.  The Juried Fine Arts Show, TN Creates, returned for a second year to the Civic Center Gymnasium, where they featured fine arts and crafts, hands-on demonstrations, and workshops throughout the weekend.

The Children’s Festival area was a non-stop thrill with free games and activities for little and big kids alike.  The theme for this year was “The Secret to Fun!” and families had a blast with activities ranging from pony rides to the rock climbing walls.

The Secret City Festival began the two-year process of “Going Green” in 2008 as well, with the help of the East Tennessee Earth Day Coalition.  Festivalgoers sorted their waste into groups of recyclable materials, compostable waste, and materials to be land filled.  Recycle centers were set up across the festival sites.  Even the Lavender Festival joined in to go green.

Off-site activities included the 10^th Annual Lavender Festival, which saw record crowds; bus tours of historic Manhattan Project Facilities; special exhibits at the American Museum of Science & Energy; and a special “Sister Secret Cities” program that included presenters from Oak Ridge, Los Alamos, and Hanford.

Thanks to everyone who attended this year’s festival. We’ll see you next year with the same great fun you’ve come to expect at the Secret City Festival!

Stay tuned to SecretCityFestival.com for continued updates and information.

Winner of: • 2007 Festival of the Year – Southeast Tourism Society; • 2007 Festival & Events Spotlight Award – Tennessee Association of Convention & Visitors Bureau; • 2007 Best Website Gold Kaleidoscope Award - Southeast Festivals & Events Association; • 2007 Best Event Photo Silver Kaleidoscope Award - Southeast Festivals & Events Association; • 2007 Best Event Within an Event for WWII Reenactment Bronze Kaleidoscope Award - Southeast Festivals & Events Association; • 2007 Best Miscellaneous Printed Material Bronze Kaleidoscope Award - Southeast Festivals & Events Association; • 2006 Best Event Within an Event for WWII Reenactment Bronze Kaleidoscope Award - Southeast Festivals & Events Association.