Erwin, Tennessee - Blue Ridge Show 2001

Jan and Sam made our fourth annual trek to Erwin, Tennessee for the Blue Ridge Pottery show. This year we flew on Southwest non-stop from Oakland to Nashville leaving early on Wednesday morning. Checking in at Oakland was a nightmare, but we made the plane (barely) and arrived in Nashville at about 2 p.m. We then had a significant drive (about 300 miles) to the eastern corner of the state where Erwin is. We arrived in Johnson City by 7:30 PM were we met John and Frances Ruffin for dinner, after a miraculous set of communications. After dinner we were invited to Larna's open house that was absolutely eye-opening to us both. The crowd was the creme de la creme of Blue Ridge collectors and dealers and it was both a lovely social gathering and a staggering view of what a Blue Ridge collection can be. Larna has two stories full of the most astonishing and lovely pieces, all beautifully displayed, and it was really a privilege to get to see it all.

We went to the Blue Ridge show preview Thursday (waiting in line from about 2:30 p.m. until the 7 p.m. opening). Due to the current concerns, the show was not held in the armory this year but was relocated to the old high school which actually turned out to be a very agreeable venue with much more room for people to move about. Friday we went to the Apple Festival street fair and visited the BR show one more time before heading for our next stop. We next went to the Circle Yer Wagons (Appalachian VW club) show in Sevierville which we have also attended the past four years. (Photos from this event appear on a separate web page.) Saturday we drove back to Nashville and spent the night there. Next morning we headed home (and the Nashville airport experience was considerably more agreeable). We got home Sunday at around 5 pm. Although we had arrived in Tennessee with two hard-sided suitcases we bought for the sole purpose of transporting dishes back on the plane, we wound up acquiring two additional suitcases in Tennessee. Happily, all dishes arrived home safely.

The following pictures have been reduced to 800x600 for webviewinng. If you want a higher resolution picture, contact Sam at sglw@aol.com and he will email it to you. Click on the email link Sam's email address

Back to Jan's Blue Ridge Home page

Jan outside Maxie English's store	The front of the line to enter the show preview	More early arrivals waiting	The line begins to grow	Lots of time to chat
A burgeoning crowd	The view from the front of the line	Looking inside before the preview's opening	Is it time yet?	At last we get in!
Jan at the preview	Norma Lilly's note from the Kovels	Ms. Barnes while Jan looks at BR Christmas ornaments in the back	Christia Richardson does lovely hand-painted dishes using old BR patterns as well as some new ideas of her own	Erwin Main Street early in the morning Friday
Early early	Ms. Barnes again	Jan with another find, the Jubilee salad set!	Street vendors	More shopping
Apple Festival	BR show at the high school Friday a.m.	Happy shopping	So much to buy, so little time!	Jan in Nashville packs four large suitcases to check on to the plane back to San Jose

Back to Jan's Blue Ridge Home page