Discovery Park to Participate in West Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center’s Bicentennial Heritage Festival
Sept. 30. 2021 – Discovery Park of America will be part of the upcoming Bicentennial Heritage Festival presented by the University of Tennessee’s West Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center on Sat., Oct. 9, 2021.
Scott Williams, Discovery Park’s president and CEO, will be making a presentation on David Crockett and West Tennessee at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Williams recently published a book on Crockett, The Accidental Fame and Lack of Fortune of West Tennessee’s David Crockett, and the museum and park has several displays and exhibits on the iconic frontiersman. The festival will also include presentations by other subject matter experts on topics including wildlife in Tennessee, Native American farming and more.
Additional activities will include over a dozen booths showcasing blacksmithing, beekeeping, leatherworking, woodturning and traditional music. Attendees will be given wagon tours of the facility to learn about the research that has contributed towards the agricultural success in West Tennessee. Inside the main building, quilts will be displayed and outside food will be available for purchase.
“The West Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center was a big help to us while we were creating our exhibit at Discovery Park on innovation in Agriculture,” said Scott Williams. “We’re very excited to join them in celebrating this exciting milestone.”
“AgriCulture: Innovating for Our Survival” opened at Discovery Park in December and includes a section on Tom McCutchen who was the first superintendent of the West Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center, then named the Milan Experiment Station. McCutchen was nicknamed “The Father of No-till” because of his dedication to the environmentally friendly crop-growing system.
Established in 1907, the West Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center is the oldest AgResearch center in the University of Tennessee System. It is known for its researchers’ work in ornamentals, turfgrass and horticultural crops.
The Bicentennial Heritage Festival will be Sat., Oct. 9. from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the West Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center at 605 Airways Boulevard in Jackson. Admission is $5 for adults 18 and older. A complete schedule is available on the center’s website.
