October Sky Festival

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Fred Duncan

The annual October Sky Festival will be held on October 18, 2025, in Oliver Springs, Tennessee. The Historical Society, a non-profit 501c3 organization, has been holding this festival for 16 years and it has grown each year until now we have over 100 vendors and estimated attendance at over 5,000.  It all started as a mixed celebration of the 1999 making in our town of the movie October Sky, (starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper and Laura Dern) and celebrating our town of Oliver Springs.  

Oliver Springs settled in 1821, has for over 200 years a history based around the famed mineral springs in the area. In 1873, the first resort hotel, was built in Oliver Springs highlighting the mineral springs' health benefits. From 1895 until it burned in1905, the 150-room Oliver Springs Hotel was a nationally known destination. After the hotel burned, coal mining became the income source for the area. During WWII another source of income for the area was the secret city of Oak Ridge and part of the Manhattan Project during WWII.

Our festival combines this history, along with renovation and restoration of area Victorian homes, music and fun.  It is family friendly, free admission and a learning experience all in one.  We have 3 venues within walking distance. Arrowhead Park, with vendors of all kinds, kids fun and entertainment. The Oliver Springs Historical Society Museum which is the keeper of the history of this varied and historical region.  The Museum is an ongoing renovation of a building that once was an auto garage, bus station, theater, bowling alley, a church meeting location, and a snack bar! It now features a meeting room, 100 seat theater and stage, a walk-through replica of the streets and businesses of the past, coal mining artifacts and much more. The next venue within walking distance is the Oliver Springs Train Depot, a museum of train related displays and an actual walk-through train caboose. Usually there will be displays by several genealogy groups of families from this area and a quilting exhibit.