Found this article by The Frugal Traveler today, with some GREAT tips for FRUGAL travel! Imagine that, he recommends research - one thing we spend TONS of time doing at LivingHistorySites.com

Research: The Traveler’s Best Friend

Off to explore....

Wondering where Living History Sites will be Mother's Day weekend (in-between the Maximum Impact Simulcast, two church events and a BBQ!) 

From the Press Kit at Martin's Station:

This place is fifty miles in advance of the frontier, and on the road to Kentucky. In 1776 the great Cherokee war broke out, the Cherokees were then a great and powerful people, and their strength unbroken, living not far from Powell’s Valley, they commenced a sudden, devastating war, on the whole frontier border… William Martin’s words describe the situation at Martin’s Station in the year of 1776.

Ewing, VA - May, 8th - 10th 2009 – Each year thousands of people come to the Wilderness Road State Park to watch as the embers of discontent burst into flame as over 400 Re-enactors, Merchants, Artists and Artisans bring history to life at the "Raid at Martin's Station".

The 9th annual “Raid at Martin’s Station” will be held May 8th to 10th, with activities Friday 10am to 5pm, Saturday 10am to 5pm with special evening programming beginning at 8:30pm. Sunday activities will last from 10am until 3pm. Visitors will be able to walk through an 18th century Market Fair, visit a Cherokee Indian camp, listen to Colonial music or take a tour of Historic Martin's Station, a re-created 1775 frontier fort. The highlight of the event will be a Raid on Martin's Station by Native American Re-enactors, Saturday the 9th. There will be both daytime and nighttime battles, the daytime battle will begin at 1pm and the night battle will start at 8:30pm.

The Wilderness Road State Park Visitors Center will be hosting world-renowned frontier artists such as Doug Hall, Andrew Knez Jr., Dennis Muzzy, Steve White and H. David Wright. Visitors will be able to shop for 18th century reproductions by the nation’s top Artisans. There will also be free seminars on 18th century topics. In addition to these activities the Powder Horn Gift Shop will be open and the 20-minute high definition film “Wilderness Road, Spirit of a Nation” will be playing in the Visitors Center theatre.

Wilderness Road State Park is located in Ewing, Virginia. Less than 2 hours drive from Knoxville, Kingsport, Bristol and Lexington. For more information contact Wilderness Road at 276-445-3065, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Rt. 2 Box 115, Ewing, VA 24248 on the web at http://www.martinsstation.com.

Historic Martin's Station is the re-creation of Captain Joseph Martin's Fort originally built in 1775. The fort was located near present day Rose Hill, Virginia and played a key role in the settlement of the American frontier and Westward expansion during the Revolutionary War.

I wish there was ONE site that listed all reenactments. So far, I have found a few, but NOT the comprehensive site I am looking for. You can spend hours online searching.

When we came home from Asheville Saturday night, Dave looked on the Kingsport Times News site, and found that there had been a Civil War Living History day, right up the road from our house.  Sigh. We will begin checking here. Upcoming events are here.

The good news, we found out about Ned Jilton, who blogs about loca Tri-Cities historical happenings. Good! 

Where will LivingHistorySites.com be on the 4th weekend of April? Exploring living history at the Cumberland Gap Civil War Reenactment, April 24-26, 2009. The Cumberland Gap is the gateway to the west, and is at the corner where Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky meet.

The schedule for the Cumberland Gap Tennessee reenactment is found here. Remember, these are always subject to change! More on the town is here.

The NPS.gov site for the Cumberland Gap is down for updates as I post this article, but more can hopefully be accessed later at http://www.nps.gov/cuga/  

For more information from The Middlesboro Daily News, see this article, excerpted here.

Look for LivingHistorySites.com at the Cumberland Gap Reenactment - and look for an article on this event soon!

Alderman John Ravnum reported for the tourism committee that this year’s battle is scheduled for the weekend of April 25 and 26 and is expected to be better than ever. The event will feature something for everyone.

This year, one change has been made to the regular schedule. On Sat. morning two hours— 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.— will be set aside to allow visitors to tour eight educational booths. Every 15 minutes, guests will be notified and given the opportunity to move on to the next area.

Ravnum said the booths will feature re-enactors providing information on artiliary, infantry, cavalry, Civil War Medicine, Civil War period toys, a first person General Lee re-enactor and the Cumberland Gap National Park will be providing a booth featuring ladies of the 1860’s.

Ravnum stressed that this is planned to be a family-friendly event and encourages everyone to bring their families to Cumberland Gap to enjoy the weekend.