Feature

The Little Town That Could … Reach Far

By Catherine Anderson
Photographs by Anthony  Scarlati

Visionaries are amping up the voltage for Leiper's Fork events this year, beginning with an ambitious calendar of events. Elements of music, local history and environmental conservation run noticeably through nearly every occasion found within the tri-fold brochure.

        Aubrey Preston spearheads this month's Trashercise Treasure Hunt on April 17th, capitalizing on the country's fitness focus while simultaneously improving community roadsides through an organized concentration of trash removal. Ann Johnson, treasurer of the Leipers Fork Community Association and owner of Waste Tech Services—a waste management brokerage—is working closely with Preston on the event's organization, including recycling for the two counties it's held in, Williamson and Maury. Both Preston and Johnson feel the concept is so appealing that it could be a model for a national campaign and deliberately planned it near Earth Day. It will be held the entire length of the Old Tennessee Trail with endpoints in Franklin and Columbia.

        The next big event for the village occurs on May 1. Guitar Fest— inspired by the 2001 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston exhibition titled Dangerous Curves: Art of the Guitar—this local homage was also organized by Preston in collaboration with Paul Polycarpou, Joe Glaser and others. Leiper's Creek Gallery will display approximately  100 fine vintage instruments from nearly a dozen private collections around the country. Besides several '58 and '59 Les Paul designs and an original Flying V, an extremely rare Lloyd Loar 1924 signed collection will be shown as well as more exceptional examples created by Fender, Martin, Gretch and Gibson.

The remainder of the town's shops and restaurants will host guitar performances from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. At 3 o'clock a concert at the Lawn Chair Theater will entertain with such notable players as Larry Carlton, Robben Ford, Rick Vito, Reggie Young, Colin Linden, Virginia Luque and, according to Polycarpou, "… many, many more world class players." Aficionados from around the world are expected to attend and there is speculation about it becoming an annual event.

With such lofty examples of community functions being planned and prepared throughout the year, the Martin Foundation—which shares its owners Charles and Shannon Martin with the Country Boy Restaurant and other properties in the Leiper's Fork—presciently purchased the Internet domain name VisitLeipersFork.com. The site's original launch in early spring is now delayed until mid-summer, driven by the desire to accurately and protectively represent the community, complement current other Leiper's Fork Web sites and carefully attract a manageable increase in tourist traffic. The site is overseen by Martin Foundation's Community Development and Special Projects Director April Cantrell, a resident of Leiper's Fork and former president of the Merchants Association, now the Community Association.

Cantrell says, "The premise of the site is centered on making Leiper's Fork a destination; it will be structured around the retailers and events." It's expected that an increase in tourism will be noticeable this fall, in time for the calendar's concentration of activities, fundraisers and exhibitions.

Published in Hills & Hamlets©, April 2010