Green Eyes Festival

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East Ridge, TN
Green Eyes Festival

A fall festival that honors the folklore and culture of Northwest Georgia/Southeast Tennessee, returning October 17, 2026!
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06/22/2026

Do you know the terrifying tale of Rawhead & Bloody Bones?💀

This is a story that seems to have its roots in old England and came to the Appalachian mountains with the colonists, but quickly took on a local character. The most common version of the story in our region is that of two menacing figures, one being a human head stripped of his flesh who bites and chatters, and the other being his headless skeleton friend who dances and pokes at you. Sometimes though, the head is on top of the skeleton, other times the skeleton holds the head.

Rawhead & Bloody Bones has long been a boogeyman in the southern Appalachian Mountains, especially in East Tennessee, used as a figure to terrify children into behaving with threats that he would come after children who misbehaved.

06/19/2026

If Bigfoot is in Georgia, where does he lurk?👣

As you can see from this map of the state at Expedition Bigfoot in Blue Ridge that documents sightings across the state, there are two main areas where Bigfoot sightings have occurred in the state. The first is a cluster in the southeast of the state not far from Savannah, a part of the state made largely of flat pine forests and swampy lands, a good place for something like the elusive Skunk Ape of Florida to hide out.

The second spot that seems to have even more sightings, are the hills of North Georgia, with especially prominent pockets in Dade County, a famously rural area in the northwest corner of the state that is home to wild places like Cloudland Canyon, the North Central region around Elijay and Blue Ridge with rugged mountain towns, and finally the region around Cleveland GA, close to many state parks and an area with a very low population density.

If you want to see this map and do your own research on Bigfoot in Georgia, stop by Expedition Bigfoot over in Blue Ridge!

06/18/2026

What are some of your favorite cryptozoology books???

We are looking for new ones to read and would love some recommendations! Drop them below!

06/17/2026

Could there be jaguars in our hills?🐆

We know from fossil evidence and very early historical accounts from explorers that jaguars, the big cats we now most often associate with South America, used to call the Southern Appalachian mountains home. They likely would’ve been one of the most fierce predators in the region, hunting other now long-gone critters like the bison.

Some folks will tell you that they ain’t all gone though! Reports of large cats still seen in the area are often believed to be mountain lions (or panthers, as local folks often call them), but some reports from as recent as 2004 in Tennessee seem to describe cats with checkered patterns that don’t match those cats but sound much more like a jaguar.

Could there still be a small population of these big cats out there? Or might it be something more sinister, like the famed mythical Wampus Cat, or our local cat monster, the Pitty-Pat!

06/16/2026

2026 Festival shirt design coming soon!

This year, we worked with local artist Alex Gram Birghenthal, better known as Fox & Fish Printing, to make a really fun design that we will soon be revealing and soon have available to preorder on our site! Updates coming soon!

06/15/2026

"We needed this rain"

You might get tired of hearing the old-timers say it, but its the truth! Rain is a good thing!

06/12/2026

The Open Mic night hosted by Southern Shadows has been moved to September 4th!

If you hadn’t heard, this event is planned to be an Open Mic night where folks can share spooky tales, including ghost stories, local legends, cryptid encounters, and more! We are moving the event to September 4th, but it will still be at 6:30 PM at Railhead Station in downtown Chickamauga.
To submit a story and speak is just a $5 charge that can be sent to the Southern Shadows Paypal ([email protected]) or Venmo (-reardon-1), just make sure to include contact information in your payment so that you can be worked into the schedule.
Storytellers will also have the chance to win prizes based on who tells the best tale, including the chance to tell your story LIVE on stage at the Green Eyes Festival!
If you don’t want to tell a story but want to hear them, there’s no door charge to come and listen, just make sure to also try some of the awesome food and drinks offered by Railhead!
See you in a few months at the Open Mic!

06/11/2026

Want to help to make the 2027 Green Eyes Festival the best one yet? Become a sponsor!

We are looking for local businesses, organizations, and individuals who care as much as we do about preserving and spreading regional folklore, love bringing joy to communities, and want to support small local businesses.

We have all kinds of perks for sponsors, ranging from vendor spots and stage slots at the festival itself, to inclusion in our digital and physical marketing materials, and much more.

All of the funds from sponsors or donated resources go to maintaining and improving the festival, including funding local entertainers and performers, ensuring we have clean restrooms and other facilities, helping us to up our marketing budget so even more folks can come join the fun, and improving festival activities, like our planned scavenger hunts, giveaways, and more!

If you can help as a sponsor or have a business/org in mind that could, please reach out to us!

06/10/2026

Bluebird sighting!🐦

The gorgeous Eastern Bluebird calls our region home all year long, but they really become spectacular between March and September.
During the summer mating season, male bluebirds plumage becomes particularly vibrant, as you can see on this feller we spotted over the weekend.

Address

East Ridge, TN

Website

https://www.greeneyesfestival.com/

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