43rd Annual National Rolley Hole Championship Set for Sept. 19
(UCBJ) – Some of the world’s best marbles players and marble collectors from across the country will roll into Overton County on Saturday, Sept. 19, for the 43rd annual National Rolley Hole Championship Marbles and Music Festival at Standing Stone State Park. Also known as the “Super Bowl of Marbles,” the event welcomes guests of all ages and combines the sport of marbles with folk art, music and other activities.
The National Rolley Hole Championship, which is now in its 43rd year, runs from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Live bluegrass and old-time music is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Rolley Hole is a folk game similar to croquet. The strategy involves determining the best way to keep opponents from making the hole, which often requires skillful hard shots against other marbles, sending them ricocheting across the yard.
The competition is played by the rules of the National Rolley Hole Marbles Championship on a dirt yard measuring 40-by-25 feet. Standing Stone is the only state park in the nation with a Rolley Hole marbles yard, mainly because some of the best players hail from Tennessee’s Clay County and the surrounding area.
In addition to the competition, the festival will feature:
- a kids’ marbles festival
- marble-making demonstrations
- a marbles swap meet
- youth tournaments
Food will be available throughout the day and admission is free, although some activities require a fee to benefit the Friends of Standing Stone State Park.
“We welcome everyone from across Tennessee and beyond to the Rolley Hole Championship,” said Park Ranger Jonathan Williams. “We want families to enjoy it all: the highly competitive marble games, the marble-making artists showing their talents, all the other marble-related festivities, the music and the food. We just hope everyone has a good ole time. The tournament is a great tradition, and we’re proud to have it here at beautiful Standing Stone State Park.”
This year’s sponsors include:
- Tennessee State Parks
- the Tennessee Arts Commission
- Honest Abe Log Homes
- Southern Landscape Supply
- Marble King
Standing Stone State Park is located 10 miles north of Livingston, just off Highway 52 near Celina, and covers nearly 1,000 acres on the Highland Rim of north-central Tennessee.
For more information about the festival and Standing Stone State Park, call 931-823-6347 or visit Standing Stone State Park online.
File photo.
Other stories you may want to check out:
