Students go on field trip to primitive art show

HARDIN COUNTY, Tenn. — Schools are bringing back field trips again since the start of the pandemic. Teachers and students attended the first Primitive Art Show in Saltillo on Friday.

Brad Kilburn, a fifth grade teacher at Northside Elementary  in Savannah, says the kids were excited to finally get out.

“It’s been close to two years since we were able to take a trip, so when we told them this, there was a lot of buzz going around and just a lot of excitement that we were going to be able to get out and see some of the stuff that we talk about in the classroom and how that comes to life,” Kilburn said.

Hardin County Commissioner Kathy Smith says she and other county officials were amazed at the turn out.

“This is the first time Hardin County school buses have rolled on a field trip since COVID hit. We have 255 students and about 15 teachers here today and that is what we are most proud of,” Smith said.

The art show is a re-enactment of history, and includes several tents with historically made items for attendees to buy. The production also has several demonstrations.

Art show creator and re-enactor Mike Fields says he wanted the show to be a learning opportunity for the county.

“It’s just a gathering and celebration of our history and our culture that we just want to celebrate,” Fields said.

Students from Hardin County and around West Tennessee attended Friday, including a group of homeschool students from Jackson.

Graiden Allen was one of those students. He says the event was a great learning experience.

“My favorite is Revolutionary War. I just like to learn about all of this stuff. It’s been really fun today. We heard about it, one of the moms told us about it and thought we’d come down and explore, see what we could learn,” Allen said.

The show will be open again at 8 a.m. Saturday, April 10. The art show will also have a silent auction to benefit the Darryl Worley Foundation and Folds of Honor.