Tobacco barns firing, cool breeze in the air, it’ s almost autumn in the south. The perfect time of year, and what better way to spend a fun day of shopping, a nice lunch at the Barnside Café and live music along with great conversation? Twice a year, owners Shirley & Knox Thomas open their own working agritourism farm for people to do just this! The Hayloft at Port Royal Barn Sale started in 2012 in a gorgeous two story, Amish dairy barn located in Clarksville, Tennessee right on the Kentucky state line. Full of 45+ juried artisans with antiques, vintage, handmade, re-purposed home decor items, jewelry and art; there is something that any shopper would love.

Early September, Elizabeth Ulrich of Stockroom Vintage, Lisa Crawford of Violet Horizon Photography and myself headed up to Clarksville to visit Shirley and photograph the barn. We had such a great visit (as always), walked around the barn and farm, interviewed both Knox and Shirley and left with some fresh, homegrown corn as a gift. I’d call it a wonderful day 🙂 I hope you enjoy getting to know a little bit more about The Hayloft and be sure to make plans to attend the Fall barn sale October 2-4th.

I asked Shirley how she got the idea to start The Hayloft and Knox piped up with a quick response, “she had to do something with all the stuff she kept accumulating and accumulating!” If you have ever had the chance to be around these two you will see the love and hard work they share. Starting in October 2012, they both worked to get the barn ready while Shirley gathered vendors. The response was overwhelming and Shirley kept telling Knox she needed more and more room in the barn. Eventually both levels were cleaned out, run with electricity and marked off for vendor booths. Everyone loves The Hayloft barn with its gorgeous white wash exterior, original hard wood floor interior, and tall wooden vaulted ceilings combined with the history of its time as an Amish dairy barn make it the most unique event space.

If you look closely you can tell some of the booths were horse stalls and others have a trough running through the floor where the milk from the dairy cows would run from the milking room to the bottling room. There are hay shoots from the second floor to the first and original barn doors that slide open to the most beautiful farmland views. The family farm raises tobacco, corn, wheat and soybeans on a total of 700 acres around Montgomery and Todd County.

Shirley and Knox have been working really hard on an exciting addition to this year’s barn sale… a new barn out front! This space will not only have seven new vendors in it but also the perfect place for events throughout the year. Make sure and follow The Hayloft on Facebook for such announcements.

Talented artists like Kellie Montana, Lori Danelle and Kirsten Reed will set up at the Fall barn sale and bring stunning art that will be perfect for any wall in your home. Fashion vendors like C.J. Boots & Co. and Peacock Lane will have the latest styles and accessories for fall, just in time to stock up your wardrobe for the fall season. Furniture vendors like 1767 Designs and Wife-n-Laws bring antique finds, chalk painted pieces and hand built reclaimed wood pieces built by hand just perfect for your home. If you love antiques, you will not want to miss WTL Antiques, Junk-n-the-Trunk and Vividly Vintage antique booths at the barn sale, they each bring a unique collection of hard to find antiques at great prices.

Thursday night KariAnne Wood of Thistlewood Farm, who has been featured in Country Living Magazine, a story teller, bargain hunter, decorator-for-less and full to the brim of enthusiasm and inspiration will be joining the The Hayloft Barn Sale for the exclusive preview event.

This will be an exclusive event with the special hand picked artisans. Enjoy the shopping, food, and live music October 2nd from 4:30 pm – 7:30 pm.

The Barnside Cafe will be open by 2 Kates Catering with homemade, down home casseroles, sandwiches, muffins, drinks and sweets. Food trucks Fried Green Tomatoes will be setup Thursday and Friday, Cupcake 24 and Mugsy’s Coffee will be set up all weekend for shoppers to enjoy. Hot dogs and hamburgers will be grilled out and available for purchase as well.

Make plans to attend The Hayloft at Port Royal Barn sale:

October 2 – 4, 2014

Thursday: 4:30 pm – 7:30 pm

Friday: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Saturday 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

Sneak Peak Admission $10.00 | General Admission $2.00

Located at:

551 Port Royal Rd.
Clarksville, Tennessee
Contact Shirley Thomas for more information:

thehayloftatportroyal@gmail.com

Website
http://www.thehayloftatportroyal.com
Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/ShirleyAnnThomas