The Cripple Creek Cloggers and founder Steve Cates are spreading Middle Tennessee goodwill in France. The local troupe are performing in festivals now through mid-July. NewsRadio WGNS is keeping the Heart of Tennessee connected with these local ambassadors.

Cates notes that they are having technical issues sending photos of their adventure back to Middle Tennessee. WGNS will include the pictures once the issues are corrected.

Report #1

Cripple Creek Cloggers arrived safely on Friday (July 1, 2016) in Domfront, France and are being hosted by families in small villages in the region. The weather is brisk, but sunny on Saturday as the troupe prepares to parade and perform in their annual festival. They met yesterday the band which will be playing for them. The band is from Prague and is called Handl Bluegrass.

Saturday (July 2, 2016), they met a band from Prague who played Handle scored bluegrass.

They were greeted with a reception in the Town Hall, where select wines of the region were served.

The Cripple Creek Cloggers traveled from Paris by bus with the troupe from Mexico and will be joined during the festivities Sunday (July 3, 2015) by musicians and dancers from Portugal and various regions of France.

Steve Cates said, "I am staying with a couple who live in ancient buildings which were part of the residential facilities for a 12th century Church, still standing nearby and whose ancient bell still chimes each daytime hour."

He noted that the family picked strawberries from their backyard garden for dinner Saturday night and breakfast Sunday morning. Dinner also included fresh spinach, tomatoes and lettuce which they grew.

Cates commented, "Their lambs are bleating and the hens are clucking near my open window as I type."

This area of Normandy, encompassing the old region of Anjou, is especially interesting to me since my Cates and other associated ancestral lines originated here.

Report #2

Cripple Creek Cloggers completed their performing in Domfront.France tonight with farewells to troupes from Savoy, Domfront, Mexico and Portugal: Their band. Handl Bluegrass. played as the Rutherford County folks gathered partners from the audience of fellow performers and local folk to form a circle and do a bit of clogging. This finished a full two day agenda of parading, concert performing and spreading Tennessee good will through this countryside so reminiscent of Middle Tennessee.

In fact General Patton chose Middle Tennessee for maneuvers for his Third Army specifically because the terrain there is so much like here.

It is quite touching for Cripple Creek to dance as the U. S. flag waves on stage, considering how many thousands of American boys shed their blood here near the Normandy beaches.

Members of the troupe have been guests in homes of villagers and townspeople in this region for three nights and have enjoyed the very best of local cuisine: Small hamlets with names like Lore and Cesauce surround Domfront and their résidents are glad to welcome festival participants. Though little English is spoken, usually there is no big problem with communication. Appreciative audiences have welcomed the Tennessee dancers at every turn, even today when the group participated in the special mass at the St. Julien Catholic Church.

Monday (July 4, 2016) morning it is on to Saint Malo, on the Atlantic coast, where another full agenda awaits. There an expanded listing of countries will join the cloggers for much more of the same.