Visionary leaders recognized the extraordinary features of the Smoky Mountains and championed the movement to create Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1934. Today, Friends of the Smokies honors the distinguished group of donors who, year after year, help protect, preserve, and provide for this national treasure that belongs to us all. The 1934 Society leads this continued legacy of stewardship and philanthropy. The society’s name hearkens back to the establishment of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the community leaders who stood together in their vision of a strong, healthy destination beloved by millions of visitors each year.
Gifts of a tax deductible amount of $1,000 or more given on an annual basis qualify you to join the 1934 Society and enjoy its benefits.
2026 Gatherings
- March 25th – “Music of the Smokies”Aaron Ratcliffe plays and teaches old-time music on a number of instruments and is a skilled flatfoot dancer and dance caller with deep roots in western North Carolina. He hails from Ratcliff Cove at the foot of Big Stomp Mountain in Haywood County, NC where his father’s side of the family has lived for seven generations. Ratcliffe will inform and entertain with a repertoire specifically connected to the Smokies such as songs about places and people who lived there.
- June 16th – “The Smokies Rock” Join Harry Moore, retired TDOT Geological Engineer, as he leads us through the unique geology of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Moore’s love of geology began in his youth with a love for caving and a curiosity for sinkholes and culminated with his work at TDOT with a focus on rockslides.
- September 29th – “Tongues of the Smokies” Join Tiffany Williams, linguist and singer/songwriter/Appalachian dialect coach and Nancy Pheasant, an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indian, as they explore the historic language and lore of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
- October 22nd – “Corn from a Jar: Moonshining in Great Smoky Mountains” In the Great Smoky Mountains, moonshine making was a world unto itself. Join author and noted historian Dr. Daniel S. Pierce to learn about the traditions, foibles, and dangers of “blockading” from the early 19th century to today.
Benefits
- Invitation to four special park experiences annually.
- Listed by name in Friends of the Smokies annual report.
