FRIENDS OF DUNBAR CAVE

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Spring 2024 Cooling at the Cave is set for Saturday, May 4th. Cumberland Winds will perform Big Band music. Come listen and dance with us! Details and ticketing info here.

We promote, protect, and preserve the natural and cultural resources of Dunbar Cave State Park.

Monthly meetings are held on the second Thursday of the month from 6 p.m. - 7 p.m. at the park office, 401 Dunbar Cave Road, Clarksville, TN. Meetings include a special program of interest to members with a different speaker monthly. Membership includes a complimentary cave tour. (Limits apply.)

Cooling at the Cave

with The Cumberland Winds

Big Band

May 4, 2024

The Friends of Dunbar Cave, Inc. (FODC) hosts the Spring Cooling at the Cave Concert for 2024 on Saturday, May 4, 2024, with music from The Cumberland Winds Big Band.

Spring 2024 Cooling at the Cave Eventbrite

This concert series is a fundraising event that provides necessary support to projects and improvements at Dunbar Cave State Park. The Fall Cooling at the Cave concert will feature music by The Cumberland Winds Big Band at the mouth of the cave. The park will be closed to the general public during the event. There are a limited number of tables and chairs that will be provided on a first-come, first-serve basis. Guests are advised to bring their own chairs to ensure they have a good seat. This is a great cause that benefits Dunbar Cave State Park.

Gates open at 6:30 p.m. and Cumberland Winds will play 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. with an intermission.

Food trucks/vendors will be at the event: Emergency Dogs, Chills Italian ice, and Nothing Bundt Cakes.

Two ticketing options only: General Admission CAR and Walk-In. Click on the link for details and to purchase tickets on Eventbrite:

Spring 2024 Cooling at the Cave Eventbrite

Membership Drive

JUNE 8, 2024

Friends of Dunbar Cave Hosts Membership Drive every year with Free Cave Tour Opportunity: Details Coming Soon!

The Friends of Dunbar Cave, Inc. (FODC) is hosting a membership drive on Saturday, June 8, 2024, from 9 a.m. until noon. People who become members of FODC that day will be given the opportunity to go on a free guided cave tour that same afternoon. Please, see the cave tour membership guidelines below:

Cave tour for new members will begin at 4:30 pm that afternoon as not to interfere with the regular public tours.
A sign up sheet should be at the membership table. The first 20 people to sign up will go on 4:30 pm tour. After it fills up, members are still entitled to a free tour but will have to make arrangements to come back on one of the regularly scheduled public tours. They will have to call the park office to schedule.
A family membership equals four spaces on the tour.
All the standard rules apply; one flashlight per person (no cell phones), must be at least five years old, no photography in the cave, tennis shoes or boots recommended.

On the morning of June 8, 2024, from 9 a.m. until noon, FODC members will be at the park office to talk about membership. Bring an appetite, they’ll be hosting a donation-based bake sale that morning, too. Additionally, they will be selling t-shirts as well as cards featuring a painting by Larry Richardson, and Christmas ornaments featuring photographs of Dunbar Cave by Jim Hancock, both longtime members.

ClarksvilleNow Article Features

Friends of Dunbar Cave

ClarksvilleNow listed Friends of Dunbar Cave as one of the “10 nonprofits that are making a big difference in Clarksville” AUGUST 2023.

Here’s a link to the article:

https://clarksvillenow.com/local/10-nonprofits-that-are-making-a-big-difference-in-clarksville/

Available Now!

The Dunbar Cave Virtual Reality Cave Tour Film.

To set up a time, go to the park office at 401 Old Dunbar Cave Road or call 931-648-5526

Open Now at the Dunbar Cave State Park Office

The Dunbar Cave Tour Film

The Dunbar Cave Tour Film is brought to you by Friends of Dunbar Cave, Inc. in partnership with Dunbar Cave State Park and One Day Entertainment, Humanities Tennessee and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Directed by Demetrius Hnarakis.

Park ranger John Ball, archaeologist Dr. Jan Simek of UT Knoxville, and indigenous historian Beau Carroll, from the Eastern Band of Cherokee, guide the viewers through Dunbar Cave. The tour views Mississippian dark zone cave art, stoke marks, and previously unprotected, hence vandalized, portions of the cave.

This project entails creating a 360-degree virtual reality film touring Dunbar Cave, making the experience available to those who are unable to participate in a traditional cave tour. The Dunbar Cave Virtual Reality Tour will be available at the park office in late Summer/Fall 2022.

The Friends of Dunbar Cave was named as a General Grant Recipient from Humanities Tennessee for this project. This project is funded in part by a grant from Humanities Tennessee, an independent affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The findings and conclusions of this film do not necessarily represent the views of Humanities Tennessee or of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Thank you to everyone who made this film possible.

Humanities Tennessee General Grant Recipient

The Friends of Dunbar Cave was named as a General Grant Recipient from Humanities Tennessee for a Virtual Cave Tour!

This project entails creating a 360-degree virtual reality film touring Dunbar Cave, making the experience available to those who are unable to participate in a traditional cave tour. A park ranger, archaeologist, and indigenous historian descended from Mississippians will guide the viewers.

The tour views Mississippian dark zone cave art, stoke marks, and previously unprotected, hence vandalized, portions of the cave.

This project is funded in part by a grant from Humanities Tennessee, an independent affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The findings and conclusions of this film do not necessarily represent the views of Humanities Tennessee or of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The filmmaker, One Day Entertainment, Inc. Director: Demetrius Hranakis. Featuring Tour Guide and Ranger John Ball; Dr. Jan Simek, archaeologist from the University of Tennessee; and Beau Carroll, archaeologist, Cherokee, and doctoral student from the University of Tennessee.

Click on the link below to learn more about the film.

Film