Cody Cozz, T. Eian headline Frontier Days

Two-day celebration will feature live music, steak and wing competitions, hot air balloon rides, kids' activities, fireworks

11:50 a.m. June 6, 2026

DUANE CROSS
MCO Publisher•Editor

By Saturday night, the Square ought to smell like charcoal, ribeye sandwiches, summer grass, and whatever the kids talked somebody into buying them from a food truck.

That is usually how Frontier Days works.

The two-day Lynchburg celebration returns Friday and Saturday, June 26-27, 2026, with music, classic cars, cookoff competition, craft vendors, food trucks, kids rides, hot air balloon rides, patriotic pageantry, and fireworks. This year’s event also ties into the national America 250 celebration, marking 250 years of American independence.

It is a festival, sure, but mostly it is a town-square weekend – kids loose, parents trailing behind, and somebody hollering from across the street.

• Frontier Days calls on donors, sponsors, vendors

It starts on the Square

Friday’s schedule eases into the weekend with a pedal tractor pull on the Square, the 90 Proof Bluegrass Band, and a classic car cruise-in.

Saturday is the big one.

The day brings the Sizzle in the Hollow Steak Cookoff, Veterans Battle of the Wings Challenge, and a live auction at the gazebo.

Families can also find craft vendors, food trucks, hot air balloon rides, kids' rides and games, a Power Wheels demolition derby, a Moon Pie eating contest, an apple pie contest, chicken bingo, helicopter rides, a Lodge skillet toss, and fireworks.

Country music singer Cody Cozz plays a free show on Saturday. Choreographer and dancer T. Eian also brings a public dance party to the Lynchburg Square, adding another burst of energy to an already packed day.

And Smokey Mtn Balloon returns with tethered balloon rides. That may be the easiest landmark in town – just look up.

Cookoff smoke rolls in

The Sizzle in the Hollow Steak Cookoff brings competitors to Wiseman Park Road for a Steak Cookoff Association event.

The cookoff includes steak, ribs, dessert, and kids' pork chop divisions, with awards scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday. The event also serves as an official qualifier for the World Food Championships, with top combined steak scores earning a free entry to WFC.

For spectators, it adds one of the best parts of any Lynchburg summer event: the smell of meat on the grill before lunchtime.

Veterans take on the wings

In honor of America’s 250th birthday, the Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a Veterans “Battle of the Wings” competition on Saturday.

The contest is open to U.S. military veterans and limited to the first 12 contestants. Chicken wings and charcoal will be provided. A rub pantry will be available, and a charcoal grill will be provided if needed.

Applications may be printed from the Chamber website or picked up at the Lynchburg Welcome Center and Whiskey Trailhead. Applications may be returned there or emailed to lynchburgTNchamber@gmail.com.

Kids get their turn

Frontier Days gives children plenty of room to be part of the celebration, too.

The America 250 Children’s Costume Contest is set for Saturday on the Square. Contest check-in begins at 4 p.m., with judging at 4:45 p.m. at the gazebo. Children ages 14 and under may enter for free.

The costume contest ties into the Frontier Days kids' parade, with a lineup at 4:30 p.m. Families are encouraged to decorate bikes, scooters, Power Wheels, strollers, wagons, and just about anything else that can roll.

The theme is patriotic, so expect plenty of red, white, blue, streamers, flags, and proud grandparents trying to get the perfect picture.

Music at the gazebo

The America 250 celebration features students from Magic Voice Studio from 3:30 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the gazebo.

The performance is part of the patriotic celebration and adds another local touch to the afternoon lineup.

Fireworks close it out

By the time the fireworks start Saturday night, Lynchburg will have packed a lot into two days – bluegrass and country music, steak smoke, chicken wings, kids in costume, decorated bikes, balloon rides, food trucks, vendors, contests, and a Square full of people doing what small towns still do best.

And when the fireworks go up, most folks will do what they always do – stop talking for a minute, look skyward, and let Lynchburg have the last word.