e e s s e n n e T e c n E x p e r ie
issue 3|june 2021
monthly visitors guide
UNCLE NEAREST OPENS JUNE 19TH, HEADLINING AN AMAZING DAY IN BEDFORD COUNTY, TENNESSEE JUNE 19TH IN SHELBYVILLE, BELL BUCKLE, AND WARTRACE
- UNCLE NEAREST GRAND OPENING - RC COLA MOONPIE FEST - WARTRACE MUSIC FEST
KIDSVILLE IS A MUST NASHVILLE'S BIG BACKYARD IS A SUMMER DREAM COME TRUE
PAINTING TENNESSEE A MURAL MOVEMENT YOU MUST EXPERIENCE!
e m o c l We The Experience Tennessee Monthly Visitors Guide is brought to you by the South Central Tennessee Tourism Association. We
are a non-profit organization dedicated to engaging visitors and enhancing their experiences in the great state of Tennessee.
We humbly ask you to join us on Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube as we launch this exciting new digital experience for our friends looking to make a visit to Tennessee. Your support is greatly appreciated, and we look forward to engaging with you in the months to come!
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EXPERIENCE TENNESSEE TABLE OF CONTENTS
NEW EXPERIENCE TN TOURS APP COMING SOON!
Save the Date: Uncle Nearest Distillery opening in Shelbyville, TN
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The Story of Jack Daniels and Nearest Green
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RC Cola Moonpie Festival is back!
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Painting Tennessee
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EXPERIENCE TENNESSEE Kidsville a MUST!
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JUNE EVENTS
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Nashville's Big Backyard: Bonnie 32-34 Blue Farm in Waynesboro, NBBY Partners with Lifest, and get outdoors with State Parks in NBBY
Wartrace Music Fest caps a June 19th to remember in Bedford County, Tennessee
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Manchester Conference Center is ready to serve your business or event NEW Experience Tennessee App coming to Apple App and Google Play Stores
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THE TIME HAS FINALLY COME, WHISKEY FAMILY. Our post-pandemic reopening has arrived! On Saturday, June 19, 2021, we will reveal Phase Two at Nearest Green Distillery and we can't wait to welcome you! Every bit of our 270-acre, four-phase, $50 million build-out, is a master class in storytelling and history-making. No matter where you turn on our property, we are either unveiling history-making moments of the past or history being made in the present. DETAILS We will have a ribbon-cutting with our founders and team at 9 am, followed by selfpaced tours beginning at 9:30 AM and offered once an hour on the half-hour. You will be able to take a self-paced tour, participate in a tasting, or a self-paced tour and tasting combination. Tastings without a tour can be purchased day of, at the distillery. PLEASE NOTE: The State of Tennessee will not require masks be worn after May 14th. However, if you are not vaccinated, we do request that you wear a mask whenever indoors. There is plenty of space outdoors for you to enjoy, as well.
The story of Jack Daniel and Nearest Green When Jack Daniel was just a boy, he left home and eventually came to live and work on the farm of a local minister by the name of Dan Call. On his farm, Call had a whiskey still that quickly drew Jack's interest. It was here that Call introduced the young Jack Daniel to Nathan "Nearest" Green. The American Civil War had yet to be fought, and Nearest was an enslaved man who watched over Call's whiskey still. Nearest took Jack under his wing and taught him everything he knew about making whiskey, including the Lincoln County process that we know today as charcoal mellowing. (Story as displayed at the Jack Daniel Welcome Center)
After the American Civil War, Jack bought Call's still and hired Nearest, now a free man, to become Jack Daniel's first Master Distiller. Working together, Jack and Nearest appeared to have developed a friendship at a time when a relationship of this kind was uncommon. When Jack moved his distillery to the Cave Spring Hollow, where it is today, Nearest's sons, Eli and George, came to work with him. Nearest's grandsons, Ott, Jesse, and Charlie, would also come to work at the distillery. Ultimately, George and Charlie Green would become prominent landowners in Lynchburg. And, ever since Nearest's day, a member of the Green family has always worked at the Jack Daniel Distillery. We believe the story of Nearest and Jack is bigger than whiskey, and the telling of their story is important to our town, our country, and our world. We thank author Fawn Weaver for the extensive research and broadened and deepened our understanding of Nearest Green's contributions. Because of her efforts, we now believe Nearest Green to be the first African American master distiller on record. To honor and recognize Green, Weaver has established the Nearest Green Foundation, created Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, and is opening the Nearest Green Distillery in Shelbyville. We believe that Jack would be proud to see Nearest's name on a distillery just down the road from his.
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EXPERIENCE TENNESSEE
EVENT
RC COLA MOON PIE FESTIVAL RETURNS
Like most other events across the country, the RC Cola Moonpie Festival in Bell Buckle, Tennessee had to cancel in 2020. This year the festival returns for what will be the 26th event after a run of 25 consecutive years before 2020. The annual festival is held on the third Saturday in June. The event is touted as a fun, wacky, family celebration of the south's "original fast food", an RC Cola and Moonpie. The historic town of Bell Buckle is known for antiques, arts and crafts, and amazing southern food. The RC Cola Moonpie Festival highlights those
EXPERIENCE TENNESSEE
cornerstones in a unique way. The event started in 1995 as a way for the town to celebrate its 75th anniversary. Quickly the event grew in popularity with parking at a premium and good times a requirement. Check out the event schedule for this amazing family tradition!
EVENT
EXPERIENCE TENNESSEE
EVENT
2021 RC COLA MOONPIE FESTIVAL EVENT SCHEDULE 7:00am
Annual Bell Buckle Chamber 10 Mile & 5K Run
8:30-9:00am
Bell Buckle Chamber 5K run Awards
9:00am
Craft Fair/ Food Court (Open All Day)
9:00-10:00am
Midstate Cloggers
10:00-10:30am
Bell Buckle Chamber 10 Mile Run Awards
10:30-11:15am
Midstate Cloggers
11:15am
Bee City USA Proclamation
11:15am
RC Cola and MoonPie PARADE
12:00pm
RC Cola and MoonPie KING & QUEEN Coronation
12:45-1:30pm
Musical Singer-Songwriter John Allan Miller
1:30-2:00pm
RC Cola & MoonPie Games
2:00-2:45pm
Musical Entertainment & Photo/Autograph Opportunities
2:45-4:00pm
RC Cola & MoonPie Games
4:00 PM
WORLD’S LARGEST MOONPIE
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EXPERIENCE TENNESSEE
EVENT
WARTRACE MUSIC FEST CAPS JUNE 19TH
Join our historic railroad town for the Wartrace MusicFest Summer Concert Series on the 3rd Saturday of June and July 2021. Each night will feature a headliner as well as local talented musicians. Live music on the square, awesome food trucks, games, official MusicFest merchandise, downtown shops, and craft beer at the Iron Horse Pizzeria. Chairs, coolers, kids, and leashed pets are welcome! Gates open at 6pm and music from 7pm-10pm. Contact us to inquire about local bed n' breakfasts. Support talented local musicians this summer and come enjoy an evening of rock n' roll by the rails! June 19th, 2021 Lineup: Justin Williams, Asher Cataldo, headlined by Dallas Moore. Downtown Wartrace: 26 Main Street, Wartrace, TN 37183
ARTIST: TARA AVERSA PHOTO: ODINN MEDIA
PAINTING TENNESSEE: KRISTIN AND SCOTT BRING ARTS, OPTIMISM, CREATIVITY THROUGH MURALS BY ELENA CAWLEY
An artist goes up the ladder and makes a wall come alive via paint, brush strokes and creativity. When the mural is ready, it fascinates and engages passersby, who admire and appreciate this art piece, framed by buildings, nature and the sky. Kristin Luna, and her husband, Scott van Velsor, bring imagination, beauty and optimism to Tennessee communities through murals that transform the environment, generate interest and start conversations. The couple’s passion for restoring homes, bringing arts to communities, and telling inspiring stories resulted in completing numerous mural projects throughout Tennessee. Tourism marketing has been the primary focus of Kristin and Scott for the last 10 years. Prior to that, Scott was a painting contractor, restoring high-end historic homes in his hometown of San Francisco. Kristin has worked as a journalist for 20 years.
“As we've documented other creative placemaking and public art programs across the country through our journalistic and marketing work, we've been given front-row access to some of the most brilliant brains in the space who have been kind enough to mentor us in our own art journey,” Kristin said. “Our interest in public art and how it transforms the environment naturally dovetailed into the community work we were doing.” Kristin grew up in Coffee County and moved back with Scott from California in 2011. Kristin and Scott lived in Manchester for eight years, in an 1800s Victorian home, and spent those years restoring the house. Now they live in Tullahoma. “We loved being on a walkable street just a block from the square, and we saw what the square could be,” Kristin said. “But like many downtowns in rural regions, it had seen better days – the building of state highways in the 1960s and the subsequent mall culture of the 1980s stripped a lot of downtowns of their locally owned character. Nearly half the buildings were unoccupied when we moved into the Victorian. The whole square needed a facelift, including our house.”
ARTIST: JUURI PHOTO: ODINN MEDIA
ARTIST: TARA AVERSA PHOTO: ODINN MEDIA
There had to be a way to draw entrepreneur interest to this part of Manchester that was only a mile off Interstate 24, Kristin and Stott thought. “Murals are a relatively easy and inexpensive way to transform the environment and generate interest in a region almost overnight,” Kristin said. “We saw so much potential in Manchester – with four interstate exits, an amazing state park and, of course, Bonnaroo.” Kristin and Scott decided to bring tourism and spark interest in Manchester. “The first mural, the American flag magnolia on Wheeler Construction in Manchester, went up in May 2018 and generated quite a bit of buzz,” Kristin said. “It has since become a Manchester icon.” The community loved it. “The overwhelming reaction from Manchester wanting more art had us install a second mural that summer near Jiffy Burger and two more that fall along the Little Duck River Greenway,” Kristin said.
ARTIST: MOBE FOLEK PHOTO: ODINN MEDIA
“That inspired the name of our nonprofit, DMA-events, which stands for Do. More. Art.,” Kristin said. Kristin and Scott have now curated the installation of more than 30 large-scale murals in communities across Tennessee, as well as produced free community events and art festivals, and launched a graffiti abatement and remediation program in Tullahoma, said Kristin. “We have received a lot of support from city governments who have brought us in and funded pieces in their town, as well as been the recipients of several Tennessee Arts Commission grants and, most recently, our first National Endowment for the Arts grant,” Kristin said.
ARTIST: KIM RADFORD PHOTO: ODINN MEDIA
““Last year, we received a Creative Placemaking grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission that enabled us to gift two communities with murals. We chose Tullahoma, which is my hometown, and Centerville, a community we absolutely love that to date had no murals. We fell in love with Centerville over the course of multiple trips and were excited to gift them with a mural when grant money came through from the TAC.” Through that process, Kristin and Scott hired Columbia artist Whitney Herrington to create a mural, part of the Walls for Women project. Kristin and Scott launched the Walls for Women initiative in honor of the 100th year anniversary of women’s suffrage.
ARTIST: WHITNEY HARRINGTON PHOTO: ODINN MEDIA
The mural is called “Punch Bug” and Herrington wove in her 1974 VW Super Beetle, named Alice, as part of the design, said Kristin. “It's just so fun and different and adds a lot of vibrance to the square there,” Kristin said. “Centerville could not have been more excited and welcoming about that piece, and we made a lot of new friends who helped us. The best and most unexpected part of these projects is that Scott and I are so heavily involved, we wind up almost becoming members of that community and walk away with so many new friends.” Through murals, Kristin and Scott have made friends throughout Tennessee.
“We just finished a mural on the Masonic Lodge in Tullahoma by Kim Radford,” Kristin said. “We currently have a mural project going up in Columbia (in June) in partnership with the City of Columbia. It will be our next Walls for Women install and painted by Tara Aversa, who painted the American flag mural in Manchester and Bertha the octopus mural in Tullahoma.” Kristin and Scott have upcoming projects across Tennessee this summer: in Tullahoma, Knoxville, Sweetwater, Jackson and Lawrenceburg. “Publicly visible art is a symbol to not just the youth, but also a way for residents to signal to visitors that they appreciate creatives in general,” Scott said. “This is an important reflection outward that tells anyone with an eye that the community is likely supportive of their dreams, which is a critical concept very hard to communicate in words, particularly to the small business/investor community. I also really appreciate the visual accents that murals make upon architecture. A boring or tired building is immediately transformed with unique artwork.” Murals spark creativity and bring comfort to communities. “Plain paint on walls, if it's fresh, does much to improve our visual environment,” Scott said. “The addition of a mural highlights the owner or tenant in a way that no advertisement ever could, and, in a strange quirk of our human consciousness, improves the perception of safety, which, beyond the obvious, is good for our mental health. (Art) also brings awareness to a business or area and has so many proven side effects, including driving tourism and economic development.” To learn more about the Walls for Women initiative, watch Colin Shuran’s Walls for Women documentary. If you are interested in bringing more art to your town, contact Kristin and Scott.
COLIN SHURAN PHOTOS: ODINN MEDIA
ARTIST: MATTHEW WILLEY PHOTOS: ODINN MEDIA
ARTIST: IVAN ROQUE PHOTOS: ODINN MEDIA
ARTIST: JENNY USTICK | PHOTOS: ODINN MEDIA
ARTIST: CYMONE WILDER | PHOTOS: ODINN MEDIA
ARTIST: NICOLE SALGAR | PHOTOS: ODINN MEDIA
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EXPERIENCE TENNESSEE
INTERVIEW
KIDSVILLE INVITES YOU TO PLAY, LEARN, EXPLORE, BOND WITH YOUR CHILDREN BY ELENA CAWLEY
Enter the Land of Excitement, Education, Entertainment and Exploration. Welcome to KidsVille Playground in Cornersville, Tennessee. Bond with your children while playing together. The playground is in an 8,500-square-foot warehouse.
"“I wanted to create a safe and exciting environment and a place where we encourage parents and grandparents to be involved in the activities with their children,” said Christine Sachs, owner of KidsVille Playground. “It’s a soft playground with three stories, and everything is padded and netted. The kids can climb and crawl and run through the playground safely. There are no sharp edges, no big drops. It’s really made to be safe and accessible for all children.” KidsVille is an interactive, indoor playground for children ages 6 months to 12 years old. And family members are encouraged to join the fun. KidsVille is adjacent to the Tennessean Travel Stop, which is also owned by Sachs, and her husband, Greg. “We have multiple slides,” Sachs said. “We have a tubing slide. We have a free fall, which is a place where the kids can jump in from the third floor and go down all the way to the first floor – they are going between elastics, so it’s like a big spider web.
We have a mini ninja warrior zone, and we have a ball area, where you can play basketball and soccer. We also have a tricycle highway underneath the playground, where you can go in a loop and ride a tricycle. We have swing beams, we have obstacles and tunnels, and a mini zipline. And we have an area for toddlers, so the little babies can crawl safely.” KidsVille opened its doors in October 2020. “I do everything from A to Z,” Sachs said. “I own the place with my husband, Greg Sachs. He supported the idea. Greg is very busy with the Tennessean Truck Stop, so KidsVille is my baby. I run day-to-day operations. I created the design. The building was vacant prior to KidsVille, so we remodeled the old warehouse and created the playground. We built the blueprints, and we hired people to build it up.” KidsVille is “more than a business,” said Sachs. “It’s really a labor of love because my intention was to have something for the children in the community,” she said. “Having a child myself, I realized there was not much to do around and absolutely nothing for children to do indoors, so that’s how the idea was born. I wanted to create something for the children in Cornersville and everyone in Tennessee.” Her son, Micah, is 2 years old and very active, said Sachs.
“I was looking for activities to do with him,” she said. “Being a mother really changed my perspective. When my child was a newborn, I was trying to figure out what I can do so that I can bring my child to work and enjoy him. There was not much to do for children, and I realized there was a need for children’s activities. This is why KidsVille was born. We lived part time in Florida and part time in Tennessee, but with the COVID pandemic, we decided to spend most of our time in Tennessee. Spending more time in Tennessee was very beneficial in order to spend more quality time with the family and with the community.” Sachs wanted to build a space where family members can play together and create memories. “Most importantly, the fun is that parents are allowed to go with children inside,” she said. “It’s creating an activity for the whole family in a safe environment. Parents and children can physically get involved with some great activities, have fun and build a great relationship. I wanted to promote good health and decrease obesity by having something to do with the whole family.” Once you purchase a play pass, your time at the playground is unlimited for the day. “You can stay as long as you want,” Sachs said. “We have a restaurant within the building. So kids can stay all day long, and they can sit down, eat and relax and go back to play.”
Sachs loves seeing the interaction between generations. Another component of KidsVille is the educational aspect through fun activities. “We also have a classroom, and we try to stimulate the kids with arts and crafts,” she said. “We have painting classes, so kids can do a painting class and then go and play again.” KidsVille also offers birthday party packages. “We host birthday parties for the children. We take care of absolutely everything. We entertain the kids, offer kids meals, and we have favors for the guests. We provide the cake and decorate the room. And children go and play in the playground with friends and family.” KidsVille staff members work diligently to keep the playground clean. “The place is absolutely spotless at all times,” Sachs said. “We disinfect and sanitize the whole playground, every inch of it, every single day. I’m so proud of that. We have a hospital grade filter in the AC system, so when the air circulation goes through, it kills the germs. We make sure the playground is sanitized.”
KidsVille Mayor Sakaroo ensures the playground is spotless. But most importantly, Sakaroo makes sure everyone is having fun. “KidsVille is a city for children,” Sachs said. “We have a mayor called Sakaroo. He is a frog. Sakaroo built the Land of Es – excitement, education, entertainment and exploration. This is what we breathe and live for. We create all activities with these four words in mind.” Sachs invites you to visit KidsVille and the Tennessean Travel Stop. Pop’s BBQ Restaurant and Pop’s Tennessean Ice Cream Parlor are located in the travel stop.
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EXPERIENCE TENNESSEE
JUNE 2021
JUNE EVENTS 11 11 11 12 12 12 12 12 12 17 18 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 20 22 25-26 26 26 26 27 30
CAYLEE HAMMACK @ THE MULEHOUSE - COLUMBIA HARLEY DAVIDSON BIKE NIGHT - LYNCHBURG CANDLELIGHT ANTIQUES AD SHOW - ELKTON SUMMER OF PEACE... W/WANNABEATLES - PULASKI HENRY HORTONS FARMERS MARKET - CHAPEL HILL HIGHLAND REAL BLUEBERRY FARM BASH - COLUMBIA GRAFTED CULTURE @ WINE TASTING EVENT - CLIFTON OUTDOOR SUMMER CONCERT SERIES - SPRING HILL FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE VIRTUAL CONCERT - LEWISBURG FATHER'S DAY CAR SHOW - SPRING HILL MUSIC W/ PICKIN CROWS & DINNER - LINDEN UNCLE NEAREST OPENING EVENT - SHELBYVILLE 26TH RC COLA MOONPIE FESTIVAL - BELL BUCKLE WARTRACE MUSIC FEST - WARTRACE RODEO SERIES 2021 - ETHRIDGE POKER RUN ON TIMS FORD LAKE - WINCHESTER SUMMER SPECTACULAR CRAFT FAIR - WINCHESTER BEYOND STRENGTH JUNETEENTH CEL - WINCHESTER FATHER'S DAY CAR SHOW - LAWRENCEBURG 5 O'DOCK SOMEWHERE CONERTS SERIES - WINCHESTER LYNCHBURG FRONTIER FREEDOM DAYS - LYNCHBURG SPRING FEST - LEWISBURG OUTDOOR SUMMER CONCERT SERIES - SPRING HILL FREEDOM FEST W/ RUBIKS GROOVE - LAWRENCEBURG BLUEGRASS W/ SPUR OF THE MOMENT - FRANKEWING UT SOUTHERN MIDNIGHT MERGER - PULASKI
Come for the cheese, stay for the goats at the Bonnie Blue Farm in Waynesboro The 300-acre farm has been producing European-style fresh and cave-aged cheeses for more than a decade. The cheeses are made from milk harvested from the farm’s Nubian dairy goats and Jersey cows. After being collected, milk is quickly chilled and then transported to the on-farm cheese studio, where it is handmade under the watchful eye of master cheesemaker Gayle Tanner. The wide range of award-winning offerings includes simple cheddar cheeses as well as savory varieties such as Feta, Great Pyr, Crottin, Tanasi Tomme, and Mooleen. As an added treat, visitors get to bottle-feed the baby goats and pet the larger ones. And who doesn’t love a baby goat? Smile and say “cheese” when you experience the beautiful dairy farms in Nashville’s Big Back Yard! https://www.nashvillesbigbackyard.org/waynesboro http://www.bonniebluefarm.com Wayne County Tennessee Chamber Photo courtesy of Bonnie Blue Farm
NBBY PARTNERS WITH LIFEST Nashville’s Big Back Yard is proud to partner with Lifest Music City and will have a stage at the festival on July 29-31. The festival will be in Bon Aqua at the beautiful Storytellers Hideaway Farm, the former home of music legend Johnny Cash! Lifest Music City will be hosting Big Back Yard and local artists at their very own stage as a Premium Partner. Local artists announcements coming soon! Main stage lineup includes bands such as Skillet Music, Michael W. Smith, Newsboys, Colton Dixon, and much more! Get your tickets now with code NBBY for $5 off at the link below. https://lifest.com/music-city/tickets/ The Big Back Yard stage at Lifest Music City will showcase some of the incredible local musical talent here. Music is the backbone of our history here, and we can’t wait for people from all over to come see what we have to offer. We hope to see y’all there! Nashville's Big Back Yard is a natural watershed region anchored by 100 miles of the Natchez Trace Parkway and made up of 12 connected communities with populations under 5,000 people. Come for a visit or live a lifetime with us.
GET OUTDOORS WITH STATE PARKS IN NASHVILLE'S BIG BACKYARD David Crockett State Park, named for Tennessee’s famous native son and American hero, is located in Lawrenceburg, TN. The park features paddling, biking, hiking, swimming, camping, fishing, boating.https://tnstateparks.com/parks/activities/david-crockett Photo by Meghan Aileen Co
Joe Wheeler State Park-Alabama, located on Wheeler Lake in The Shoals, offers something for everyone; a resort lodge, a restaurant, cabins, camping, fishing, golf, tennis, swimming, convention/banquet facilities, transient slips, and a marina. https://www.alapark.com/parks/joe-wheeler-state-park Mousetail Landing State Park is 1247 acres on the east banks of the Tennessee River in Perry County, TN. A series of mountain bike trails weave through a hilly section of the park. Very steep climbs and great downhills make this system of trails a mustride. https://tnstateparks.com/parks/mousetail-landing Wheeler Lake Scenic Cruises offer guided lake cruises to the public and to private groups along the scenic coves and bluffs of Joe Wheeler State Park, the spectacular lower section of Wheeler Lake, and Lake Wilson. http://www.scenicwheelerlake.com https://www.nashvillesbigbackyard.org
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e e s s e n T en
s w e r B & , s e in Whiskey, W 10 Distilleries, 10 Wineries, 6 Breweries, and several specialty locations!
see what's on tap
Love Cupcakes? We do! Pie Sensations is your one-stop for all bakery needs. These Red Velvet, Butter Pecan, S’more, and Reece’s Peanut Butter and Chocolate options are just some of what we can do for you!
Cody Johnson
Hardy
with more to be announced soon!
New Dates: July 8-10 2021 Lynchburg, TN | LynchburgMusicFest.com
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