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Looking back over the past decade and all of the Foothills Fall Festivals that have come and gone, I sort of feel like Jeremy Piven's character in the John Cusack film "Grosse Pointe Blank."

If you've seen it, you know the scene. Piven and Cusack are riding around the day before their 10-year high school reunion, when Piven's character is suddenly struck by the magnitude of it all. He starts pounding the dash and yelling, "Ten years, man! TEN YEARS!"

I feel privileged to have been covering the festival for nine of those years; although to be honest, every year about this time it feels like I've been covering one a week for the past six months. But the good stuff's just getting started, and the 2009 Foothills Fall Festival promises to be the proper celebration that any 10-year anniversary ought to be.

And, as with all anniversaries, I don't think this one would be complete without a look back. So I decided to dig through the archives and share with you some of the highlights of the past 10 festivals ...

February 1999: City officials announce the first Foothills Fall Festival will take place the following year, patterned loosely after the Hillbilly Homecoming celebration held in the 1960s.

Oct. 13-15, 2000: The inaugural festival takes place at Theater in the Park adjacent to the Blount County Courthouse; tickets costs $20 and the entertainment lineup includes the Atlanta Rhythm Section and Classic Rock All-Stars on Friday; Ronnie McDowell, Johnny Rivers, Blackhawk, Lee Ann Womack and Mark Chesnutt on Saturday; and Ricky Van Shelton on Sunday.

Oct. 12-14, 2001: Just one month after the Sept. 11 attacks, the second annual Foothills Fall Festival kicks off. Entertainers on the bill include Ronnie McDowell, Chris Cagle, Terri Clark, Sawyer Brown, Ricky Skaggs, Janie Fricke, the Oak Ridge Boys, Joe Diffie, Percy Sledge, Herman's Hermits featuring Peter Noone and Three Dog Night. After the horror of the previous month, festival-goers came together to remember those who died and to celebrate American resolve.

"People just seem to get angry over things less," Blount County Public Library Director Kathy Pagles said during that weekend. "You don't hear as much general whining or complaining about things. There just seems to be a new sensitivity to everyone."

Oct. 11-13, 2002: The third Foothills Fall Festival books headliners Jerry Lee Lewis, Travis Tritt, Clay Walker, George Jones and Aaron Tippin, but Tritt cancels at the last minute because of laryngitis. Before weekend's end, organizers announce the big name for the 2003 festival -- country super-group Alabama, which will pass through Maryville the next year on its farewell tour.

April 26, 2003: As promised, Tritt makes it up to Maryville by putting on a show at Theater in the Park on a rainy Saturday night. "I apologize if we caused anybody any inconvenience when we couldn't be here last year, but we're glad to be here tonight, and we're going to have a good time!" Tritt told the crowds from the stage.

Oct. 17-19, 2003: The first two days were billed as a single package -- The Drifters, The Marvelettes and K.C. and The Sunshine Band on Friday night; Joe Nichols, Charlie Daniels and more on Saturday night. Separate tickets were sold for Sunday night's Alabama show, a rousing affair that was the only musical act booked for the third day of the festival because of its uniqueness.

Oct. 8-10, 2004: The fifth annual Foothills Fall Festival kicks off with Mickey Dolenz, formerly of The Monkees, and Mary Wilson and The Supremes. The big buzz, however, is a country star slated for Saturday who -- between the time she was booked for the festival and the event actually occurred -- exploded in popularity. That would be Gretchen Wilson, she of "Redneck Woman" fame. She wasn't the Saturday night headliner, but because her fame increased exponentially during the months leading up to the festival, she could very easily have been. The acts that followed -- Phil Vassar, Diamond Rio, Emerson Drive and Vince Gill -- had big shoes to fill.

Despite her newfound success, "I know I'm not any different," she told The Daily Times. "I'm driving a bigger truck, and I'm living in a bigger house, but I'm still living on a farm, and I've still got four-wheelers and horses. And I still do shop at Wal-Mart. I'm a Wal-Mart junkie, and I have been for years."

Oct. 14-16, 2005: Headliners include Bo Diddley and the Gin Blossoms on Friday; Patty Loveless, Shooter Jennings, John Michael Montgomery and Lonestar on Saturday; and Darryl Worley and Trace Adkins on Sunday. Festival organizers nervously remind Jennings, known for his rebellious attitude and off-color phrases in a few of his songs, that it's a family festival. He behaves.

Oct. 13-15, 2006: The next year, however, Buddy Guy does not. Headliners for the 2006 festival include Shawn Mullins, Sister Hazel, Guy, Deana Carter, The Wreckers, Clay Walker, Carolina Rain, Little Big Town and Randy Travis. Chilly weather sent night-time temperatures plunging into the low 30s, and Guy was liberal with his use of four-letter expletives. "Buddy Guy put on an incredible show, and from his one-on-one with the audience, he's obviously passionate about music," city Events Coordinator Jane Groff said after his performance. "Sometimes we all say things in the heat of the moment that we later regret. Unfortunately, he did use some inappropriate language, and we apologize for that and hope that people enjoyed the music enough to overlook it." Only a few minor complaints were logged.

Oct. 12-14, 2007: Country's bad boys, Big & Rich, don't disappoint with their rowdy show, which included appearances by Cowboy Troy, Two Foot Fred and even a few dancing girls. Cherryholmes, Kellie Pickler, Bucky Covington, Little Texas and Sara Evans are also on the bill; Friday night's headliners, REO Speedwagon, kick off a run of popular "classic rock" acts for the festival's opening night. Patrons at Brackins Blues Bar in downtown Maryville report a John Rich sighting late Saturday night, when the wheelchair-bound Fred apparently used Broadway Avenue as an obstacle course.

Oct. 10-12, 2008: Festival organizers recover quickly after Willie Nelson agrees to perform at the festival and then decides to take a vacation in Australia or some other place instead. (To make things even more difficult on the city, country artist Julianne Hough backs out as well, promising to reschedule a la Tritt. She never has.) The final lineup includes Foreigner, Josh Turner, Jason Aldean, Jason Michael Carroll, Billy Currington, Billy Ray Cyrus, Ashton Shepherd and Kenny Rogers. Things go swimmingly, all of the performers mind their mouths and for the second year in a row, the festival sells out.

June 2009: For the 10th annual Foothills Fall Festival, country superstar Alan Jackson is announced as the Saturday headliner, along with Kansas, Rodney Atkins, the Little River Band, Sawyer Brown, Chris Young and Justin Moore.

I'd like to go ahead and fill in 2010 with a wishlist of artists I'd like to see come to downtown Maryville, but barring disaster this weekend, those names will be announced in good time. Besides, we still have to get through this weekend first.

I know we will, and I know it'll be fun -- one big party, basically. Thanks to all of you who have made the past 10 years a success, and thanks for coming back around this year to celebrate with us.

Steve Wildsmith is the Weekend editor for The Daily Times. Contact him at steve.wildsmith@thedailytimes.com or at 981-1144.