Arts & Leisure

Mountain Fling to perform at the Folk School July 1

Mountain Fling will perform old time mountain music in a free concert at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, N.C. on Friday, July 1 at 7:00 p.m. The concert will be held in the Festival Barn, but those attending are urged to park near Keith House or the Dining Hall and walk to the Festival Barn where there will be only a limited number of handicapped parking spaces available. In the barn there is hay bale seating, so audience members may wish to bring a lawn chair or blanket for comfort. Admission is free.  Donations are gratefully accepted.

Mountain Fling is a four-piece band from Southwestern Virginia that plays traditional old-time mountain music as well as some more recent folk material. They sing and play autoharp, guitar, banjo, hammered dulcimer, harmonica and bass. John Hollandsworth from Christiansburg, Virginia has played autoharp since childhood and has won many awards for his playing including “Best All-Around Performer” at the famous Galax Fiddlers’ Convention. His wife Kathie sings and plays hammered dulcimer and bass. Jim Lloyd of Rural Retreat, Virginia plays guitar and  banjo. Raised in the coal fields of Virginia and West Virginia, Jim sponsors a weekly jam session at his barber shop. Ed Ogle of Roanoke plays harmonica and guitar. His award-winning harmonica playing features both slow, lyrical melodies and fast dance tunes.

The band’s latest recording is called “Mountain Fling — Over the Edge,” and includes a mix of instrumentals and songs .

Upcoming Folk School performers New England Contra Dance Musicians (July 15) and Sparky and Rhonda Rucker (July 22). The Folk School concert schedule is available on the world wide web at http://www.folkschool.org. For further information call the Folk School at 828-837-2775 or 1-800-FOLK-SCH.

Folkmoot Festival 2011 Spans 12 Counties

The 2011 Folkmoot Festival will take place July 21 – 31 throughout twelve counties in Western North Carolina with new performances in Hickory, NC and Jonesborough, TN (Home of the National Storytelling Festival). Festival director Karen Babcock explains, “It has long been a Folkmoot organization goal to expand performances into as many communities as possible, although most occur in Haywood County.” Folkmoot performances can be seen in 16 cities, including Asheville, Hendersonville, Franklin, Burnsville, Maggie Valley and Waynesville.

In this 28^th year of Folkmoot Festivals, the diversity of invited countries is especially notable. Dancers and musicians in colorful traditional costumes from the 10 countries of Trinidad, Croatia, Finland, Burundi, Puerto Rico, China, Guadeloupe, Turkey, Italy and the USA are expected to appear in over 70 performances during the two-week event. Babcock explains, “It’s also important to share our unique American culture with the world. That is why we have included a group from the USA who will live and perform with the nine international groups for the entire Festival.”

These world ambassadors travel to North Carolina for two weeks of entertainment, cultural exchange and education–It is their intent to share cultural traditions with the broadest audiences, partly to ensure these traditions are not lost in our fast-paced modern world.  Festivals like Folkmoot do not provide payment to the groups for their performances. Instead, all expenses are covered by the Festival, from the group’s arrival at a nearby international airport to their departure from the same airport two weeks later. Folkmoot staff will prepare 20,000 meals for our guests and the familiar white “Activity Buses” will travel more than 10,000 miles transporting groups to performances.

While there are over 300 international festivals like Folkmoot USA across the globe, Folkmoot is one of only two similar international festivals in the United States. Folkmoot was designated North Carolina’s Official International Festival by Senate Bill #840 and has been “One of the Top Twenty Events in the Southeast” by the Southeast Tourism Society for 21 years. Folkmoot USA attracts 100,000 visitors to Western North Carolina, helping local communities receive more than 4 million tourism dollars each year.

A full performance schedule can be found on the organization website: www.FolkmootUSA.org. The Parade of Nations is scheduled for Friday, July 22 from the historic Courthouse to Main Street in Waynesville. The Folkmoot 5K Run/Walk & Kid’s Fun Run (co-sponsored with Waynesville Parks & Recreation and Haywood County Parks & Recreation) will be held Saturday, July 23 in front of the Folkmoot Friendship Center. To register for the 5K, email Ben Taylor, bataylor3@catamount.wcu.edu or call 877-FolkUSA (877-365-5872).

Haywood County Arts Council’s International Festival Day takes place on Saturday, July 30, and features Folkmoot performers on stages throughout the day. In addition to 21 ticketed public performances, Folkmoot dancers and musicians are featured at many other private and charitable performances during the two-week Folkmoot Festival.

For more information, to purchase tickets or to see a schedule of 2011 performances and sponsors, go to www.FolkmootUSA.org or call 877-FolkUSA (877-365-5872). New! Like us on Facebook— check out our new page: “Folkmoot USA, The “Official” North Carolina International Folk Festival.” Folkmoot USA is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization that relies upon donations, sponsorships, memberships, ticket sales and grants to hold the Folkmoot Festival each year and is based in Waynesville, NC.

The Folkmoot Festival is proud to attract many important sponsors each year. In 2011, the presenting sponsor is Evergreen Packaging. We are thankful to announce the following companies are also supporting the Festival: HomeTrust Bank, Med West—Carolinas Healthcare, Haywood Vocational Opportunities, Champion Credit Union, Pepsi of Hickory, Progress Energy, Old Town Bank, Volvo, Mast General Store, United Community Bank, Best Western Smoky Mountain Inn, Kanini’s Catering, The Waynesville Inn, Rotary International, Town of Waynesville, Smoky Mountain News, Smoky Mountain Living, WNC Magazine, Clear Channel, WCQS-88.1 FM and WNCW-88.7 FM

Wonderful Gospel sounds will fill the Hiawassee Square this Saturday, July 2 from 6-8 p.m. Emceeing the evening…and singing Gospel as well, Joan Whitaker from Andrews, North Carolina, has organized a fabulous line-up of Gospel and Bluegrass performers.

The Weaver Believers is a 10 member family, originally from Helen, Georgia, but now full-time on the road! They perform world-wide, with the kids playing eight different instruments and singing Bluegrass songs!

Rounding out the evening with inspiring Gospel vocals are: Tim Jameson from Chatanooga , Tennessee; Jeff Eberhart from Dallas, Georgia; and Sheila Reed, from Dalton, Georgia. This should prove to be an inspirational and upbeat evening of music!

So bring your lawn chair or blanket, your family and friends, and the family pet too(on a leash, please….and with clean-up equipment!) Buy a delicious BBQ plate or sandwich, and order an Enchanted Music on the Square t-shirt! Concert schedules are available as well. These free concerts are presented by the OTM Committee, a non-profit group founded by the late Eugene Jakel and his dear friend, JoAnne Leone and a few dedicated volunteers. Call 706-897-3429 after 5 p.m. Saturday to see if weather threatens to cancel the show.

“South Pacific” will be presented at the Peacock Playhouse July 28-31 & August 4-7

Licklog Players will present Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Pulitzer Prizewinning musical “South

Pacific”, directed by Nancy Davis with musical direction by Paul Dyer, July 28-31 and August 4-7, at the

Peacock Playhouse in Hayesville.  Performances will be Thursday through Saturday at 8p.m. and Sunday

at 2:30 p.m.

Set on a tropical island during World War II, the musical tells the sweeping romantic story of two

couples – US Navy nurse Nellie Forbush (Beth Coffey) and French plantation owner Emile de Becque

(Cameron LeJeune) and Navy Airman Joe Cable (Sam Lusty and Will Skelton) and a young local native

girl Liat (newcomer Hannah Adam) – and how their happiness is threatened by the realities of war and by

their own prejudices.  “The genius of “South Pacific” is this:  it turns out to be a musical which was both

deeply rooted in its time and feels timeless today,” wrote Ted Chaplin, president of the Rodgers &

Hammerstein Organization, on the 50th anniversary of the musical.  Considered by many the finest

musical ever written, the score’s songs include such classics as “Some Enchanted Evening,” “I’m Gonna

Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair,” “Younger Than Springtime,” “Bali Ha’i,” “There Is Nothing Like

A Dame,” “This Nearly Was Mine” and “A Wonderful Guy.”

Other supporting characters include: Bloody Mary (Karen Zangara), Luther Billis (Karl

Snow), Stewpot (Jesse Somervell), Professor (Duke Pangborn), Henry (Jeremy Bonilla), Emile’s

children – Ngana (Hannah Whitehead and Savannah Muron) and Jerome (John-Vincent Muron).  Sailors,

marines, seabees and nurses will be played by Tom Payne, Michael Lindsey, Julia Lindsey, Trevor

Barber, Lisa Maliska, Trevor Chimenti, Conrad Chimenti, Kathy Heyer, Raven Heyer, Hannah Boone,

Emma Leatherwood, Alexa Lichatz, Debbi Timson, Kristina Lundberg, Wesley Stephens and Brittany

Ledford.

Tickets go on sale July 18th.  General admission tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for

students.  Tickets are available at the Peacock Playhouse box office Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2

p.m. and one hour prior to the performance.  For more information call 828-389-8632 or visit us at

www.licklogplayers.org.

Civil War film at Murphy Library

By Julie Chautin

Contributing Writer

The music by James Horner is reason enough to see the next movie at the Murphy Library.  He teams up with the Boys Choir of Harlem to touch our emotions about war, loss, and patriotism.

This Thursday as part of the war’s 150^th anniversary the library is showing the Academy Award-winning Civil War film that honors both black and white soldiers.  Starring Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman.  Screenings are at 3:15 p.m. and 6 p.m. It is rated R for violence and runs 122 minutes.

They were the 600 men of the 54th Massachusetts, among the first regiments in the Union Army of all black soldiers under commanders who were white.  Their patriotism was colorblind.  Call 837-2417 for details and go to www.friendsofmurphylibrary.wordpress.com to see the trailer.

Union County Farmer’s Market Third Annual Community Flower Show

It’s not too early to start thinking about entering the Union County Farmer’s Market Community Flower Show.  This year’s show is scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday, August 18^th through August 20^th at the Haralson Memorial Civic Center in Blairsville.  There is no charge to display your plants and there is no admission charge.  Residents of Union, Fannin, Towns, White and Lumpkin counties in Georgia and Cherokee and Clay counties in North Carolina are invited to bring your blooming plants, foliage plants, native plants, container plantings, hanging baskets and bonsai to be displayed.  There is also a Youth Division with three Sections, preschool through age 7, age 8 through age 12 and age 13 through high school.

We will be registering exhibits on Thursday, August 18^th beginning at 12 noon to 3:00 p.m.  Judging will take place from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on August 18^th.  There are no cash prizes but there will be first place, second place and third place winners in all classes.  The show will be open to the public for the community to admire the beautiful displays on Friday, August 19^th from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and Saturday, August 20^th from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.  Contestants are asked to pick up their entries on Saturday, August 20^th, from 2:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.  In addition to the plant displays, there will also be numerous educational exhibits on display.

The Union County Farmer’s Market Community Flower Show is sponsored by the Farmer’s Market Committee, the Union County Commissioner’s Office, the Union County Extension Office, local garden clubs and the Towns-Union Master Gardener Group.  Watch your newspaper for upcoming articles about the flower show.  Hopefully you will consider entering one or more exhibits at your Union County Farmer’s Market Community Flower Show.  For more information, you may contact Jo Anne Allen at (706) 400-8139 or Barbara Baumgardner at (706) 835-2812 or email you questions to UCFlowerShow@aol.com.

Jerry and Paul Wilson’s Band

Lead by patriarch, Jerry Wilson, this bed specializes in harmony and acoustic guitar on traditional and sacred songs of Appalachia and old-time country music. Jerry sang gospel music with his brother Ray throughout the southeast for around 40 years, winning the NC Heritage Award in 1998 and recording several albums. In that band, Jerry sang tenor, penned gospel songs, and played rhythm guitar—with his younger brother singing lead. These days, Jerry’s son, Paul, provides the lead vocal. The group is further comprised of Jerry’s daughter, Tipper Pressley, on bass guitar, grandson, Ben Wilson, on guitar, and Jerry’s granddaughters, Katie and Corrie Pressley, on vocals. The group has experienced a strong resurgence over the past two years due in large part to Tipper’s online blog about all things Appalachian, www.blindpigandtheacorn.com. The site features a spot called “pickin’ in the kitchen.” Tipper uploads videos of the band’s music to her blog, YouTube, Facebook, and more, entertaining fans around the world everyday.