|
A Celebration of Craft & Music
Saturday • Sept. 17, 2011 • 10a-4:30p
Sparta, North Carolina
The 2011 Mountain Heritage Festival was a great success despite some morning rain. Go to our Facebook page to see scads of photos and check back next summer for information on the 2012 Festival on Saturday, Sept. 15.  Rugby, Virginia, music legend Wayne Henderson returns from the 2010 Mountain Heritage Festival to headline the festival's North Stage. Henderson's top-notch finger-picking is a source of great pleasure and pride to his friends and neighbors in Grayson County, Virginia. His guitar playing has also been enjoyed at Carnegie Hall, in three national tours of "Masters of the Steel-String Guitar", and in seven nations in Asia. Henderson is also a luthier of great renown. Recognized in 1995 by the National Endowment for the Arts, he produces about 20 instruments a year, mostly guitars and a few mandolins. Good friend Doc Watson, who owns a Henderson mandolin, said, "That Henderson mandolin is as good as any I've had my hands on. And that's saying a lot, because I've picked up some good ones."
He will be joined on stage by Helen White, longtime performing partner, and fiddler and folk singer. Helen has toured extensively with Wayne in the U.S. and Europe. Both are frequent instructors at major traditional music camps across the country. White is known for starting the Junior Appalachian Musician Program at Sparta Elementary School. She is now regional director serving more than a dozen JAM programs in North Carolina and Virginia.
 With a voice compared to Patsy Cline you'll be kicking up your heals to the rockabilly, country and blues sound of Kelley and the Cowboys for their premier appearance at the Mountain Heritage Festival. With Kelley Breiding's mesmerizing vocals and barn burner attitude, the swinging tag team of Ray Wood on guitar and Joel Savoy onfiddle, thrilling feats from Nick McMillian on the upright bass, and Matt Sircely on mandolin and Glenn Fields on drums, it's a real dream for those who are out to scoot their boots.
 The Rise and Shine Band is the house band at the Alleghany Jubilee, located in the former Spartan Theater on Sparta’s Main Street, and is a regular on the Mountain Heritage Stage. They accompany the contestants on the fames Possum Queen Contest that closes out the festival. One of the area’s premier bluegrass bands, it draws talent from Sparta and the surrounding mountain communities. The band is led by Ernest Joines, mandolin, and includes: Billy Dancy, banjo; Wade Petty, fiddle; Kermit Pruitt, bass; Charlie Edwards, vocals and guitar; and Charlie Kinzer, guitar.
The South Stage features are gospel groups including Exit Up (pictured) above and Priority Blue, two groups from Sparta Cornerstone Christian Fellowship; Randy Absher; the Pleasant Grove
 The Foothill Cloggers (pictured) of North Wilkesboro and Jubilee Dancers will also entertain. The schedule is as follows:
North Stage
10:00 a.m. VFW Color Guard
10:30 Youth Showcase (JAM students)
11:10 Wayne Henderson & Helen White
11:50 Instrument makers Kevin Fore & Joe Thrift
12:30 p.m. Foothill Cloggers
1:00 Kelley and the Cowboys
1:50 Foothill Cloggers
2:20 Kelley and the Cowboys
3:10 Jubilee Dancers
3:40 Rise and Shine Band
4:00 Possum Queen Contest
South Stage
10:00 a.m. Pleasant Grove Singers
11:00 Randy Absher
12:00 Priority Blue
1:00 p.m. DV8 Drama
2:00 Exit Up
|
 |
Video of Kelley and the Cowboys performing "I got a Lot of Rhythm in My Soul." Kelley and boys were a real crowd pleaser at the festival. More MHF videos.
Artist Spotlight: Sometimes small beginnings grow beyond imagination. Such was the case with David Hedrick, one of around 100 craft and food vendors slated for the Mountain Heritage Festival. Hedrick, a retired accountant from High Point, NC, who carves wood and leather. It is no disrespect to the artful wooden toys he creates to say that his leatherwork stands far above the ordinary. Some are simple, but the more complex can't be done justice by a photo. Leather is sculpted out from the background to create a third dimension. Shavings of small layers of leather hang from the carving, still attached by a few millimeters and carved into feathers. Such detail in a solid unbroken square of leather speaks to untold hours of intricate, detailed work.
It is a fascination that began 49 years ago. "I saw a little ad in a magazin for a Tandy leather kit," he recalls. "And I enjoyed it more and more." Since his retirement and move to Alleghany County in 2007, Hedrick has been able to devote his full attention to his art. This is his sixth year at the Mountain Heritage Festival. In addition to the Festival, his work is on display and for sale in Sparta at Alleghany Arts and Crafts, 36 North Main St.(336-372-1776); Blue Ridge Gallery, 103 Gallery Lane (336-372-1711); and in his shop at Blue Ridge Woodcrafters, 593 Andrews Ridge Road (336-372-1710).
|