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Weekend Roundup: Things to Do This Weekend in the High Country; Check ‘em Out, Make Plans Jan. 31-Feb. 2

by Madison V. Fisler

Jan. 31, 2014. On this beautiful winter weekend, the High Country has so many exciting events to offer its community and visitors. Check our site every Friday for something new and exciting to look forward to while you’re watching the hour hand crawl to 5 o’clock. Find live music down the street, explore a nearby town’s local secrets or try out a new square dancing class. There’s always something fun to do in the High Country.  

Weekend-Long Events

Check out this week’s movie trailers and our weekly movie review here.

Super Contra Weekend: The Historic Jonesborough Dance Society will hold a double header contra dance Saturday and Sunday Feb. 1-2 at the Jonesborough Visitors Center at 117 Boone Street. The featured band is ContraForce from Charleston. The calling team is David Winston and CHarlotte Crittenden. Admission to the dances is $7, $5 for HJDS members and $5 for full time students. All dances are smoke, alcohol and fragrance free. No partner is necessary and families and children are welcome.  Super Bowl Sunday brings the second event of the doubleheader.  It’s the 6th Annual “FOOT BALL”.  While the fans of the sport of NFL Football are gearing up for the championship game of the season, contra dancers will asked to enjoy a potluck dinner and an hour of waltz before the dance.   ContraForce will play waltz tunes from 1:30 to 2:30pm. The contra dance runs from 2:30-5:30pm with a 30-minute set of techno contra music and dance called by Chattanooga’s Vicki Herndon at 4:00pm.   Admission is $7 for all comers. “We’ve done this event last five years and had well over 100 dancers come for the afternoon dance” states event organizer David Wiley, President of the Historic Jonesborough Dance Society.  It’s a way to burn off a few calories before indulging in the snacks and treats at Super Bowl parties.  Wear your favorite FOOTBALL Jersey and get $1 off admission. Contra Force’s goal is to bring the rock influence to some folk tunes. This three-piece powerhouse packs the frenzied bowing arm of Andrae Raffield, the Donkey Kong slammin’ palms of drummer and saxophone player Joey Dorwart, and the acoustic and electric guitar onslaught of Jimi “Two Nails” Periano, into a hurricane of wild, energetic, kick-in-the-mouth contra music that will leave you gasping for breath and begging for more. Andrae and Joey were old hands at the contra band scene, having vetted themselves in local Charleston bands, Anna’s Bananas and Shady Groove, for over fifteen years before deciding to create ContraForce to explore their new and exciting vision for contra dance music.  To complete the rockin’ trinity, Jimi “Two Nails” Periano came on board to begin experimenting with “rocking out some fiddle tunes”.  This synergy quickly led to a period of this new band writing much of their material. Thus, a new band was born merging traditional contra music with psychedelic, surf rock and metal to create a new force: ContraForce!  With these crazy jokers at the wheel, there’s no telling where the dance will end up, but you can be sure that the hall will be filled with happy dancers as was the case when they played Jonesborough in December of 2012! The dance will conclude at 5:30pm in plenty of time for dancers to change back over to football fans as the Super Bowl Game between the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks kicks off at 6:25pm or attend a post-dance meal and social at the Vega’s Fiesta Restaurant at 1976 11-E Highway in Jonesborough. For more information, contact event organizer, David Wiley, at 423-534-8879 or visit www.historicjonesboroughdancesociety.org and the Historic Jonesborough Dance Society on FACEBOOK.

Todd Bush Exhibit in Linville: A new photography exhibit opened to the public in Linville this week, featuring photographer Todd Bush. A High Country local, Bush runs a commercial photography studio with his wife in Banner Elk, and has had his work published everywhere from book covers to magazines. Bush’s photography showcases the beautiful elements of the natural world that he hopes will inspire people to get out and enjoy the beauty of the High Country. To read the article on this event, click here

Friday, Jan. 31

River North Dance Chicago: On Friday, Jan. 31, River North Dance Chicago will premier at the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts as part of the Spring 2014 lineup of the annual Performing Arts Series. River North Dance Chicago will perform at 8 p.m., and tickets cost $20 for adults and $10 for students. For the complete article on this event, click here

Bubonik Funk at Murphy’s: Don’t let the name fool you, “Bubonik Funk” is anything but just a funk band. This eclectic quartet’s anticipated Jan. 31 return to Boone will not be one to miss. The band, hailing from Charlotte, is slated to play Murphy’s in Boone this Friday. To read the article on this event, click here

Saturday, Feb. 1

Ask a Lawyer Day: The Young Lawyers Division of the North Carolina Bar Association will host its annual Ask-A-Lawyer Day at 10 locations across the state on Saturday, Feb. 1. Citizens who wish to speak with an attorney free of charge are invited to do so on this date at the times and locations denoted below. Anyone with questions about specific legal issues or the legal system in general is urged to take advantage of this unique public service program. Lawyers will be on hand throughout the day to meet one-on-one face to face with interested individuals in Asheville, Burlington, Burnsville, Chapel Hill, Durham, Charlotte, Greensboro, Hickory, Wilmington and Winston-Salem. Ask-A-Lawyer Day is being coordinated by the YLD’s Civic Education and Community Relations Committee which is co-chaired by Stephen Cash, Nicholas Bakatsias and Jeremy Shrader.

Sunday, Feb. 2

Super Bowl Sunday: For many, it’s one of the most important days of the year. Super Bowl XLVIII will see the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks face off on Feb. 2 in Metlife Stadium in Rutherford, New Jersey. Thousands of fans will attend the game, but thousands more will be there in spirit, cheering for their favorite team from the comfort of their favorite watering hole. If you haven’t yet made plans for the biggest game in the entire professional football season, it’s not too late. Click here for a listing of Super Bowl events.

Special Olympics Winter Games: Appalachian Ski Mtn will play host to next week’s 2014 Special Olympics Southeast Winter Games – Alpine Skiing and Snowboarding Feb. 2-4. More than 150 Special Olympic athletes and coaches from all over North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and Georgia will participate in this very special event at Appalachian Ski Mtn. To read the article on this event, click here.  

Musical Performance: The Hayes School of Music’s Faculty Performance Series will feature trombonist Drew C. Leslie and tuba player Christopher J. Blaha in a Feb. 2 performance at Appalachian State University. Piano accompaniment will be provided by Bair Shagfaron, Susan Slingland and Keith McCutchen. The program begins at 2 p.m. in Broyhill Music Center’s Rosen Concert Hall. Admission is free. The program is comprised of “Fantasy for Trombone and Piano” by Sigismond Stojowski, “Suite No. 1 for Tuba and Piano, ‘Effie Suite’” by Alec Wilder, “Conversations for Trombone and Piano” by Raleigh Dailey, “My Funny Valentine,” by Lorenz Hart and Richard Rogers, “Sonata for Trombone and Piano” by George Frederik McKay, “Sonate fur Tuba and Klavier” by Paul Hindemith and “Silent Streets” by David Uber.