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Today’s Email Announcements

Meeting Notice for the North Carolina Native Plant Society

It’s that time for the North Carolina Native Plant Society’s monthly meeting soon. It will be held on Wednesday, March 8th (Second Wednesday) at the Holiday Inn Express, 1943 Blowing Rock Road in Boone. The meeting room will open at 6:30 and the meeting will start at 7:00.

The speaker for March is Bill Jones. Bill is President and Founder of Carolina Native Nursery and is located in Burnsville, N.C. in the Southern Appalachian Mountains north of Asheville. Established in 2003, Carolina Native grows close to 100 species of eastern U.S. native shrubs. They specialize in rhododendrons, azaleas, and Mt. Laurels indigenous to the Southern Appalachian mountains that they grow from seed. His presentation will be Saving the Earth One Plant at a Time.” It will be about the importance of using native plants in the landscape for our planet and for the well being of the birds, bees and everything else whose existence is intricately tied to native plants.

A reminder about winter weather: If the Watauga County schools are closed for any part of the day on our meeting date the meeting will be cancelled for that month!

 

Board of Trustees of Appalachian State University Meeting

The Board of Trustees of Appalachian State University will meet for a retreat session on Friday, March 10, 2017, at the Paragon Bank Boardroom, located at 3535 Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh, North Carolina. The retreat will be held according to the following schedule and in order to hear presentations on the following topics:

Friday, March 10
9 a.m. – 4 p.m.    Board of Trustees
Paragon Bank Boardroom

Topics:                  Chancellor’s Update
Academic Affairs Update
University Advancement Update
Business Affairs Update

 

On the Same Page Literary Festival Announces Opening of 2017 Writer’s Competition

Ashe County’s On the Same Page Literary Festival, celebrating ten years of bringing the best in literary arts to the region, has opened the Festival’s Page Crafter’s writing competition. In association with the 2017 Festival, which will take placeSeptember 12-16, in Ashe County, NC, the Page Crafter’s Prize will recognize a single writer in any genre, fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. This year’s prizewinner will receive $500 and the opportunity to read their work during the On the Same PageLiterary Festival’s “Telling Stories Live” event on Friday evening, September 15.

The Page Crafter’s competition is designed to encourage and acknowledge emerging writers and to reinforce the On the Same PageLiterary Festival’s commitment of celebrating the creation of new work. For this 10th Anniversary Festival contest, the Page Crafter writing theme is RED LETTER DAY.

The judge for the 2017 Page Crafter Award is Joseph Bathanti, former poet laureate of North Carolina, novelist, essayist, and teacher.

The competition opens immediately. The deadline for submissions is July 21, 2017, (postmarked snail mail or email submissions) and winners will be notified by August 31. Interested writers may see the Festival’s website, www.onthesamepagefestival.org, which provides further details, including format requirements for the blind-copy submission process, or call the Ashe County Arts Center at 336/846-ARTS. Only previously unpublished entries qualify. The writer will retain all rights to submitted works and need not be present to win.

 

MerleFest 2017 Continues Popular Acoustic Kids Showcase, Apr. 27-30

MerleFest, presented by Window World and slated for April 27-April 30, 2017, is pleased to announce the return of the Acoustic Kids Showcases to the 2017 festival.

The Acoustic Kids Showcases allow the next generation of pickers and singers and other traditional-style performers to highlight their talents for music fans at the four-day festival. Young pickers and singers are encouraged to apply before the March 21 deadline in order to perform during the showcases.

These showcases, which played to standing-room-only crowds last year, reflect an elevation and encouragement of talented young performers that have been part of the festival from its early days. Hosted by performer and beloved MerleFest veteran Andy May, the showcases provide an opportunity for young performers through age 16 to perform in a supportive environment.

Participants selected will be notified by April 11. Selection is not based on how advanced a child’s performance might be, but rather it is based on a child’s confidence in performing at his or her level. In fact, beginners are encouraged to apply.

Additional instructions and details about the Acoustic Kids Showcases, may be found at http://andymay.com/acoustic-kids/application-instructions/. You may apply online or download a printable application at http://andymay.com/acoustic-kids-application-merlefest/.

The Acoustic Kids Showcases are held on Friday and Saturday on the Austin Stage, Dance Stage and Mayes Pit. (Program pocket schedule has specific times.) Additionally, from among this year’s pool of applicants, several performers will be chosen for a special “Acoustic Kids Ambassadors” performance hosted by Andy May on the Cabin Stage Saturday evening.

Andy May is well known to MerleFest fans as a singer, songwriter, guitarist, mandolinist, producer, educator and visual artist. His Acoustic Kids Showcases have given many hundreds of young performers supportive performance opportunities for over 25 years.

The MerleFest 2017 mobile app and stage schedules will be available on March 1. The app is being offered at no charge to users and features the 2017 lineup and stage schedules, artist biographies, map, announcements, social media links and more. The app allows users to plan for their entire MerleFest experience. Users who currently have the MerleFest mobile app will receive a prompt on their phones to download the 2017 version of the app. The app is compatible with Android and iOS platforms. A bonus for MerleFest fans: once downloaded, the app will be fully functional without having connection to phone service.

The current MerleFest 2017 lineup and stage schedules will be available March 1 on the mobile app and online at MerleFest.org/lineup.

 

Town of Hudson Annual Butterfly Festival, May 6

The Town of Hudson is pleased to announce that they will once again be hosting the Annual Hudson Butterfly Festival on Saturday, May 6th from 9 am ’til 6 pm.  There will also be a “Cruise In” for all types of automobiles in downtown Hudson on Friday, May 5th from 5pm ’til 8pm which is the “Kickoff” event.
 
This year’s festivals looks to be one of the largest on record.  Last year’s event brought in estimates crowds of between 12,000-14,000 people.  The festival features great food, antiques, crafts, art & pottery of all types plus much, much more.  There will be day long entertainment with the culmination ending up in the Hickman Windmill Park and a concert from 6pm ’til 8pm…band to be announced later.
 
The town is looking for craft, art, businesses, civic groups, churches, political groups & more who would like to have a booth at the festival.  Booth spaces are approximately 10 x 10 feet in size and cost $75 for a non-powered booth and $100 for a powered booth(limited availability).  For more information or applications, please visit their website at:  http://www.ncbutterflyfest.com/ or call 828-726-1009.  In case of inclement weather, a rain date has been set for Saturday, May 13th.
 
The Hudson Butterfly Festival is Caldwell County’s oldest town festival with a 50 year history and is one of the largest festivals in Caldwell County.
Contact Info:
Bill Warren-Town of Hudson
545 Main St.
Hudson, NC 28638