by Madison Fisler Lewis
Aug. 8, 2014. The High Country has so many exciting events to offer its community and visitors, especially on summer weekends! 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
To check out this week’s movie trailers and our weekly movie review of Guardians of the Galaxy, click here.
Aladdin Jr.: The Disney classic Aladdin comes to live on a smaller scale Aug. 7-9. BeanStalk Community Theatre will present Aladdin Jr. at the Harvest House Performing Arts Venue located at 247 Boone Heights Dr. between Boone Bowling Alley and Goodwill. Aladdin Jr. is based on the screenplay originally written by Ron Celments, John Musker, Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio. For more information about this event click here.
Spamalot: After a great run for “A Grand Night for Singing,” Lees-McRae Summer Theatre presents the third and final installment in the three-fold lineup of great professional productions for summer 2014. Aug. 6-10, Lees-McRae Summer Theatre will present Monty Python’s Spamalot directed by Dr. Janet Barton Speer. Spamalot, a production that is “lovingly ripped off from the motion picture ‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail,’” is a hilarious rendition of the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. For more information about this event click here.
Friday, Aug. 8
Concerts at the Jones House: On Friday, Aug. 8, the Jones House presents Never Too Late Bluegrass and Williams & Company beginning at 5 p.m. The Jones House Community and Cultural Center presents a free outdoor concert every Friday night from June 6-Sept. 12. The Jones House is located at 604 West King St. in downtown Boone. For more information, call 828-268-6280.
Music on the Lawn: On Friday, Aug. 8, the Best Cellar presents Drive South. The Best Cellar hosts a free outdoor concert each Friday night through the summer, and is located at 203 Sunset Dr. in Blowing Rock. For more information, call 828-295-9703.
Music in the Valle: Valle Crucis Community Park will host Music in the Valle on Friday, Aug. 8 featuring The Major Sevens. The concert will take place at Valle Crucis Community Park located at 2892 Broadstone Rd. in Valle Crucis starting at 7 p.m. For more information about this event, call 828-963-9239.
Wilkesboro Weekly Open Air Market: The Open Air Market is scheduled May 2 through September 19, 2014 on a weekly basis. The regular market is open every Friday from 4:00-8:00 pm. The vendor selling are farmers with locally grown fruits, vegetables, plants and local art & craft vendors, baked goods, plus many other vendors. This market will take place in the town owned parking lot across from the 50’s Restaurant and Royall’s Framing on Main Street in downtown Wilkesboro.
Yoga at Grandfather Mountain: Grandfather Mountain interpretive ranger Marshall Gilbert will lead an outdoor yoga session at MacRae Meadows beneath the towering peaks of Grandfather Mountain.
Saturday, Aug. 9
Appalachian Rollergirls Bout: Most recently, your Appalachian Rollergirls traveled to Fayetteville, N.C. to take on Rogue Rollergirls. Earlier in the season, ARG lost to them by 14 points. However, this time they brought home a win with a score of 114-154. Currently, ARG holds 2 wins and 3 losses. See the action for yourself on Saturday, Aug. 9, at the George M. Holmes Convocation Center on Appalachian State University’s campus. Appalachian Rollergirls v. Carolina Bootleggers of Raleigh will begin at 6 p.m. For more information about this event click here.
Ola Bella Reed Music Festival: Bluegrass music legends Jerry McCoury, Bobby Hicks, and Terry Baucom perform on stage together for the first time at the 9th Annual Ola Belle Reed Music Festival in Lansing. They will be joined by friends including Ola Belle’s son, David Reed, along with Eric Hardin of the Troubadors. The performance begins 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 9, at the Lansing Creeper Trail Park stage in Lansing. For more information about this event click here.
Back to School Festival: The second annual Watauga County Back to School Festival will be held on Aug. 9 to help Watauga County School children get ready for the first day of school. The festival, which is a joint effort between Quiet Givers, The Children’s Council, Western Youth Network, Hospitality House, Women’s Fund of the Blue Ridge, Appalachian District Health Department and Watauga County Schools will take place at the Watauga County High School Gym from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. For more information about this event click here.
Mountain Home Music: On Saturday, Aug. 9, the Dixie Dawn Band brings another of their favorite “theme” shows to Boone for Joe Shannon’s Mountain Home Music series. This annual, long anticipated Dixie Dawn concert will be presented at the Harvest House Performing Arts Venue beginning at 7:30 p.m. The show this year is “The Day The Outlaws Came to Town.” For more information about this event click here.
Coffee Talk: The Art Cellar Gallery Summer Coffee Talk series continues this week with well known Charlotte painter, Margaret Salisbury. Salisbury will be in the gallery Saturday, Aug. 9 from 10 a.m. until noon to discuss her work. The popular coffee talk series features a different gallery artist each Saturday morning through the end of August. This will make for a pleasant morning to meet the artists, listen to a short talk, ask questions and learn more about the artist, their inspiration and techniques. For more information about this event please click here.
Jim Greene Memorial Concert: The third annual Jim Greene Memorial Concert will be held at Avery County High School Gym from 11:30-3 p.m. Admission for the event is free, but there will be a barbecue supper asking $8 donation per plate. The event will feature Darin and Brooke Aldridge, Ernie Penley, His Mercies, Purpose Quartet, Elvis (John Greene) and more. Bring your lawn chair and enjoy a great day of fellowship, food, Gospel and bluegrass. For more information call 828-733-0188.
John E. Batchelor Visits Watauga Library: On Saturday, Aug. 9 at 3 p.m., join John E. Batchelor for a special presentation and book signing featuring his book “Chefs of the Mountains: Restaurants and Recipes from Western North Carolina.” All are welcome. The event will be held in the meeting room at the Watauga County Library located at 140 Queen St. in downtown Boone.
Lawnmower Race: The Rotary Club of North Wilkesboro will host the second lawnmower race of the season on Saturday, Aug. 9 at Worth Evan Tomlinson Rotary Park in North Wilkesboro. The event is a fundraiser for the club. The Rotary Fairgrounds is located beside West Park off D Street in North Wilkesboro. Gates open at 1 p.m. Inspection is from 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Practice begins at 4:30 p.m. and racing starts at 6 p.m. Come enjoy the best lawnmower racing around. The May 31 race was featured on the TV show Carl White’s Life in the Carolina. Admission to the event is $7 with children 5 and under admitted for free. This is a Carolina Mower Racing Association event. Food vendors will be on site. For more information call Mike Staley at 336-902-7052.
Intro to Buddhism: The Appalachian Dharma & Meditation Center (ADMC) is offering a free talk on an introduction to Buddhism on Saturday, Aug. 9 from 1-3 p.m. This is an opportunity for anyone who has ever been interested in discovering more about Buddhism to learn about the practice and the Dharma Center in an open and welcoming environment. The session will cover Buddha’s life, his basic philosophy and his prescription for overcoming suffering in our lives.
Fall of the Mighty Giants: American Chestnut trees once dominated the landscape. Like the chestnuts, the hemlock trees are in decline. These prominent trees played an important role in the forests of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Now they are either gone or diminishing. Join a ranger at 7 p.m. at Linville Falls Campground Amphitheater and learn about these changes to the makeup of the forests surrounding the Blue Ridge Parkway and its effects on not just plants but every living thing.
Watauga County Farmers’ Market: Join us for the 40th anniversary season of Watauga County Farmers’ Market! The farmers’ market has been Boone’s Town Square since 1974. The Farmers Market takes place in the Horn in the West parking lot starting at 8 a.m.
Grandfather Mountain Sunset Opportunity: Grandfather Mountain’s sunrise and sunset opportunities are back by popular demand! Photographers and sightseers can take advantage of this rare opportunity to marvel at the nearly 360-degree views available from Grandfather Mountain’s peaks as the sun rises and sets.
Elk Knob Volunteer Trail Work Day: Warmer weather has finally returned along with the Volunteer Trail Work Days at Elk Knob State Park. Every Saturday beginning April 5 and running through the middle of November (except June 28 and Sept. 13), staff and volunteers will meet at the Summit Trailhead at 9 a.m. and work until approximately 3:30 p.m., weather permitting. Tools are provided but volunteers should wear close-toed shoes and bring work gloves, lunch and water. Most of the time will be spent building our new one mile loop trail, the Beech Tree Trail, although we may include some repair work on the Summit Trail. If you would like to be involved in a fulfilling project that will fill you with a well-deserved sense of pride, then join us on Saturdays at Elk Knob State Park. For more information please call 828-297-7261.
Tarheel Children’s Tale at Horn in the West: Tarheel Tales by Tom Behm is an audience participation play adapted from Richard Chase’s The Jack Tales and Grandfather Tales, stories that have delighted generations of children!
Sunday, Aug. 10
Groovy Nights: Once again, the Blowing Rock Community Foundation will present the annual Groovy Nights fundraiser starting Sunday, Aug. 10. The sixth annual Groovy Nights event will take place on Sunday, Aug. 10, Tuesday, Aug. 12 and Friday, Aug. 15. The shows will take place at the Blowing Rock Country Club and funds raised will benefit the Blowing Rock Community Foundation. Tickets for the event are $35, and the ticket purchase is tax deductible. For more information about this event click here.
Music on the Veranda: On Sunday, Aug. 10, the Green Park Inn’s Music on the Veranda will present Mountain Radio starting at 5 p.m. For more information about this event, call 828-414-9230.
Sunday Jazz Brunch: On Sunday, Aug. 10, Canyons in Blowing Rock will host the weekly Sunday Jazz Brunch with Todd Wright. Starting at 11 a.m., the event will feature live jazz music at Canyons located at 8960 Valley Blvd. in Blowing Rock. For more information about this event, call 828-295-7661.
Alpen Summer Concert: On Sunday, Aug. 10 starting at 5 p.m., Beech Alpen Inn will host the weekly Alpen Inn Summer Concert. The event will be held at the Beech Alpen Inn Pavilion located at 700 Beech Mountain Parkway in Beech Mountain. For more information about this event, call 828-387-2252.
Martha Guy Hall of Legends: Join us as we celebrate this year’s inductees into the Hall of Legends! Buy your tickets at multiple locations: the YMCA, the Board of Education, The Avery County Museum and the Avery Chamber of Commerce. Tickets are on sale now for $20 in advance or $25 on the day of the event. Dinner will be provided. This year’s inductees include: Don Baker for Education, Roy Krege for Stewardship and Cindy Peters for Heritage. The event will take place on Aug. 10 at 2 p.m. at the Hugh Chapman Center for Families at the Williams YMCA of Avery County located at 319 Hospital Drive in Linville.
From Caterpillar to Butterfly: What kind of butterflies can you see at Elk Knob State Park? On Sunday, August 10 at 2 pm, we will discuss the metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly and view some pictures, through PowerPoint, of the butterflies and caterpillars that call this park home. We will discuss the anatomy of the insects and then we will venture out and see what is flying in the field of wildflowers at the entrance gate. Please meet at the Park Office.