Compiled by Madison V. Fisler
July 5, 2013. The High Country has so many exciting events to offer its community and visitors, especially in the summer months. 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.
Friday, July 5
Blowing Rock 4th of July Festivities: Join the Town of Blowing Rock for our annual festival and small-town parade! Enjoy festivities all weekend long, with free entertainment, music and games. 440th Army Reserve Band on Friday, July 5. Memorial Park, 3-6pm. Free!
Wilkesboro’s Weekly Open Air Market: Wilkesboro hosts a weekly Open Air Market on West Main Street in the heart of historic downtown, offering farm-fresh fruits, vegetables and plants, as well as handmade crafts. The market’s focus is on supporting and sustaining the local farm and artisan community. The market takes place every Friday from 4 to 8 p.m., from April 19 through Oct. 18. Admission is free. The town of Wilkesboro will also provide an open mike opportunity during the regular Open Air Market Fridays for local and regional musicians. Open mike signups will be available weekly April through October, not including the Third Friday Events, which are held April through August. To sign up, or for more information, contact Andrew Carlton at Wilkesboro Town Hall at (336) 838-3951.
First Friday Date Nights at Timberlake’s Restaurant: Free childcare while dining in Timberlake’s restaurant. Free for up to 2 children ages 3-12 per couple. Reservations for Dinner and Childcare require a 24-hour advance notice: 828-295-5505.
Art Crawl: First Friday Art Crawl is back for the July Edition. Check the Art Crawl Round Up for details!
Concerts at the Jones House: Concerts at the Jones House – Every Friday in downtown Boone. FREE! Bring your own chair or blanket. Concerts start at 5:00 p.m. This week’s concert features Soul Benefactor and Native Sons.
Christmas in July in West Jefferson: Christmas in July is a one full-day, and Friday night free-admission event featuring the very best in traditional mountain music and handmade crafts from throughout the Northwest Mountains of North Carolina. Nowhere else will you find such an excellent array of food, fun and festivities for the entire family than at Christmas in July! Join us Friday night, July 5 for some great live music and a variety of food vendors, then come again on Saturday for the full festival including juried crafts and children’s events.
Free movie night at Boone Healing Arts Center – “Touching the Void” – Touching the Void is a 2003 Docudrama based on the book of the same name by Joe Simpson. The film follows Simpson’s and Simon Yates’ disastrous and near fatal attempt to climb Siula Grande (6,344m) in the Cordillera Huayhuash in the Peruvian Andes in 1985. This movie is Rated R.
Newland Independence Day Parade and Fireworks: Parade, Civil War Re-enactment, Avery County Museum Heritage Events, Cruise in on Friday Night and a Variety of Craft and Food Vendors! Fireworks Friday, July 5th, 2013 Shag with the Tams in concert.
Storytelling Fridays – Riverside in Todd: Todd Stories: Railroad Days- Local People, Indian Languages, ghost stories, families, rocks & minerals, legends, etc. Some stories are almost “unbelievable”. Join us as we listen with intrigue to the gifted (& local!) storyteller, John Ashburn. “You’all come!”
Bluegrass at Todd General Store: Join us every Friday from late May until Thanksgiving and listen to a variety of live Bluegrass Acts. Dinner will be served at 6pm and music starts at 7pm. Come early to be sure you get a seat. The event is free but tips and donations for the band are appreciated. The Todd General Store is on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1914, the store was the last stop for the Western “Virginia Creeper” Railroad. A deli and grill compliment the store today. Storytelling can be heard most Tuesdays at 6pm. Local and regional artisans, authors and book signings also are present most Saturdays. The Todd General Store is located 10 miles south of West Jefferson or 11 miles north of Boone off Highway 194, overlooking the South Fork of the New River and located on Railroad Grade Road, one of the most scenic bike routes in North Carolina.
Summer Exhibition Celebration: The Turchin Center opens its doors for the Summer Exhibition Celebration on the first Friday of July as part of downtown Boone’s First Friday Art Crawl. Mark your calendars for the biggest summer art party in the High Country, where art lovers can “engage, discover and connect” through the arts! There is no better place to escape the summer heat than the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts. Enjoy food, live music and a cash bar as you wander through the center’s six galleries—each filled with a diverse mix of contemporary art from local, regional and international artists.
Music in the Valle: Join Valle Crucis Community Park as we celebrate the 11th anniversary season of Music in the Valle! All concerts begin at 7:00 and end at sundown. Admission is free, but a $5 donation per person to the park is recommended. Pets are welcome but must be leashed. There is absolutely no smoking allowed in the park. Bring a picnic, a blanket or chairs, and enjoy!
Chicago – Lees-McRae Summer Theater: In roaring twenties Chicago, chorine Roxie Hart murders a faithless lover and convinces her hapless husband Amos to take the rap…until he finds out he’s been duped and turns on Roxie. Convicted and sent to death row, Roxie and another “Merry Murderess” Velma Kelly, vie for the spotlight and the headlines, ultimately joining forces in search of the “American Dream”: fame, fortune and acquittal. This sharp edged satire features a dazzling score that sparked immortal staging by Bob Fosse.
Saturday, July 6
Watauga County Farmers’ Market: Every Saturday morning from May to November you will find quality locally farmed meats, fresh produce, artisan cheeses, dried and fresh cut flowers, hardy local plants, delicious edibles, and a wide variety of quality crafts. Join PHARMN at the Kids’ Corner for Mini-Markets where kids 12 and under can set up as vendors to sell their original arts and crafts, plants, produce and flowers they have helped grow.
Lenoir Downtown Farmers’ Market: The Lenoir Downtown Farmer’s Market is a local producers only market. All goods are grown, made, designed or processed by the market vendors. Our vendors include vintners, local grass fed beef and pork, free range eggs, goats milk soaps and lotions, honey, alpaca wools, various produce, local arts and crafts, heritage eggs, herbs and spices, both living and dried, Herbville and Crane teas and sauces, just to name a few. We also feature a variety of live music including Celtic music, classic acoustic rock, Jazz saxophone, and many more. Need another reason? Here it is. Our market often features a specific product from one of our vendors, and we’ll be grilling up something almost every weekend, chicken wings, 100% beef hot dogs, grilled corn, tomatoes, and asparagus! Don’t miss this chance to meet and support your local farmers and producers, and help keep North Carolina foods close to home.
Seven Devils Safety Fest: Craft Fair 10am-3pm BBQ Dinner 11am-3pm Adult-$8.00 Kids 12 and under-$5.00.
Liberty Parade in Todd: This event is free of charge. Elkland Art Center is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. All donations are gratefully appreciated.
Blowing Rock Fourth of July Festival and Parade: Join the Town of Blowing Rock for our annual festival and small-town parade! Enjoy festivities all weekend long, with free entertainment, music and games.
Music in the Park Featuring Laura Boosinger and Josh Goforth: Free Admission – Donations Welcome. Concerts in the Park in historic downtown Todd.
47th Annual Roasting of the Hog: One of the High Country’s premier Independence Day celebrations. The Beech Mountain Chamber of Commerce, Beech Mountain Tourism Development Authority, Town of Beech Mountain and the Beech Mountain Volunteer Fire Department host this event. After perfecting the seasonings and charcoal blends, our barbeque (pork and turkey) is arguably the best in the High Country. Advance tickets are $15.00 per person and $7.50 for children 7 and under. Tickets at the event are $20.00 per person and $10.00 for children 7 and under. Free parking with ticket purchase. Tickets go on sale mid May and will be available at Fred’s General Mercantile, Buckeye Recreation Center, Beech Mountain Club, Chamber Office or online at the Chamber website. Call the Beech Mountain Chamber of Commerce at (828) 387-9283 or (800) 468-5506 for additional details or visit their website at www.beechmountainchamber.com.
Beach Ball Dance Party: It’s a Beach Ball Dance Party…only mountain style! After the Christmas in July festival closes down on Saturday, July 6th, come on over to Museum of Ashe County History in Downtown Jefferson for some beach, swing and shag dancing from 7-10pm. $5 cover includes soda, finger foods and great entertainment. Hope you can join us, we plan to have a rocking good time! Proceeds benefit the Olde Towne Jefferson Business Association.
Outdoor Fireworks Concert-The Band Perry: Since releasing their self-titled debut album in 2010, The Band Perry has ascended to dizzying heights. Fronted by Kimberly Perry and rounded out by her younger brothers Neil and Reid, the band has notched a string of hit singles, including the quadruple-platinum and No. 1 Billboard Country chart hit If I Die Young, the platinum You Lie and the Country No. 1 single All Your Life. They’ve also enjoyed sold-out tours and a showering of honors, including multiple ACM, CMA and CMT Music awards, as well as Grammy, Teen Choice, AMA, ACA and Billboard Music award nominations — all of which has cemented the sibling trio as one of the hottest acts in recent history.
Sunday, July 6
Blowing Rock Fourth of July Festivities: Join the Town of Blowing Rock for our annual festival and small-town parade! Enjoy festivities all weekend long, with free entertainment, music and games.
Music on the Veranda: Come & Enjoy music from the Charlie Ellis Jazz Trio this Sunday! Pulic is Welcome!
Alpen Summer Concerts: Join in the summer fun at the Alpen Inn Pavilion on Beech Mountain for free outdoor concerts every Sunday from 5:00 to 9:00 (weather permitting), Memorial Day thru Labor Day. The event is free and open to the public. Bring a lawn chair, blanket, or use seating provided. Food and beverages are available for purchase on the lawn through the Alpen Inn Restaurant. Events are family and pet friendly (permitted on leash). Musical acts scheduled to perform: The Lucky Strikes, Shane Chalke BE Jazz, Smokey Breeze, The Mercury Dames, Sound Traveler, Echo Park, Klee Liles/Klee and Mike Show, Liz Hayes and the Common Threads, Amantha Mill. Music ranges from Jazz, Swing, Old-time Americana, Blues, Beach, Classic Rock-n-Roll and more.