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Blowing Rock Chamber Presented Another Beautiful Symphony by the Lake Concert on Friday

 

 

The symphony orchestra performed several well known pieces, including songs from the Sound of Music.

 

By Elly Murray—Photos by Ken Ketchie

The Symphony at the Lake at Chetola is celebrating another successful year of music and mountain appreciation. Their theme of “Colors of the Mountains” was taken up by the tents participating in the annual competition.

The theme was also represented by the symphony, who selected and played pieces that demonstrated the beauty and colors of the mountains. 

Karyn Herterich of Serves You Right!, a zany little shop in Downtown Blowing Rock, had an impressive tent that had five sub-themes under the theme of “Colors of the Mountain.” The themes included the four seasons and fog, and several of Karen’s friends dressed up in amazing costumes. 

With all the decorations and costumes, the Herterich tent won in the category of Social. In the category of Business, the High Country Breast Cancer TDA won for their support of an extremely important cause—and maybe a little bit for their delicious cupcakes.

Sarah Groff of the Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce thought the event was, “fantastic. It went really smoothly, we had a great turnout, and the whole thing was fantastic.”

She addd that, “The firework show was amazing, it was one of the best fireworks shows I’ve seen in a while. And I’m from Orlando, so I see a lot.”

Harrison Herbst, the Office Manager at the Blowing Rcok Chamber of Commerce, said that, “I thought the fireworks were nice, seemed that everything ran smoothly, and it seemed that people were enjoying themselves, so that’s really all that we can ask for.”

If you missed the Symphony this year, be sure to get your tickets for next year’s way ahead of time! The amount of people that come out to celebrate and listen to amazing music is incredible.

 

 

According to Sarah Goff of the Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce, “Roughly 3 to 4 thousand people attended.” The crowd was so large, some of them had to park offsite and be trolleyed in. 

 

In addition to the symphony orchestra, ShadowGrass, a group of talented young bluegrass musicians, also performed, much to everyone’s delight.

 

The overall theme of the 2018 Symphony at the Lake at Chetola was “Colors of the Mountains”, accurately represented in a few of the tents.

 

Patrons overlooking the beautiful Chetola Lake setting as they listen to relaxing music.

 

Karyn Herterich, of the interesting store Serves You Right!, won in the Social category for her tent.

 

Karyn Herterich’s tent has won several times over the years for their incredible and zany costumes. Pictured here are Betsy and George Wilcox.

 

Jim and Lea Ann Reeves dress as ‘Bad Weather’ and ‘Good Weather’ as part of the Herterich Tent’s theme: The Four Seasons and Fog

 

Herterich’s tent splits their theme into five different themes: The Four Seasons and Fog. Here is Jane Meyers as a lovely mermaid for the summer theme.

 

The Blowing Rock tent was sponsored by Charlie Sellers, the mayor of Blowing Rock.

 

The SECU Family House @ UNC Hospitals is kind of like Ronald McDonald House Charities for adults. They provide healthcare and homes to adults in much of Western North Carolina for much cheaper rates than many hospitals.

 

The Reiner Fine Art tent was run by Carolyn Crocker-Rue and Jason Stone.

 

The ladies at the High Country Breast Cancer TDA, including President and Founder Irene Sawyer. This tent won in the category of Business.

 

The Premier Sotheby’s International Realty tent.

 

Monkee’s of Blowing Rock, sponsored by the upbeat Jessica and Kenneth Wehrmann, was catered by Moondance Catering.

 

The GOP Candidate Meet to Greet tent featured a number of local candidates, including Tommy Sofield, David Blust,and Tim Hodges, who are all running  for County Commissioner. It was a very beautiful tent, which Sofield describes the theme of as “The Mountain Area.”

 

The Quinn’s and Watson tent was sponsored by Don Hobbley.

 

The ASU Chancellor Sheri Everts, and a few other black and gold clad people at the Ed & Sheri & Bo’s Party.

 

It rained a little bit around 3 p.m., before people arrived, but Sarah Goff says that after that, “It was a nice day, perfect weather.”

 

The Merrill Lynch Private Party came up all the way from Charlotte for this event. They describe their tent’s theme as “Fall.”

 

Micaville is a beautifully arranged tent run by John and Pat Mica. It’s called Micaville not only because of their names, but also because they have actual mica at their table. The two are pictured here with Virginia Foxx, the U.S. Congresswoman Representative of North Carolina’s Fifth Congressional District.

 

This group of friends at the “31 Years Still Friends” tent has been renting the same tent every year since the Symphony started.

 

Lots of mouth watering appetizers were available at the “31 Years Still Friends” tent.

 

Harrison Herbst, the Office Manager at the Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce, says that they had, “probably about 20-25 (volunteers). And our volunteers did a great job, we always enjoy having them, and we’ve already heard that they want to come back next year, so that’s great.”

 

The Appalachian summer and Chetola Resort tent had Anna Gaugert, Director of Marketing and Public Relations, Savanna Tanner, Marketing Assistant, and Allison West. They also had a raffle.

 

Western Youth Network’s tent was celebrating the Festival of Trees, with Stacey Gibson, Jenny Koehn, Santa Claus, and Kent Tarbutton, the owner of Chetola.

 

Our very own Debbie Carter and her friend, Michael Bennett.

 

Cheryl Cutlip and Rebecca Kier as the Carolina Snowbelles.

 

The Carolina Snowbelles were a surprise for Karen Herterich, and became a part of her tent.

 

The theme of “Colors of the Mountains” was also represented by the musical pieces selected.

 

Conductor Cornelia Laemmli Orth skillfully leads the Symphony of the Mountains.

 

Sarah Goff says that the symphony orchestra, “Chose songs that go with the theme, so they played Sound of Music…and some other classical songs.”

 

Karyn Herterich’s tent was split into different sections for the five different themes that her team incorporated.

 

Karyn Herterich celebrates her tent’s success at winning in the Social Category.

 

The Symphony at the Lake at Chetola celebrates a successful transition into their fourth decade.