Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country | Founded 05-05-05

July 10, 2008 issue

This Week on the Parkway


Compiled by Kathleen McFadden

This weekend might be a good time to take advantage of the upstairs tours at the Cone Manor and the Sunday evening Cone Cemetery Hike. Blue Ridge Parkway rangers lead both the tour and the hike and have plenty of history and fascinating info to share.

Summer Music
The Blue Ridge Music Center, located at Milepost 213, is open daily, rain or shine, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. through October. Concessions are available onsite, but picnic fare is permitted. Alcohol, however, is not.

Inside the exhibit hall, memorabilia and interpretive exhibits tell the story of almost 400 years of string-band music history in Virginia.

Outside, on a sloping lawn—bring chairs or blankets—visitors can hear local and regional musicians play during the weekend summer concert series. In addition to the special weekend concerts, music is happening at the center every day between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. and visitors with musicians can join the jam.
Here’s the weekly schedule:
Mondays: The Buck Mountain Band and Friends
Tuesdays: Bobby Patterson and Willard Gayheart
Wednesdays: Bill and Maggie Anderson
Thursday: Scott Freeman and Friends
Fridays: Spencer Strickland, Stevie Barr, Josh Pickett
Saturdays: Blue Ridge Music Maker’s Guild and Junior Appalachian Music (JAM) Students
Sunday: Stu Shenk and Friends

To purchase advance tickets for the shows that require an admission fee, call 276-236-5309 or click to www.blueridgemusiccenter.net. Here’s what’s coming up this weekend:
Saturday, July 12 – Flatt and Scruggs TV Show film, museum auditorium, 5:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 12 – The Singing Pencil Pusher ($10/7:00 p.m.)

The Singing Pencil Pusher week honors and celebrates the many contributions of the beloved mountain artist Willard Gayhart. Nationally known for his wonderfully detailed drawings of musicians and other ountain folk, Willard has been a member of three stories recording bands: Alternate Roots, Skeeter and the Skidmarks and The Highlanders. All three bands will have reunions at the Saturday evening show and will perform, and a major showing of Willard’s artwork will be on display through Sunday in the museum.

They Call Me Aunt Orlene
On three remaining Sundays this summer, actress Phyllis Stump will present this one-woman show about the life of southwest Virginia midwife Orlene Puckett at the site of the midwife`s cabin— Puckett Cabin (Milepost 190). Living to more than 100 years old, Puckett is known for delivering more than 1,000 babies in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Bring your own chair for this special presentation.

Dates are July 20, August 24 and September 21. Showtime is 2:00 p.m.

Talks and Tours
All programs are free and open to the public.

Patio Talks – The public is invited to attend ranger talks on the patio at Bluffs Lodge in Doughton Park (Milepost 241) on Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30.
Campfire Talks – The public is invited to attend evening campfire talks at Doughton Park Campground (Milepost 241) at 7:30 on Fridays and Saturdays through August. For more information, call the Visitor Center at 276-236-5309.

Brinegar Cabin History – In the tradition of original resident Caroline Brinegar, visitors to the Brinegar Cabin can see flax growing in the garden and participate in the process of taking the fiber and spinning it into linen thread. The threads are then woven into linsey-woolsey fabric on the loom. The Brinegar Cabin is located at Milepost 238.5, and visitors are welcome Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. throughout the summer. For more information, call 828-236-5309.

Cone Upstairs Tours – Join park rangers for guided tours of the second floor of the home of Moses and Bertha Cone located on the Blue Ridge Parkway at Milepost 294. Tour times are Saturday and Sunday at 10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. Reservations are required and are accepted beginning at 9:00 a.m. on the weekend of requested tour only. To schedule a tour, call 828-295-3782 or sign up at the Park Service information desk at the Cone Manor House.

Cone Cemetery Hike – Every Sunday through October 26, join rangers at 7:00 p.m. for an evening hike to the final resting place of Moses and Bertha Cone. Meet at the Manor House (Milepost 294) for this two-mile hike. Call 828-295-6308 for more details

Informational Programs
All programs are free and open to the public.

Friday, July 11 – Healthy Family Nature Bingo Walk. Spend fun time with your family while learning about nature. Identify butterflies and wildflowers during a walk along the Boone Fork Trail. Which ones can you name? Mark your card. Meet a ranger at the Price Park Picnic Area (Milepost 296) footbridge at 10:00 a.m. for this 1-mile easy roundtrip walk that will take about 1.5 hours.

Friday, July 11 – This Glittering Peace: The Camp Catawba Story. Camp Catawba for Boys, unknown to many visitors and residents of Blowing Rock, was once a place of summer refuge and enlightenment. Join a ranger at the Price Park Amphitheatre (Milepost 297) at 8:00 p.m. to discover the history of this unique summer camp on the Parkway—a history that tells the story of a Nazi Holocaust survivor and the positive effect she had on others.

Saturday, July 12 – Lostproofing: Would You and Your Family Know What To Do if You Were Lost in the Woods? Join a ranger at the Price Park Amphitheatre (Milepost 297) at 7:30 p.m. to learn some techniques that can help you make it back home in this 40-minute program.