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Playhouse Family Music Fest Returns to Sugar Grove August 16

Festival Features Billy Jonas, Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, Lost Ridge Band and More

Story by David Brewer

Percussion-crazed family performer Billy Jonas will return to headline the 2nd Annual Playhouse Family Music Festival on Saturday, August 16, at Historic Cove Creek School. On Saturday, August 16, the family-friendly Playhouse Family Music Festival will return to Sugar Grove’s Historic Cove Creek School with nationally acclaimed children’s music performer Billy Jonas and rising “kid-hop” performer Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, as well as local favorites the Lost Ridge Band, The Forget-Me-Nots and The BDBs featuring Dave Hutchinson and Paul and Vanessa Van Valin.

The festival will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Proceeds from the festival will benefit the Children’s Playhouse, the only nonprofit, independent children’s museum in the High Country.

“We’re really excited about this year’s festival,” said Children’s Playhouse Executive Director Kathy Parham. “It seems to be coming together very well. Last year was our first year and it was such a blast with Billy Jonas and Lost Ridge. This year we have them back again, plus a super fun special guest, Secret Agent 23 Skidoo.”

Nationally popular with kids and adults alike, Asheville-based artist Billy Jonas has won multiple awards including a Parent’s Choice Gold, and the New York Times recommended his DVD, Everybody’s in the Band. Reviewers describe Jonas’s music as “original and fun for the whole family. It features an interactive style that invites everyone to sing and ‘bang’ along.” This will be Jonas’s only appearance in the Boone area this summer and fall.

Also headquartered in Asheville, Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, a.k.a. Cactus Sullivan, mixes traditional funk, bluegrass, reggae and blues with hip-hop beats in his story-filled album Easy. The disc includes the song “Luck,” currently #1 on XMKids satellite radio. A father himself, 23 Skidoo combines positive messages with infectious beats.

Other entertainment at the festival will include the Appalachian Rhythm Cloggers, the High Country Cloggers, the Elkland Art Center puppet troupe’s performance of Jason’s Dream, Mystic Mountain Belly Dancers, Jack Tales performed by interns of the Blowing Rock Stage Company and African drumming. Gordon Hensley, the makeup designer for Tweetsie’s Ghost Train will be doing face painting. Hair art and henna tattoos will also be offered.

In addition to the lengthy list of performers filling the event’s two stages throughout the day, the Playhouse Family Music Festival will be filled with activities to keep kids busy throughout the day. Activities include puppet shows, crafts, bubbles, multiple inflatables and more. Local crafts, family items and food vendors will be on hand throughout the day.

Advance tickets are $10 for adults and $5 per child and can be purchased at www.goplayhouse.org, as well as at Earth Fare, Mast Store and Green Mother Goods. Tickets at the gate will be $13 for adults and $6 for children 12 and younger. Kids under 24 months will be admitted free or charge.
In the event of rain, all music performances will take place in the Old Cove Creek School gymnasium.

The Playhouse Family Music Festival is an alcohol- and drug-free event and is sponsored by Drs. Morehouse and Lada of Appalachian Regional Adult & Pediatric Medicine, Boone Mall, Earth Fare, Foscoe Realty, M-Prints and Boone Rent-All. Contributing sponsors include Boone Drug, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, Cove Creek Development Association, Elkland Art Center, Michael Goopta Acupuncture, Drs. Mayhew, Conn, Scheffler and Hardaway, Mast General Store, Stick Boy Bread Company, SkyLine Membership Corporation and Watauga County Solid Waste and Recycling.

For more info, call Parham at 828-263-0011 or click to www.goplayhouse.org.

Want To Go?

Date: Saturday, August 16
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Location: Historic Cove Creek School
Cost: $10 for adults in advance/$5 for children 12 and under/FREE for kids under 24 months

Kids, Come Sell Your Art at The Playhouse Family Music Festival!

Got a crafty kid or a budding entrepreneur who would like to branch out from the ho-hum lemonade stand? Kids are invited sell their work in the Kids’ Craft Market at the Playhouse Family Music Festival from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Kids are advised to bring their artwork, a blanket, a sign and/or price tags and a change purse. All items must be kid-made and priced under $5.

Operation Ramona, a family effort of Craig, Nate and Mercer Fischer, will be on hand selling kids’ books and comics at rock bottom prices to benefit The Playhouse.

At last year’s festival, Jaxon and Lucas Wiley sold beaded bracelets and made $20. According to their mother Kelly Wiley, the profits were “enough to keep them in sno-cones.”

“This is a great way for a kid to display their handiwork and even earn some money,” explained Playhouse Executive Director Kathy Parham. “Kids can sell for the whole time or just for a few minutes. It’s up to them. This is their space at the festival.”

Food and adult-made crafts will also be on sale at the festival. Vendors can still apply by calling the Children’s Playhouse at 828-263-0011.