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Storytellers, Musicians and Craftspeople Return to Cone Manor August 9

Tours, Blueberry Cloth Dyeing also on Heritage Day

Story By Bernadette Cahill

Storyteller Orville Hicks and one-man-band and storyteller Glenn Bolick are the star turns again in a strong cast that the Parkway Craft Center and the National Park Service interpretive staff have pulled together for the Fifth Annual Heritage Day at Cone Manor in the Moses H. Cone Memorial Park on Saturday, August 9, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Two new events for this year’s event are folk dancing and cloth dyeing with blueberries.

On the performance side, local musicians Steve and Ruth Smith also return to play Celtic and Appalachian music on their hammered dulcimer and guitar, while the sound of the fiddles of the three Forget-Me-Nots, with their father on guitar, will again reverberate around the stately manor’s grounds, adding another traditional dimension to visitors’ experience of one of the High Country’s most rewarding attractions. All the activities are free.

The Parkway Craft Center and National Park Service interpretive staff came up with the idea of a heritage day for the old Moses Cone home five years ago so they could share their knowledge and expertise with the public, promote Cone Manor and its history and provide a special day of old-fashioned entertainment at the same time.

Members of the Southern Highland Craft Guild will demonstrate traditional crafts. Old Fort’s Susan Taylor will show basket making, Boone’s Tom Turner will demonstrate how he makes his lifelike hand-carved birds of prey, while Lee Entrekin of Old Fort will not only demonstrate how he carves Native American flutes, but will also play them for visitors’ entertainment.

Steve and Ruth Smith will return to play Celtic and Appalachian music on their hammered dulcimer and guitar during Cone Manor’s Fifth Annual Heritage Day on Saturday, August 9. Other family-oriented activities include old-fashioned ones, such as bobbing for apples, a scavenger hunt and word games.

Parkway rangers will lead tours to explain and explore the early life and times at Cone Manor and they’ll take a walk back in time to look at the wildflowers on the figure-8 trail close to the house, where Moses Cone and his wife Bertha used to stroll during their evenings in the mountains. Tours of the manor’s upstairs will also take place regularly during the day.

At the Carriage Barn, kids will finds an art table, while the carriage will be available for photo ops for visitors. On the nature side, an animal table and a monarch butterfly display will also feature.

The Folk Dancing starts at 10:00 a.m.; Native American flute playing begins at 10:30; the storytelling takes place at 12:00 and 2:15 p.m., while the hammered dulcimer begins at 1:00 p.m. and the Forget-Me-Nots perform at 3:15 p.m. The guided strolls take place at 11:15 and 12:00 p.m.

Tours of the manor’s second floor are scheduled 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 for these tours. Make reservations at the craft center or call 828-295-3782.

The craft center will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. as usual during Heritage Day.

For more information, call 828-295-7938 or email parkwaycraft@bellsouth.net.

Want To Go?

Date: Saturday, August 9
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m./Craft Center open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Location: Moses H. Cone Memorial Park, Blue Ridge Parkway Milepost 294
Cost: Free