Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05
April 24, 2008 issue
Festival on the Lake in Wilkes May 10
Story by Anna Oakes
Right now, the only Wilkes County music festival on everyone’s mind is MerleFest. But just two weeks from now, another bluegrass festival takes place, and like MerleFest, it’s for a good cause.
The second annual Festival on the Lake takes place Saturday, May 10, from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. at the Fort Hamby Recreation Area in Wilkesboro. The festival is a fundraiser for the Friends of Rendezvous Mountain Educational State Forest, a 3,000-acre protected forest area with outdoor educational workshops, picnic facilities and trails. It is one of seven educational state forests in the state.
“The money [from the festival] will be used to open trails, maintain trails and to promote Rendezvous Mountain,” said Fran Moore, a member of Friends of Rendezvous and coordinator of Festival on the Lake. “Rendezvous Mountain is the best kept secret in Wilkes County. It’s a resource that we’re not utilizing.”
Eight regional bands form the lineup of Festival on the Lake and will perform bluegrass and old-time music at Fort Hamby Recreation Area’s Forest Edge Amphitheater. The recreation area is adjacent to the Kerr Scott Reservoir.
“We have an excellent sound system at the lake,” Moore said. “The ampitheather is a $2.3 million facility.”
The six-member Big Country Bluegrass, a band out of Virginia that has played the Grand Ole Opry, brings its “Galax” and “Mount Airy” style of bluegrass to Festival on the Lake.
“They’re very well-known artists,” Moore said.
Cedar Creek, featuring award-winning banjo player Eric Ellis, performs a variety of old and new bluegrass songs. The four-piece Wolfe Brothers String Band of Elk Creek, Va., specializes in old-time fiddling and claw-hammer banjo, playing rarely heard traditional songs and original material.
Bridging the gap between old-time and bluegrass is the Elkville String Band, with standards by the Carter Family and Doc Walsh, as well as the beginning sounds of bluegrass.
Alleghany Moon of Sparta formed in 1999 and blends bluegrass, blues, jazz, old-time and traditional country music. “They have a wonderful lead female singer with that band—their harmony is terrific,” Moore said.
Rock Bottom Bluegrass Band, based in Ashe County, emphasizes vocal harmonies in a variety of old standards, progressive bluegrass, bluegrass gospel and original songs. R.G. Absher & Extra Measure is a well-known Appalachian string band from the Carolina foothills. “Everybody in the world knows R.G.,” Moore added.
The Zephyr Lightening Bolts are an old-time band from Wilkes and Surry counties playing flat-footing tunes, waltzes, ballads, two-steps, reels and gospel songs.
If all that sounds like music that will cause you to pick up your feet, you’re in luck. There will be plenty of space for dancing.
“We expect a lot of dancers to come out for this show,” Moore said. “We’ve got a dance board for people to come dance. We had a lot of dancers last year.”
Dale Morris is master of ceremonies and Tim Varner is doing the sound.
Food vendors will sell such treats as barbecue, hotdogs and hamburgers, pies, kettle corn, shaved ice and turkey legs, and craft vendors will offer walking sticks, jewelry, handbags, T-shirts and more. Smokey the Bear will also make an appearance.
Rendezvous Mountain Educational State Forest, located in the Purlear area of Wilkes County, opened to the public in 1984. The rugged terrain of the mountain restricted timbering in the area, so the forest is full of old hardwoods and native flora and fauna.
The park features a talking tree trail, with trees that share recorded information about nature and dangers such as forest fires with visitors and school children. Also included are educational exhibits, hiking, biking and horse trails, an amphitheater, a picnic shelter and restrooms.
Rendezvous Mountain is open from mid-March to mid-November. For more information about the state forest, call 336-667-5072 or click to www.ncesf.org/RMESF.
Proceeds from the Festival on the Lake will be used exclusively to make improvements to trails for hikers, bikers, and horses at Rendezvous Mountain Educational State Forest.
Tickets to Festival on the Lake are $10 in advance and $15 at the gate. Purchase tickets at the festival website, the W. Kerr Scott Visitor Center, Minton Music & Pawn, the Wilkes Chamber of Commerce or Allstate of Wilkesboro.
For more info, click to www.bluegrassinwilkes.com or call 336-838-8382.
Want To Go?
Date: Saturday, May 10
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Location: Fort Hamby Recreation Area, Wilkesboro
Cost: $10 advance/$15 at gate
Festival on the Lake Schedule
Here’s a schedule of the one-day festival’s concerts.
10:30 a.m. Gates Open
11:00 a.m. R.G. Absher & Extra Measure
11:45 a.m. Zephyr Lightning Bolt
12:30 p.m. Alleghany Moon
1:15 p.m. Elkville String Band
2:00 p.m. Rock Bottom Bluegrass Band
2:45 p.m. Wolfe Brothers String Band
3:30 p.m. Cedar Creek
4:15 p.m. R. G. Absher & Extra Measure
5:00 p.m. Zephyr Lightning Bolt
5:45 p.m. Alleghany Moon
6:30 p.m. Elkville String Band
7:15 p.m. Rock Bottom Bluegrass Band
8:00 p.m. Big Country Bluegrass
9:00 p.m. Wolfe Brothers String Band
9:45 p.m. Cedar Creek