SEPTEMBER 2, 2010 ISSUE
Blue Ridge Heritage Days Honors Parkway Anniversary September 11 to 19
For the first time in more than 50 years, parts of scenic Main Street in Blowing Rock will shut down to make way for a downtown street festival Saturday, September 18, as part of Blue Ridge Heritage Days.
The Town of Blowing Rock will host a series of events and activities honoring the Blue Ridge Parkway’s 75th anniversary beginning Saturday, September 11, with Art in the Park. Events will continue through Sunday, September 19, and will include the street festival, the showing of Disney’s Cars as the Movie in the Moonlight, tours of downtown Blowing Rock and various musical performances.
The highlight of Blue Ridge Heritage Days will be the street festival, however, and tents on Main Street will house artists who will demonstrate everything from broom making to pottery turning. Entertainment will also be provided throughout the day and will include a street dance, concerts, cloggers and a Liar’s Contest judged by audience response. For specific times of events throughout the festival, see the schedule of events below.
Car lovers can also appreciate vehicles of the past and present during a parade of cars beginning on Sunset Drive at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday and ending on the Parkway. With the theme, “75 Cars for 75 Years,” it is the town’s hope the parade will feature a different car for each year of the Parkway’s existence. The cars will be available for viewing beginning at 11:30 a.m. at the First Baptist Church on Sunset Drive.
The festival will affect two blocks on Main Street, but vehicular access to the street will still be available via Sunset Drive, Chestnut Drive, Chestnut Street and Park Avenue. Morris Street will be accessible via Chestnut Drive, and parking will be available at the Maple Street parking lot, the parking deck on Wallingford and Broyhill Park.
For more information on Blue Ridge Heritage Days, call the Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce at 828-295-7851 or click to www.blowingrock.com/hertiagedays.htm.
Schedule of Events
Although the street festival might prove to be the highlight of Blue Ridge Heritage Days, other events featuring the art, history and culture of mountain living will take place throughout the week.
Saturday, September 11
A reception will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Blowing Rock Frameworks and Gallery in honor of the invitational art show “Art and the Parkway: A Love Affair.” Twenty regional artists have art featured in the show, which will be on display at the gallery beginning Monday, September 6, until Saturday, September 18.
Friday, September 17
See history and heritage on tour beginning at 4:00 p.m. with various walking and trolley tours focused on the area’s chapels and churches, the historic downtown area, entertainment spots and area architecture.
The “Chapels and Churches” tour will be held at 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. and will be a one-hour trolley tour featuring history and anecdotal tales of each building. The “Yesteryear” tour, held at 4:00 and 6:00 p.m., is a one-hour walking tour of downtown featuring local narratives and town trivia. “Rough Side of the Rock,” also at 4:00 and 6:00 p.m., will feature a one-hour trolley tour with tales of boisterous ventures and entertainment of the past, including stops and tours of Bistro Roca and Canyons, notable locations for activity during prohibition years. This tour is geared for adults. The architecture tour “Sticks and Bricks” will be held at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. with discussion and highlights on notable architecture and building trends throughout village history.
Tickets are $7.50 for each tour, and advance tickets are now on sale at the Blowing Rock Visitor Center. There is limited seating available for the trolley tours, so interested individuals are encouraged to get their tickets fast. Walking tours meet at the Blowing Rock History Museum or Edgewood Cottage, and trolley tours meet at the First Baptist Church on Sunset Drive.
One last tour, “Spooks and Shadows,” will take place at 9:30 p.m. This tour will introduce participants to some of the area’s “unofficial residents,” as Blowing Rock is full of tales of the supernatural. Bring cameras to try to catch some evidence of the beyond. This tour costs $10 and is geared toward teens and adults. Advance tickets are also on sale at the Blowing Rock Visitor Center.
For those who wish to bypass the ghost tour, Disney’s Cars will be shown at the Blowing Rock School Soccer Field at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for children 11 and under.
Saturday, September 18
Entertainment will be ongoing all day during the street festival. Beginning at noon, Diana & Sarvis Ridge will be on the Laurel Lane Stage. A Liars Competition will follow at 4:00 p.m., with a prize awarded to the person who tells the biggest lies or tall tales. Contestants will be judged by applause from those in attendance. Cloggers and country dancers will appear on the stage at 5:00 p.m., and a street dance with The Neighbors, with dances called by Phil Jamison, will take place from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m.
Sunday, September 19
Beginning at 9:00 a.m., the Mountain Home Music Breakfast will take place at the Meadowbrook Inn. This multimedia concert will focus on the history of circuit riding preachers, weddings and funerals in the mountains, the area’s first African American church, Billy Graham’s legacy and the art and architecture of Blowing Rock’s places of worship.
Tickets are $24 for adults, $18 for ages 12 to 15, $11 for ages 5 to 9 and free for children 4 and under. A buffet breakfast, music by Strictly Clean and Decent and music and commentary by Joe Shannon of Mountain Home Music are included in the ticket price.
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