Enjoy a cool mountain evening during the second outdoor concert of the summer series Blue Ridge Traditions on Saturday, June 21. Hear award-winning Sheila Kay Adams and the bluegrass band Balsam Range, beginning at 7 p.m. at the Mountain Gateway Museum and Heritage Center in Old Fort. The performances will take place in the amphitheater. Admission is free.
From 2 to 6 p.m. earlier that day, watch craft demonstrations and take part in hands-on activities. Each week, wood-carver Donald Duncan, broom makers Alton Blankenship and Gina Wheeler, and the Mountain Glory Quilters Guild will be on site. Find out how a traditional broom is made, and stitch along with the quilting group.
A weekly schedule is posted on ncarts.org/freeconcerts, or call Mountain Gateway Museum at 828-668-9259 for details.
Overview of Performers and Craftspeople
Sheila Kay Adams - The musician, storyteller, author and teacher hails from a small community in Madison County. For seven generations, her family has passed down the traditional English, Scottish and Irish ballads that crossed the Atlantic with her ancestors in the mid-1700s. She sings these traditional Appalachian ballads with a powerful intensity that she learned from her relatives, such as pre-eminent ballad singers Dellie Chandler Norton and Cas Wallin. Adams is an accomplished banjo player in the clawhammer style, and her highly regarded albums include “My Dearest Dear,” “Whatever Happened to John Parrish’s Boy?” and “All the Other Fine Things.” She served as a technical advisor and singing coach for the award-winning film “Songcatcher.”
In 1997 Adams received the historical fiction award from the N.C. Historical Society for her book Come Go Home With Me, a critically acclaimed celebration of her childhood and Madison County community. Her novel My Old True Love, based on a true family story, was nominated for Book of the Year from the Southeastern Booksellers Association and the Appalachian Writer’s Association. In 1998 she received the Brown-Hudson Award from the N.C. Folklore Society. As her great-aunt once said, “She might not always know where she’s going, but she sure knows where she comes from.”
Balsam Range – The group was formed last year by Haywood County natives Buddy Melton, Marc Pruett, Tim Surrett, Darren Nicholson and Caleb Smith. Drawn together by a deep love of bluegrass music and a desire to perform both traditional and contemporary music, the quintet quickly established themselves as one of the most promising new groups on the bluegrass scene. Although the band is fairly new, its members boast impressive musical credentials. Pruett won a Grammy Award for his banjo work on Ricky Skaggs’ acclaimed album “Bluegrass Rules,” and Surrett received Singing News’ Favorite Musician of the Year award in 2004 and 2005. Smith earned the PowerGrass Male Vocalist of the Year and Guitar Player of the Year awards in 2006, and Nicholson won an Album of the Year award from the International Bluegrass Music Association in 2006 for his work on “Celebration of Life: Musicians Against Childhood Cancer.”
In Jan. 2008, Balsam Range’s album “Marching Home” debuted at number 7 on the Bluegrass Music Profiles chart, and in February the group’s first single, “The Train’s Ready,” entered the Bluegrass Unlimited National Survey chart at number 26. A performance by Balsam Range — whose name reflects the majestic mountains surrounding Haywood County — is marked by impeccable harmonies, sweet gospel tunes, consummate musicianship and a profound respect for traditional music.
Donald Duncan - This North Carolina native has been carving wood for more than 40 years. After his retirement, Duncan began carving treenware, which he says comes from the old English word “treown,” which means “made of a tree.” Treenware refers to small utensils and wooden tableware that are functional in nature and most often are hand carved or made on a lathe.
For 18 years, Duncan has demonstrated his craft at the Village of Yesteryear at the N.C. State Fair. He fondly recalls the experience as “10 days of nonstop talking.” A member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild, he carves spoons, ladles and letter knives from native wood that he gathers himself. His work is both decorative and functional.
Alton Blankenship - Born in Rutherford County, the broom maker first came to his craft out of necessity. “My father was a broom maker,” Blankenship recalls, “and he didn’t do it for any reason other than he needed something to barter with and something to sweep floors with. I became interested in making brooms out of necessity, and because my father did it.”
Blankenship returned to making brooms after his retirement, when he became inspired by the work of broom maker Ralph Gates. “I mentioned to Ralph that I could make brooms if I had the right supplies,” said Blankenship. “He had one stalk of broomcorn left, and he gave it to me and said, ‘Here’s enough to make a lot of brooms.’ That was more than 20 years ago.”
Asked about the most important aspects of his own brooms — which include whisk brooms, turkey wings, hearth brooms and kitchen brooms — Blankenship explains, “I want a broom to be sturdy and appealing to the eye.”
Gina Wheeler - The Barnardsville resident has always been surrounded by traditional crafts. Her mother is a gifted oil painter, and her husband, Michael, hails from a long line of chair makers.
It was during a chair-making demonstration at the Mountain State Fair in Asheville seven years ago that she met traditional broom maker Alton Blankenship. Says Wheeler’s husband, “After she met Alton, I didn’t see her for about a week. She got to watching him and fell in love with what he was making.” Wheeler assists Blankenship during his broom-making demonstrations, and the Wheelers grow their own broomcorn.
Mountain Glory Quilters Guild - This group of enthusiastic quilters celebrates and promotes the quilting traditions of western North Carolina. All quilters are welcome to join, regardless of experience.
The guild members are active community members who donate quilts to children’s charities and programs. They view their craft demonstrations during Blue Ridge Traditions as a way to support and promote the rich heritage of hand quilting.
Blue Ridge Traditions is sponsored by Mountain Gateway Museum and Heritage Center, the North Carolina Arts Council, the Department of Cultural Resources and the North Carolina Folklife Institute. Additional support is provided by McDowell County Tourism Authority. The media sponsor is WNCW-FM 88.7.
The summer series is presented as part of “Telling Our Stories,” a yearlong celebration showcasing North Carolina’s arts, heritage and cultural life. “Telling Our Stories” is an initiative by the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.
To reach Mountain Gateway Museum and Heritage Center at 102 Water Street (the corner of Catawba and Water streets), take exit 73 off I-40, and go north four blocks. The museum is 23 miles east of Asheville and 50 miles west of Hickory.
Mountain Gateway Museum and Heritage Center is part of the Division of State History Museums, Office of Archives and History, an agency of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. The department’s Web site is www.ncculture.com.