Enjoy another weekend of the free summer series Blue Ridge Traditions on Saturday, June 28, at the Mountain Gateway Museum and Heritage Center in Old Fort. Hear award-winning fiddler Bobby Hicks, the Cherokee gospel quintet called the Welch Family Singers, and Cherokee storyteller Freeman Owle. This trio of performances will begin at 7 p.m. in the amphitheater.
From 2 to 6 p.m., craft demonstrations and hands-on activities will center on the theme “From Sheep to Sweater.” Watch David and Anne Allison spin, dye and weave wool, and then see a group of knitters at work. Try your hand at spinning yarn using a drop spindle, dyeing with natural dyes, knitting and more.
Other craftspeople on-site will be wood-carver Donald Duncan, broom makers Alton Blankenship and Gina Wheeler, and the Mountain Glory Quilters Guild. See how a traditional broom is made, and stitch along with the quilting group.
“This summer, more than ever, is a great time to experience culture and heritage right here at home in North Carolina,” said Cultural Resources Secretary Lisbeth C. “Libba” Evans. Feel free to bring a picnic, a lawn chair, family and friends, and stay through the afternoon.
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
Bobby Hicks - The respected fiddler has played with a virtual who’s who of musicians in the bluegrass tradition, including Bill Monroe, Ricky Skaggs, Tony Rice, Del and Ronnie McCoury, Marty Stuart and Doyle Lawson. During Hicks’ tenure with the Ricky Skaggs Band, the group received many prestigious awards, such as Country Music Association’s Instrumental Group of the Year award, three Music City News’ Bluegrass Act of the Year awards, and five Academy of Country Music’s Touring Band of the Year awards. After the Ricky Skaggs Band evolved into Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, the group won multiple Grammy Awards.
Born in Newton, Hicks taught himself to play the fiddle at age 9. In 1954, Monroe hired him as a Bluegrass Boy, and in 1960, he joined the band of honky-tonk maverick Porter Wagoner. Hicks worked in Las Vegas for the Judy Lynn Show before returning to North Carolina in 1975. He joined the Ricky Skaggs Band in 1981.
The Welch Family Singers - The Welch Family Singers — Alfred and Maybelle Welch, Mark and Nan Brown, and Lucy Weeks — have performed together for over a decade. Their renditions of hymns in the Cherokee language, performed in beautiful four-part harmony, are part of a 200-year-old tradition of Christian music among the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The quintet’s poignant, stirring performances have established them as the pre-eminent Cherokee gospel quintet and have garnered them invitations to sing in Oklahoma, Georgia, Virginia and Tennessee.
Freeman Owle - A Cherokee carver and storyteller for more than 10 years, Freeman’s deep knowledge of Cherokee history and culture is both moving and powerful. The artist and educator has committed his life to the preservation and presentation of Cherokee heritage. His knowledge of traditional Cherokee culture has earned him widespread critical acclaim and dedicated audiences.
After earning his master’s degree from Western Carolina University, Freeman taught sixth grade at Cherokee Elementary School for 14 years. While teaching, he began to tell the traditional stories he learned while growing up in the Birdtown community on the Qualla Boundary in Cherokee.
“These stories come down through many thousands of years and provide lessons of self-respect, confidence, acceptance of those who are not like us,” he explained. “Kids today need these more than ever.”
David and Anne Allison - This Old Fort couple has been spinning and weaving for over two decades. They have participated in the Village of Yesteryear at the N.C. State Fair for 13 years and have developed an acclaimed spinning and weaving practice with a focus on traditional, sustainable techniques and supplies, including local wool and mohair.
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.
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.
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.