Legendary Ancestry Brings Music Buffs to 29th Festival

 (540) 365-4302/ dhailey@ferrum.edu

           Roni Stoneman, Janette Carter, and other children and grandchildren of Southwest Virginia’s early recording stars will bring family stories and the best in old-time roots music to the annual Blue Ridge Folklife Festival on the campus of Ferrum College. Now in its 29th year, Virginia’s largest celebration of regional folkways will take place Saturday, October 26, 2002, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

           A highlight of this year’s Blue Ridge Folklife Festival will be the “Children of the Stars” music stage. Among the featured musicians will be Roni Stoneman, the “Queen of Bluegrass” and daughter of Grayson County’s Ernest “Pop” Stoneman, playing in her unmatched style and talking about the family’s recording career, which began in 1924. Janette Carter, daughter of A. P. and Sara Carter, will sing Carter Family favorites and recount the tales of her Scott County family’s rise to national radio and recording stardom. The “Children of the Stars” stage (supported by the Virginia Commission for the Arts) complements Ferrum College’s on-going museum exhibit “Hometown Stars: Southwest Virginia’s Recording Legacy, 1923-1943” (supported by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities).

           Known for its presentation of authentic traditions, the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival covers the Ferrum College campus with the tastes, smells, sounds, and enjoyment of western Virginia folkways.

• Over 20 old-time foods—from fried apple pies to black pot chicken-- are prepared by local community groups.

• Nearly 50 craftspeople, many with goods to sell, demonstrate the hand skills they have learned from family members and neighbors.

• Three music stages offer string band music, gospel, blues, balladry, and early bluegrass
throughout the day.

• The Mountain Comforts Quilt Show presents 100 of the region’s finest quilts.

• Coon dog and draft horse contests highlight the abilities of working animals.

• The vintage car, street rod, race car, and antique tractor displays tell of the Blue Ridge’s mechanical history.

• Children will delight in the petting zoo and old-time games area.

           “Folkways are a fascinating part of our heritage, and like no other event, we showcase a variety of the old-time traditions that are still a part of Virginia’s rural lifestyle,” said Roddy Moore, director of Ferrum College’s Blue Ridge Institute & Museum, the official State Center for Blue Ridge Folklore.

           The 29th Blue Ridge Folklife Festival will be held October 26th, rain or shine. An admission fee is charged. For more information, contact the Blue Ridge Institute & Museum at 540-365-4416 or by email at bri@ferrum.edu. Additional information is available at www.blueridgeinstitute.org.
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