Martha's Musts

Heritage with a sense of play - and place

by Martha Steger

When Tom Hanks visited Richmond in early March for the Virginia premiere of HBO’s “John Adams” miniseries, he praised Virginians for the passion we have for our state — particularly its heritage. That heritage also includes playful entertainment as well as serious statesmanship.

Nowhere are Virginians’ passions played out more entertainingly today than in the diversity of events staged monthly across the commonwealth. With school’s end in June, a “Sweet Virginia Breeze” – title of the tune by Richmond songwriters Robbin Thompson and Steve Bassett – blows a more relaxed ambiance into Virginia. Music of all kinds—from jazz, blues, rock and classical to country, folk and gospel—shouts summer across the state. (And by the way, you can catch Thompson at 7 p.m. June 7 at Deltaville’s Yates House Community Arts Center, www.robbinthompson.com.)

Some music is uniquely Virginian in its nature, and that you must experience! While you’re at it, count the different states’ license plates in Floyd, Hiltons and Mouth of Wilson – and you’ll see how far fans travel to enjoy a bit of Virginia’s own music.

MUSIC THAT’S VIRGINIA’S OWN

Indigenous music exudes a genuine sense of place: We get a feeling of the heritage, the people and their lifestyle. Nowhere is this more consistently true than along The Crooked Road, Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail that travels through the Appalachian Mountains, from the slopes of the Blue Ridge to Virginia’s Coalfields region – but you can take your time and participate in one weekend event at a time, unless you’re lucky enough to have a week to give to it.

The road zigs and zags, forcing us to slow down and sit a spell with local musicians, who play in barber shops and country stores for themselves whether there’s an audience or not. The fiddlin’ barber in Galax just might take up a tune after cutting your hair. You can hear the clack of the guitar picks in the acoustic, unamplified music derived from the Scots-Irish who settled along the trail more than two centuries ago.

Allow time to stop at related attractions, such as the Blue Ridge Institute & Museum in Ferrum, and at small stores that sell the handiwork of local artisans. Below are highlights of selected June-July events that set our toes to tapping and our hands to clapping. Overnight accommodations range from the historic Martha Washington Inn in Abingdon, the newly opened Hotel Floyd in Floyd and the suite at the Ralph Stanley Museum in Clintwood to small, quaint bed-andbreakfasts scattered along the trail. Dining choices surprise visitors for their diversity in this relatively unsettled region.

FLOYD COUNTRY STORE FRIDAY NIGHT JAMBOREE (FLOYD)

An hour’s drive south of Roanoke and six miles off the Blue Ridge Parkway at Floyd, this store for 25 years has been known for its Friday Night Jamboree, an evening of gospel music, traditional Appalachian music and dancing. On June 6, the Blue Ridge Music Makers, a musicians’ guild, brings three bands to the store; on June 13, bands will include Down-Home Gospel, Bethesda Bluegrass Boys and Little Bit o’ Bluegrass. On June 20, it will be Janet Turner & Friends, Kati & the Bubbas, and Master Grass; and on the 27th, it’s Sandy Ridge Gospel, Sigmon Stringers, and the Clyde Williams Band. A special Saturday treat for June 14 and 28 are old-time dances. For July’s Friday-night band listings, visit the Web site below.

Children under 12 get in free, and adults pay $3 for an oldfashioned family night, which runs from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. Those who don’t know how to clog learn how from those who do. And everyone buys a bit of penny candy or orders a soda or old-fashioned milkshake at the lunch counter, where the proprietor also sells sandwiches, and sweets and savories from local bakeries.

More Info: 540-745-4563, www.floydcountrystore.com/.

CARTER FAMILY FOLD (HILTONS)

Every Saturday night the mountains of Southwest Virginia come alive with the sounds of some of the best old-time and bluegrass music around at the Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, an hour’s drive southwest of Abingdon or a half-hour from Bristol. Founded in 1979, the Carter Family Memorial Music Center honors the original Carter Family—A.P., Sara and Maybelle – and preserves the music that earned them worldwide recognition while laying the foundation for what we know today as country music.

The Carter Family Fold, a rustic music theater seating close to 1,000 indoors, expands during the summer, when doors open onto the surrounding hillside. Only acoustic instruments are played. The dance floor fills as young and old alike clog and buck-dance (a form credited to the buccaneers of a couple centuries ago). Audience members from as far away as overseas enjoy the hoe-down tunes. Located next to the Fold, the old A.P. Carter Store houses the Carter Family Museum, including displays and memorabilia from the Carter Family. Admission is $5, adults; $1, children ages 6- 11, and free for children under 6. Admission to the museum is 50 cents. The museum opens at 6 p.m.; the music begins at 7:30 p.m.

More info: 276-386-6054, 276-645-0035, www.carterfamilyfold.org/.

WAYNE C. HENDERSON MUSIC FESTIVAL AND GUITAR COMPETITION (MOUTH OF WILSON)

The man whose guitar playing has been enjoyed at Carnegie Hall, on three national tours and in seven nations of Europe, Asia and Africa, Wayne Henderson always attracts lovers of the steelstring guitar. This living legend is the centerpiece of the annual music festival and guitar competition 25 miles southwest of the Galax/Fries area in Grayson Highlands State Park, but local and regional bluegrass and old-time bands play as well. Proceeds from the festival go to a fund to aid local musicians in their music education.

More info: 276-579-7092; 800-933-PARK for state-park reservations; www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/gra.shtml/.

ASHLAND 4TH OF JULY PARADE

Small-town-parade aficionados in the Richmond area need go no farther than Ashland at 11 a.m. for the town’s 150th-anniversary, old-fashioned 4th of July. It welcomes the youngest members of the family on their red-white-and-blue-emblazoned tri-cycles. Join in the non-motorized, patriotic walking parade, beginning at the corner of the railroad tracks and Henry Clay Street. It ends at the Hanover Arts & Activities Center, which will be hosting an apple-pie-baking contest and lawn games as well as the Friends of the Library’s used-book sale and patriotic melodies by the Hanover Concert Band. Bring a picnic lunch or buy some of the Boy Scouts’ Virginia barbeque on sale. Events end 2-3 p.m., giving everyone time to rest up before heading elsewhere for fireworks after dark.
More info: 804-798-2728, www.town.Ashland.va.us/.

D-DAY MEMORIAL/BEDFORD

Spend the day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the National D-Day Memorial, where fireworks are launched after dark for spectators in downtown Bedford – the town that suffered the largest percentage of deaths per capita on D-Day. More info: 540-586-3329, www.dday.org/.

VALLEY 4TH

About 5,000 people watched Harrisonburg’s “Valley 4th” parade last year. This year’s festivities, which begin at noon, include musicians and street vendors filling Court Square, a pie-eating contest and a reading of the Declaration of Independence. Then grab your spot on Main Street for the 5 p.m. parade sponsored by the Harrisonburg Auto Mall. Civic and neighborhood entries come from all over the Shenandoah Valley, including antique cars, bagpipers and floats. More music and fireworks follow the parade. More info: 540-432-8922, www.downtownharrisonburg.org/.

CULPEPER 4TH OF JULY

Culpeper’s ninth annual car and bike show runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., featuring custom, classic, antique, hot-rod, truck, motorcycle and under-construction cars, at Davis Street and the Depot. The parade begins at 4 p.m., with patriotic speeches, sporting events, and amusements for children rounding out the 4th. Fireworks begin at 9:15 p.m. at Yowell Meadow Park.
More show info: 540-825-4416, www.culpeperdowntown.com/.
More parade info: 540-829-8278, www.culpeper4thofJuly.com/.

Martha Steger, public relations director for the Virginia Tourism Corporation for more than 25 years, returns to her former love of freelance writing and editing.