UNC School of the Arts Philharmonia Orchestra to Perform at Carroll County High School

Symphony Tickets on Sale Now


The University of North Carolina School of the Arts Philharmonia Orchestra will perform at Carroll County High School on Sunday, January 25 at 2:00 pm. Reserved seating tickets can be purchased at Purple Feet on East Grayson Street in Galax and at Jackson & Associates law offices on North Main Street in Hillsville. Reserved seating tickets may also be purchased online at www.artsculturalcouncil.org. General seating tickets can be purchased at the CCHS auditorium door on January 25. Admission is $8 adults and $5 students. Contact The Arts Council at (276) 238-1217 for more information.

Ellen Holland, Executive Director
The Arts & Cultural Council of the Twin Counties
PO Box 492
Galax, VA 24333
276/238-1217

Groovin' on Grayson

Alright y’all. Get your Groove on and tell everyone you know that likes to have fun! Come down this Friday!

Groovin’ on Grayson - Friday July 25 - 7 - 11 pm

Free Outdoor Concert Featuring Emily Brass of Floyd, VA and the Fire Dance performed by PyroMystique.

Play the regions biggest game of Twister

Chair Massages by a Certified Therapist

Corner of Main & Grayson Streets, Downtown Galax, VA

www.GroovinOnGrayson.com

Bring your lawn chair and your friends, even your kids, to this awesome outdoor party. Admission is free and fun is unavoidable. The music rocks, the beer & wine are prime, and the food is fantastic – even for the vegelites. We’ve got stuff for the kids but leave your pets and your cooler at home – no carry in food or drinks. Lots of shops open late. So bring a date, or your mate, come downtown, and shop til late!

Virginia BeachFest '08

Stage Set for July 25 & 26 Beach Music Event

Groseclose, VA July 11, 2008 - Preparations are nearing completion for what is being billed as one of the largest beach music and oldies events ever staged in Southwestern Virginia. Set for July 25 and 26, BeachFest ’08 will present eight bands, many considered to be Beach Music legends, in Davis Valley Winery’s state-of-the-art amphitheatre.

The talent lineup includes the Tams, the Catalinas, The Embers, and the Fantastic Shakers, all of whom have songs on most top 100 beach songs lists. Beach Music fans who attend this event can shag to such classics as I Love Beach Music by the Embers, Be Young - Be Foolish - Be Happy and What Kind of Fool Do You Think I Am by the Tams, Summertime is Calling Me by the Catalinas, Myrtle Beach Days and Shakin’ the Shack by the Fantastic Shakers, and scores of other beach music and oldies hits.
The Carolina Beach Music Academy’s 2007group of the year, Jim Quick and Coastline will perform, along with Sammy O’Banion and Mardi Gras, the Entertainers, and the Kings.

“We have worked very hard to present a first-class event,” said winery owner, Rusty Cox. “We’re bringing in a dance floor which we will set up right in front of the stage for the shag dancers to strut their stuff and our big natural amphitheatre is perfect for just sitting back and enjoying the music and the performers.”
Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the gate for Friday evening’s performances, which begin at 6 p.m. Saturday’s performances start at 12 noon and tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the gate. The best deal is the two-day weekend pass for $25.

A variety of food, Davis Valley’s award-winning wines, and other beverages will be available at the festival. However, Virginia’s ABC regulations prohibit bringing in other alcoholic beverages.
Among the food selections is a perennial crowd favorite, Davis Valley Winery’s Famous Buffalo Burgers. Buffalo are raised on winery-owned farm property not far from the winery itself.

Beach Music is a phenomenon that began in the Virginia and Carolinas coastal resort areas as an outgrowth of Rhythm & Blues music. Beach Music began evolving into its own genre in the 1950s and really took its own identity when a dance called the Shag - with its own rhythm and dance moves - evolved out of bop dancing. Now, there are Shag clubs all over the eastern U.S.

Mr. Cox reports that beach music fans from several adjacent states have purchased advance tickets.

Davis Valley Winery’s official address is Rural Retreat, Virginia but it is actually located near the community of Groseclose, just 1.5 miles from I-81 Exit 54 between Wytheville and Marion, Virginia.

BeachFest ’08 will be held rain or shine and everyone is urged to bring their own lawn chairs and blankets. Visit www.dvwinery.com or call 276-686-8855 for details and to purchase advance tickets. Advance tickets must be purchased by July 18.

Performance Schedule:
Friday, July 25th
6:00 pm The Kings
7:45 pm Catalinas
9:30 pm The Tams
Saturday, July 26th
12:00 noon Jim Quick & Coastline
1:45 pm Sammy O’Banion & Mardi Gras
3:30 pm The Shakers
5:15 pm The Entertainers
7:30 pm The Embers
CONTACT:
Davis Valley Winery
276.686.8855
Web Site: www.dvwinery.com Email: davisvalleywinery@hotmail.com
Interstate 81 Exit 54 between Wytheville and Marion, VA. 1.5 miles from exit.

Fries VA Thursday Night Jam Sessions

The Fries VA Thursday night "Pickin' and Grinnin' " jam sessions are moving again - this time to their permanent home.

After an explosion in December 2007 wrecked the New River Trail Cafe where the jams were held, the sessions were relocated to Big Daddy's Restaurant in Fries. Although Big Daddy's has been very hospitable and accomodating, a little larger area was needed to provide enough space for all the musicians and listeners.

When Shaylyn's Stretch-a-Dollar closed, a group of local investors purchased the building. After meetings and discussions with the local musicians, and much planning, it was decided by the new owners to provide a home for the music that is so much a part of the Fries, Grayson County, and Carroll County heritage.

While having to start with few amenities, improvements to the music room, and the remaining portion of the building, are in sight. Planned additions include a stage, and possibly lighting and a sound system for the musicians.

Refreshments will be limited to coffee, soft drinks, and pre-packaged snacks in the beginning. Future plans hope to include a short order cafe with hot dogs, hamburgers, sandwiches, and ice cream.

The "Jam Sessions in Fries" will move to its new home in the former Shaylyn's Stretch-a-Dollar building at 472 W. Main Street on Thursday, July 3. Jams will begin at 6:30PM and go until "they decide to go home".

Everyone is welcome to come and join in whether just starting to play or an experienced musician. If you don't play, but enjoy listening to the area's traditional music and the fellowship and camaraderie that goes along with it, come on out and visit the "Jam Sessions in Fries" at its new home.

Admission as always is free, but donations will be appreciated.

Chestnut Creek School of the Arts Sampler Classes

Get yourself A New Flow of Consciousness at the Creek, Chestnut Creek School of the Arts, that is.

Next weekend during Galax's Leaf & String Festival you'll have the opportunity to tap into your creative side, try something new, and learn how relaxing it is to create.

There is room left in these sampler classes and the price is right: Whittling, Knitting, Crocheting, and Guitar.

A therapy session will cost you 3 times the meager fee of $25 for one of these classes. Details are at www.chestnutcreekarts.org. Or call (276) 236-3500 and we'll give you the spill.

Visit the emerging website, anyway. It's looking good.

Galax Leaf & String Festival - Authors & Art

The book, Between Two Spaces: Reflections on the Spiritual in Art by Dr. Halide Salam, Radford professor, will be showcased at the Authors on Grayson event during the Galax Leaf & String Festival, a Celebration of Music, Art and Literature. Dr. Salam’s paintings will be exhibited at City Gallery.

Not only can you purchase the book published by Pocahontas Press, Inc., but on Friday, June 13 between 5:00 & 8:00 PM you have the opportunity to meet the artist- author and see her work first hand. City Gallery Fine Art is honored to host Dr. Salam’s exhibit. The reception is free and open to the public. The exhibit will hang through the end of June.

This Radford University professor has completed a collection of meditations on art and spirituality. She explores painting through the lens of her East Indian heritage to discover the synergy between heritage and expression. In homage to her parents, she also recalls the influence of family in her artistic development, tracing unique elements of her craft back to personal relationships. This book, complete with 18 color photographs of Dr. Salam’s paintings, offers us a glimpse into the world of an accomplished painter on the forefront of intercultural exploration.

Halide Salam received her Masters of Art in Painting from New Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas, New Mexico, and her Ph.D from Texas Tech University in Fine Arts and teaches painting at Radford University, Radford, Virginia. She has been painting and exhibiting in national and international galleries, and presenting lectures and papers on art and art history, within and outside the United States as well. Her paintings are philosophical investigations to be viewed as spatial stations where creative forces are channeled through inner knowledge and intuition to manifest visual forms of self-recognition. Halide Salam's life pursuit has been to find answers to her perception of an incomprehensible reality, not unlike those Wassily Kandinsky or Ludwig Wittgenstein.


For more information about City Gallery, please call (276) 236-8338. City Gallery is located at 207 S. Main Street in Galax, open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 AM until 5:00 PM.

Penelope Moseley
Big Blue Magazine
www.bigbluemag.com
(276)733-9704