Blue Ridge Parkway's 75th Anniversary Festival

July 28, 2010

The Blue Ridge Parkway’s 75th Anniversary Festival is a multi-day, multi-venue event staged in and around Cumberland Knob Recreation Area in North Carolina, where Parkway construction began on September 11, 1935. Two locations, the Blue Ridge Music Center (MP 213) and the Cumberland Knob Recreation Area (MP 217), will be home to the festival that will include a formal ceremony featuring local, state, and federal officials; regional music and crafts; antique car and travel trailer vehicle exhibits; interpretive and environmental programs; storytelling; children’s activities; local foods; and much more!

Highlights include:

Friday, September 10

- Formal ceremony
- Bluegrass virtuoso Sierra Hull & Highway 111

Saturday, September 11

- 9/11/2001 Remembrance with Rev. Dan Matthews
- “They Call Me Aunt Orlean” one-woman play
- Dr. Ralph Stanley & His Clinch Mountain Boys

Sunday, September 12

- Shape note singing with Laura Boosinger
- The Churchmen
- Jack Tale Players of Ferrum College

Ongoing activities include:

- Luthier/Instrument Maker Demonstrations
- History Discussions
- Community Showcase
- Storytelling
- Films
- Nature Walks
- Historic Construction Equipment Exhibit
- Junior Appalachian Musicians
- Appalachian Craft Demonstrations
- Tastes of the Blue Ridge & Tailgate Market
- Kids Activities
- Jamming Tents
- 75th Commemorative Artwork by T. Pennington and P. Buckley Moss
- Hundreds of birthday cards by elementary students on exhibit
- Flat Foot Dance Workshop
- Commemorative and Community Quilts on display
- Antique Camper Exhibit

Add to your family’s Parkway memories during this special celebration. There is no admission fee to enjoy the 75th Anniversary Festival!

You can count on the surrounding communities to provide plenty of other family-fun activities, too, including Fancy Gap, Fries, Galax, Hillsville, and Independence.

For more information, contact Leesa Brandon by e-mail or telephone at 828.271.4779, ext 224 or Penny Lloyd at 540.772.2104.

Find more information on local lodging, area information and volunteer opportunites visit the official website of the 75th anniversary at www.blueridgeparkway75.org.

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