By Staff
By KEVIN SCOTT CUTLER
Lifestyles &Features Editor
A bit more than a week before the inaugural Beaufort County Traditional Music Festival, it’s “crunch time” as organizers put the finishing touches on the downtown-Washington celebration.
The April 4 event is presented by the Beaufort County Arts Council in association with the Beaufort County Traditional Music Association and Downtown Washington on the Waterfront.
The day-long event will be capped by a closing concert that evening at the historic Turnage Theater, said BCAC Executive Director Joey Toler. The show begins at 8 p.m.
Local band Carolina Still will open the shoe, and the Barnraisers and Molasses Creek will headline the event.
The Barnraisers are based in Wilmington and Molasses Creek is from Ocracoke Island.
General admission tickets for the concert are $12, or $10 for children 12 and younger. Tickets are selling quickly, Toler said. They can be purchased through the Turnage Theater box office by calling 252-975-1191 or online at www.turnagetheater.com.
Earlier in the day, music lovers can enjoy a variety of performances in several venues throughout downtown Washington.
The Turnage will host such performers as the Vertical Praise Youth Choir, Unshackled, Lightnin’ Wells and the Mac &Tammy McRoy Band.
The Washington Civic Center will feature Celtic musician Paula Tisdale, the Green Grass Cloggers and the Moore Family in its public debut. The Civic Center is also the site of several workshops, covering bluegrass and gospel singing, songwriting and blues guitar.
The lineup for a new outdoor pavilion includes Steel Strummin’, Dennis Modlin and the Back Creek Band, Someone’s Sister, Rodney and Beverly Dillard, Donald Underwood and Sonny Boy Holland, Olde Fiddle Case and a youth showcase.
The day’s festivities will also include special events at the North Carolina Estuarium, arts and crafts, storytelling and green vendors promoting environmentally sound ideas ranging from energy sources, green living concepts, home landscaping and green development, Toler said.
For more information about the Beaufort County Traditional Music Association, including a complete list of performers, visit www.beaufortcountyartscouncil.org.