Blue Ridge Music Center
White Plains, NC (just south of Mount Airy--aka Mayberry, NC)
Mostly Cloudy, 81--feels like 83 (!) 57% humidity Low 63
Thunderstorms early, chance of rain 100%.......!!
What a fun day we had! We drove the 14 miles out to the Blue Ridge Parkway (approximately mile marker 200) then down to the Blue Ridge Music Center, mile marker 214. We expected lots of cars on a Sunday--NOT! There were a handful of cars at the Center, and as local musicians arrived we were the only ones sitting in rocking chairs in the breezeway waiting! Wow! We were about to be part of the sharing of traditional music of the area--Virginia's Heritage Music Trail: the Crooked Road and the Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina!
At first there were three--unpacking their fiddles and tuning them. Then a true, washtub base showed up! Yep! A washtub, attached to a beautiful wood sounding board, complete with a cup holder! Along came a guitar player, then another fiddler, another guitar player, then a banjo player. Our group was complete and the music and conversation shared was terrific!
Since we are so near "Mayberry", the older gentleman in the blue shirt playing the fiddle, we called "Andy." Doesn't he look like Andy? Only he wasn't playing a banjo or guitar!
Rupert did very well, NOT singing along at all. After an hour or so, he did get a little restless so we moved on.
The Blue Ridge Music Center has a very nice display of the history of music in the area with various instruments over time, along with the history of the musical instruments creating that music over time. Readers who follow Bob and Jo's How to Love Where You Are and Eat Where the Locals Eat will remember their blog on the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix. We have not yet been to that museum in Phoenix but after visiting the Blue Ridge Music Center, we will put the Phoenix Museum on our "to do" list!
We did discover that the Parkway is more than a gently winding, tree-lined road through scenic mountains. Created in the depression days of the 1930's, the Parkway was the nation's first rural parkway. Standards for road design and engineering were pioneered here. It is also the nation's longest parkway stretching 469 miles to connect the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina.
Along with its many panoramic vistas, the Parkway preserves diverse natural and cultural resources of the Southern Appalachian Region. It is a great place to visit! We have more to explore, and, as usual, are adding the Parkway to our "return to" list!
Later! Roving Riders, SWIRVIN around the Blue Ridge Parkway and Mount Airy, NC!
Mostly Cloudy, 81--feels like 83 (!) 57% humidity Low 63
Thunderstorms early, chance of rain 100%.......!!
What a fun day we had! We drove the 14 miles out to the Blue Ridge Parkway (approximately mile marker 200) then down to the Blue Ridge Music Center, mile marker 214. We expected lots of cars on a Sunday--NOT! There were a handful of cars at the Center, and as local musicians arrived we were the only ones sitting in rocking chairs in the breezeway waiting! Wow! We were about to be part of the sharing of traditional music of the area--Virginia's Heritage Music Trail: the Crooked Road and the Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina!
At first there were three--unpacking their fiddles and tuning them. Then a true, washtub base showed up! Yep! A washtub, attached to a beautiful wood sounding board, complete with a cup holder! Along came a guitar player, then another fiddler, another guitar player, then a banjo player. Our group was complete and the music and conversation shared was terrific!Since we are so near "Mayberry", the older gentleman in the blue shirt playing the fiddle, we called "Andy." Doesn't he look like Andy? Only he wasn't playing a banjo or guitar!
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| Washtub base (behind the chair!) Then guy we named "Andy" on the right between the two young fiddlers! |
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| Click on picture to enlarge it! See the cup holder in the washtub base? |
Rupert did very well, NOT singing along at all. After an hour or so, he did get a little restless so we moved on.
The Blue Ridge Music Center has a very nice display of the history of music in the area with various instruments over time, along with the history of the musical instruments creating that music over time. Readers who follow Bob and Jo's How to Love Where You Are and Eat Where the Locals Eat will remember their blog on the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix. We have not yet been to that museum in Phoenix but after visiting the Blue Ridge Music Center, we will put the Phoenix Museum on our "to do" list!
Along with its many panoramic vistas, the Parkway preserves diverse natural and cultural resources of the Southern Appalachian Region. It is a great place to visit! We have more to explore, and, as usual, are adding the Parkway to our "return to" list!
Later! Roving Riders, SWIRVIN around the Blue Ridge Parkway and Mount Airy, NC!
Beautiful part of the country. Thanks for the shout out.
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