A WFDD Original
Things Wondrous and Humble, Big Shoes To Fill, and New River Blues Festival
Today, we begin with things wondrous and humble in one of America's finest art museums. Then we'll open up a can of dreams, and scale a treacherous mountain in shoes several sizes too large. And we wrap things up with a good case of the blues on the banks of a New River. Still life that'll really knock your socks off at Reynolda House, Big Shoes by Open Dream Ensemble, and the 2013 New River Blues Festival are all coming your way.
Reynolda House Museum of American Art: Things Wondrous and Humble
Reynolda House Museum of American Art presents the exhibition Things Wondrous & Humble: American Still Life through December 8th, in the Mary and Charlie Babcock Wing Gallery. Things Wonderous features some of the finest examples of still life—both traditional and some unexpected approaches—from collections all across North Carolina. David Ford recently met Reynolda House curator Alison Slaby at Reynolda House for a guided tour.
American Arts Discovery begins Tuesday, September 3rd at Reynolda and continues Tuesdays and Thursdays, through October 10th, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. The 12-session course uses an interdisciplinary approach to teach American art history through the Museum's art collection, and researching correlations in literature and music of the same time period. Cinema Under the Stars continues at Reynolda on Friday, August 30th at 9 p.m with Back to the Future.
Open Dream Ensemble: Big Shoes
Open Dream Ensemble is a project of the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts and an outreach program of UNC School of the Arts. They're now in their 9th season fostering the creativity of artists and youth through the creation of original theatrical performances. Each year Open Dream Ensemble touches the lives of thousands of students during arts-integrated residencies throughout Our State. You can see for yourself Saturday, August 31st at 2:00pm in the UNCSA DeMille Theater with a free and open to the public performance of "Big Shoes" by playwright and performer, Michaela Morton. She was joined by UNCSA BFA in Directing graduate Wiley Basho Gorn who plays the role of Gordy.
New River Blues Festival
Got any holiday weekend plans yet? How about dancing in a mountain meadow by a sparkling river to world-class music performed outdoors live by a host of blues legends? Well, thanks to the 11th Annual New River Blues Festival, that little blues pipe dream can come true. You see it's really here, Sunday, September 1st, at the River House Inn, in beautiful Grassy Creek, NC, on the shores of the New River. Gates Open at Noon, the music Starts at 1:00pm and it'll be performed live by a Who's Who list of world-renowned blues artists including Iron Board Sam the “Living Blues Most Outstanding Keyboard Player” award winner, legendary Blues harp player Doctor Dixon, and Piedmont Blues artist Big Ron Hunter. New River Blues festival directors Penny Quenn Bee Zamagni and Rob Hound Dog Baskerville are The King Bees. More than 25 years ago Penny and Rob committed themselves to mastering this incredible art form studying with and eventually touring the country with the likes of Bo Diddley, Carey Bell, B.B. King, Nappy Brown and many others. They shared this look at their early years on the Chitlin Circuit.
Rob was recently honored as a Blue Ridge Heritage Artist, and this Fall The King Bees will perform at the Rhythm Riot Roots Music Festival in London. Meanwhile, on this side of the pond, Rob and Penny direct The New River Blues Festival, bringing the luminaries and lifeblood of blues to the heart of rural Appalachia. New River Blues 2013 is this Sunday, September 1, at the River House Inn, in beautiful Grassy Creek, NC, on the shores of the New River. Gates Open at Noon, with live music from 1-6:00pm performed by world-renowned blues masters. It'll be five full hours of hot blues in the cool mountains. Advance tickets are 15 bucks, 18 at the door.
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