mcdowellnc.org

JULY 21 - JULY 27, 2008

July 25, 2008 - Friday Open Mic Night at Catawba Vale Coffee Cafe. Get some practice singing, performing your originals or trying out new comedic material. Free admission. 5-8pm; Catawba Vale, Main Street, downtown Old Fort. For more information, call 828-668-9899 or visit www.catawbavale.com.

July 26, 2008 - Blue Ridge Traditions at Mountain Gateway Museum. This is the final performance of the season. The afternoon includes a special event, Summer Days and Summer Nights offering inter-active crafts for children and adults. Beginning at 7:00pm, Clarence Green and Wayne Martin open the concert outdoors in the creekside amphitheater. Nationally known performers, The Kruger Brothers follow. The Kruger Brothers’ music has been described as “new American music”; if you haven’t heard them go to www.krugerbrothers.com or call 828-668-9259 for more information. Bring a blanket, chairs and a picnic!

July 26, 2008 - Live Music at Switzerland Cafe and Zack’s Pub featuring Patrick Fitzsimmons, an Irish-born musician performing blues, jazz, ragtime, old-time country and western swing. The cafe and pub are located in Little Switzerland. For more information, call 828-765-5289 or visit www.switzerlandcafe.com.

July 27, 2008 - Off-Road Assault on Mt. Mitchell. The assault is a 55-mile, mostly off-road bicycle route with 11,000 ft. of accumulated climbing. The route begins and ends in Old Fort climbing to the Blue Ridge Parkway and on to Mt. Mitchell. Entry fee/cash prizes. For more information, call Blue Ridge Adventures at 828-606-5107 or visit www.blueridgeadventures.net.

The Orchard at Altapass hosts live music and mountain dancing, storytelling and hayrides, naturalist tours and birding walks, arts and handwork demonstrations Wednesday-Sunday. The Orchard is located at milepost 328.3 on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Little Switzerland. For more information, call 888-765-9531 or visit www.altapassorchard.com.

The Carolina Mountains: Photography of Margaret Morley presented by the North Carolina Museum of History and the Mountain Gateway Museum & Heritage Center. Photographs feature an intimate look at everyday life in western North Carolina around the turn of the 20th century. Exhibited photographs displayed at Mountain Gateway Museum, Old Fort Train Station, Museum & Visitor’s Center, the Marion Davis Branch of McDowell County Public Library and Catawba Vale Coffee Cafe all located in Old Fort. For more information, call the McDowell County Tourism Authority, 888-233-6111 or 828-668-4282.

Bluegrass Music Jam every Thursday. Open to all musicians, no scheduled performers. Outdoors bring chairs or blankets (the music moves indoors for inclement weather). Free; 7-9pm, Marion Depot, Marion. For more information, call 828-652-2215 or visit www.downtownmarion.org.

Old Fort Mountain Music. Every Friday evening for more than a decade, folks have gathered to hear and play bluegrass and traditional mountain music. Nobody’s paid, everyone’s welcome and coffee and sodas are still just a quarter! All musicians are encouraged to join in the fun. Planning to visit? Don’t forget to bring your instruments with you! Friday evenings; 7:00pm; Rockett Building, Main Street in downtown Old Fort; for more information call 1-888-233-6111.

Tracks Music. Great dance music for everyone. Live music by the “Rewind Band”. New and old Country, Beach, old-time Rock and Roll, Blues, Cloggin’, Broom dances and more. Open every Saturday night 8-11:30pm. Admission: $6. Bacon Drive, Old Fort. For more information, call 828-460-8852.

Various other locations in the county offer free music on the weekends, use the links to the right for more specific musicians, times and locations.