Plateau District Events

Milepost 106-217

Blue Ridge Music Center, Milepost 213, near Galax, VA

Contact: Debbie Robinson
Blue Ridge Music Center
276-236-5309

Blue Ridge Music Center Summer Activities 
Date:  Every Saturday Weekly from 5/24/2008 to 9/13/2008
Time:  11:00 AM
Location:  Blue Ridge Music Center, Milepost 213

Fees for all Saturday evening concerts.
 
There is mid-day mountain music every day from 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM in the breezeway at the Blue Ridge Music Center and ticketed concerts on Saturday evenings. Check the website at www.blueridgemusiccenter.org for a complete schedule of concerts.The showcases are sponsored by the FRIENDS and will feature several of the area's noted artists on each featured instrument.

Monday: The Buck Mountain Band and Friends. This old-time band bears the name of a revered Grayson County mountain, and it plays many Grayson County tunes.

Tuesday: Bobby Patterson and Willard Gayheart. They play old-time and bluegrass.  Bobby traveled with the famed Round Peakers, Tommy Jarrell and Fred Cockerham, on their national tours and knows much about the history of local music.  Willard is a noted pencil artist as well as a singer in some highly respected bands.

Wednesday: Bill and Maggie Anderson. Both are great singers, and Maggie plays the dobro guitar.  Bill plays all instruments, and is a noted instrument maker.  He is retired from the Martin Company, but is a certified Martin repairman.  He can tell you what that old instrument is - and what it is worth.

Thursday: Scott Freeman and Friends.  Scott plays bluegrass and old time.  He is a fine musician who writes, sings, teaches, and plays a variety of instruments.  He likes to play with folks, so bring your instrument.

Friday: Spencer Strickland and Stevie Barr.  Both are virtuoso musicians and Spencer is a fine singer.  Spencer also makes world-class mandolins and guitars with his shop partner, Gerald Anderson.  Stevie is a fantastic bluegrass banjoist, and is a noted teacher.

Saturday: Blue Ridge Music Makers` Guild and Junior Appalachian Music Students. The Guild is an organization of local lutheirs, players, and fans.  They`d like to have you join in.  These students will surprise you with their skills and their love for the music.

Sunday: Stu Shenk and Brian Fain. They lean to old-time and like fiddling.  They also love to sing and play with others, so don`t forget to bring your instrument.

Mabry Mill Summer Concert Series

Mabry Mill Summer Concert Series 
Date:  Every Sunday Weekly from 5/25/2008 to 10/26/2008
Time:  2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Location:  Mabry Mill, MP 176

Enjoy traditional string band music of the Carroll/Patrick/Floyd county area. Bring a lawn chair and your flat footin’ shoes. 

September 14: Mountain Ivy
September 21: TBA
September 28: Mountain Ivy
October 5: TBA
October 12: Mountain Ivy
October 19: New River Rock Skippers
October 26: Mountain Ivy

Roanoke Mountain Campground Summer Music Series (MP 120.4)

Mountain Music at Roanoke Mountain Campground 
Date:  Every Sunday Weekly from 6/1/2008 to 10/12/2008
Time:  7:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Location:  Roanoke Mountain Campground, MP 121
 
September 14: Mountain Fling
September 21: The Moor Hounds
September 28: Original Orchard Grass
October 5: Poison Bottom Boys
October 12: Mac and Jennie Traynham

Sunday August 31 -October 12 performances:  5:00-6:00 pm.

All performances are free of charge. Bring chairs and blankets.

Picnic fare permitted but alcohol is not.

Public Interpretive Programs

Plateau Interpretive Area
Milepost 106-248
May-October 2007
For more information call 540-745-9680 or 540-745-9674

Rocky Knob Campground

Milepost 167
Campfire Programs
Fridays and Saturdays, August 31-October 27 6:00-7:00 p.m.
Gather around the campfire for a traditional ranger program in a traditional setting. Get involved in earning about the plants, animals, and history that make the Blue Ridge such a unique place.

Mabry Mill

Milepost 176.1
Visit Mabry Mill to learn about mountain trades and crafts that the Mabrys and their neighbors performed in this area from the late 1800s through the 1930s. Daily demonstrations may include blacksmithing, wainwrighting, weaving, spinning, chair bottoming, and woodworking and more.

Corn Grinding and Mill Talks

Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, May 25-Oct 27 11:00 am, 1:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m.
Building a water-powered mill was Ed Mabry’s dream and he accomplished it in innovative ways. Learn about this icon of the Blue Ridge Parkway and the role the mill and the Mabrys played in the community.

Rock Castle Gorge Hikes

Every other Saturday, starting May 26 9:00 am – 12:00 p.m.
Call ahead to verify dates. Meet at the Rocky Knob Cabins off of Woodberry Rd. Join a ranger on a three-mile round trip hike and learn about the history of the commuity that existed in this area from the late 1700s until the 1930s. Wear good hiking boots and bring water.

Fall Gathering Days

Saturday, October 20 10:00 am – 4:00 p.m.
Wood smoke and the smell of apple butter boiling signal fall. Come help with the chores associated with the fall season—apple butter making, cider pressing, drying fruits and vegetables, husking corn, and quilt making; and enjoy some music and story telling while you’re here.

Puckett Cabin, MP 190

They Call Me Aunt Orlene.

9/21/2008
Time:  2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
 
Actress Phyllis Stump presents this one-woman show about the life of southwest Virginia midwife, Orlene Puckett, at the site of the midwife`s cabin.  Living to over 100 years old, Puckett is known for delivering over one thousand babies in the late 1800s and early 1900s.  Bring your own chair for this special presentation.

Blue Ridge Music Center

Milepost 212.5
Concerts in the Amphitheater
Saturdays evenings , usually 7-9 pm June 2-Sept 9. But times and days do vary. Check website for schedule. www.blueridgemusiccenter.org
Bring a lawn chair and enjoy some of the best of local and regional live music in this spectacular setting.

Brinegar Cabin

Milepost 238.5
Visit the original cabin and site of Martin and Caroline Brinegar’s homeplace. Whether by location or choice, the Brinegars probably lived a more self-sufficient lifestyle than many well into the 1900s.

From Field to Fabric

Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, May 26-October 21 Times vary
Caroline Brinegar was known to spin and weave her own fabric from flax that she grew and sheep that she raised. See flax growing in the garden and help process it into fiber that can be spun into linen thread. See linsey-woolsey fabric woven on the loom.

Doughton Park Campground

Milepost 240
Campfire Programs
Fridays and Saturdays, August 31-October 27 6:00-7:00 p.m.
Gather around the campfire for a traditional ranger program in a traditional setting. Get involved in earning about the plants, animals, and history that make the Blue Ridge such a unique place.

Basin Cove Hikes

9am-5 pm Dates TBA
Rangers will lead guided hikes into Basin Cove Saturday each month July through October. These hikes along the Basin Creek Trail lead to the Caudill Cabin—the cabin that visible from the Wildcat Rock Overlook by the Bluffs Lodge at Milepost 241. Two hurricanes converged over the mountains in 1916 causing a flood that destroyed many of the homes in the basin. The Basin Cove community never recovered. The Caudill cabin is the only cabin that still remains. The remnants of many Basin Cove community structures are visible along the trail that also passes several waterfalls. Local Basin Cove historians will accompany these hikes.

This almost twelve-mile round-trip hike is strenuous will take approximately six to seven hours. Much of the ascent to the Caudill cabin is quite steep. In addition, there are over twenty-five stream crossings each way that require crossing through shallow water on stepping-stones.
Reservations are required for these hikes and each hike is limited to twenty people. The hikes will begin promptly at 9 AM. Call the Doughton Park District Office at 336-372-8568 for additional information.