June Issue 1999
Appalachian Summer Festival Makes Boone Focus of Summer
An Appalachian
Summer, taking place in Boone, NC, will celebrate "the fine
art of summer" from July 5 through July 31, with a dynamic
visual arts program (including two national, juried exhibitions
and a lecture series by the Smithsonian Institution), and performing
artists ranging from Hal Holbrook and singer/songwriter Mary Chapin
Carpenter to internationally renowned soprano Grace Bumbry and
the legendary Paul Taylor Dance Company, among others. The festival
will also participate in the Centennial Celebration of its "parent
institution," Appalachian State University, founded in July
of 1899.
The summer arts festival, now entering its fifteenth season, boasts
a diversity of music, dance, theatre and visual arts programs
and performances, held on and around the campus of Appalachian
State University. Last July the festival enjoyed its most successful
season even with unprecedented growth in every aspect of its operations,
including ticket sales, attendance in excess of 25,000, and financial
support through corporate sponsorship and individual giving.
The visual arts will again play a prominent role in the festival,
and will include the 13th Rosen Outdoor Sculpture Competition
& Exhibition, and the Halpert Biennial Visual Arts
Competiton.
The Rosen Exhibition is a national juried competition offering
a venue for emerging and mid-career artists whose large-scale
work is created primarily for installation in public spaces. Cash
awards are provided for ten artists chosen from among a wide range
of applicants, by nationally recognized artists who serve as jurors
for the competiton. Selected works remain on display throughout
the academic year. The exhibition is made possible by the generosity
of Martin and Doris Rosen.
The Halpert Biennial is a national, juried competition
made possible by a generous endowment from Buddy and Charlotte
Halpert. The exhibit is designed to recognize and encourage the
presentation of new works by emerging and established artists
residing in the United States. The competition offers a juror's
award, director's award, and two patrons' awards. Works are displayed
in the Catherine J. Smith Gallery, located on the campus of Appalachian
State University. (This event is also sponsored by DeWoolfson
Down International, Inc.)
Additional exhibits being offered include Beyond Brancusi:
The Sculpture of John Safer, and a Patrons' Wall, a
rotating exhibit featuring festival patrons' personal art collections.
Rounding out the visual arts program will be a Meet the Artist
Series (consisting of informal presentations by regional artists),
a Jewelry Making Workshop, Watermedia Workshop, and a Visual Arts
Workshop Series for Children.
The Smithsonian Institution returns to the festival this season,
to present two fascinating slide-illustrated lectures: The
Appalachian Craft Revival: 1890s -1930s, and Contemporary
Appalachian Craft: Looking at Process.
What sets An Appalachian Summer Festival apart from other summer
arts festivals, say many, is the festival's relaxed mountain setting
and scenic beauty, combined with the breadth and quality of its
artistic programs. Under the artistic direction of Gil Morgenstern,
the festival showcases world renowned performers and visual artists,
as well as some of the most exciting "up and coming"
artists of tomorrow-all in a casual, friendly setting.
Named one of the "top twenty events in the southeast"
by the Southeast Tourism Society, An Appalachian Summer Festival
offers vacation packages and "mini-packages" geared
to a variety of artistic interests. Tourists, summer residents,
members of the university community and local residents comprise
the festival's diverse and ever expanding audience.
Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter will
be the headliner for the festival's Outdoor Fireworks Concert,
scheduled for July 17th at 7:30pm, in Kidd Brewer Stadium, sponsored
by Blue Ridge Electric Company. The concert will be preceded by
a day-long "Birthday Party" (in honor of Appalachian
State University's Centennial) from 10am to 6:30pm at Duck Pond
Field, adjacent to the stadium. The celebration will feature food
and craft vendors, local entertainers, displays, and children's
activities. All pre-concert activities are free and open to the
public, and are co-sponsored by the university's Centennial Committee
as well as the Boone Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Boone Development
Association, Watauga County's Sesquicentennial Committee, and
the High Country Host.
This season's musical offerings will include recitals by internationally
renowned soprano Grace Bumbry and the School of Music's highly
acclaimed vocal ensemble, APPropos!, as well as several
performances by the North Carolina Symphony (sponsored by North
State Foods), The Broyhill Chamber Ensemble (sponsored by Ford
Motor Company), Celtic music artists Mary Black and Solas (sponsored
by Skyline Telephone Membership Corporation), jazz artists Nnenna
Freelon and the Peter Donovan Ensemble, and the Mast Store Series
featuring the music/storytelling ensemble "Tales and Scales"
and folk artists Bruce Molsky and Big Hoedown.
This festival's dance offerings will include two of the nation's
foremost contemporary dance companies, including the legendary
Paul Taylor Dance Company and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (sponsored
by First Citizens Bank).
Theatre offerings will include Hal Holbrook's critically acclaimed
performance of Mark Twain Tonight! (sponsored by Northern
Trust Bank of Florida); a new play by Romulus Linney entitled
Hisself, (written in honor of Appalachian's Centennial
and produced by the Department of Theatre and Dance); and a staged
theatrical reading of the classic Greek Tragedy The Bacchae,
in association with New York City's 92nd Street Y.
The festival continues its "Family Series" this season,
with a North Carolina Symphony Young People's Concert (sponsored
by Tweetsie Railroad), the two Mast Store Series concerts, the
Celtic Music Concert, and the art workshop series. In addition,
a Creative Writing Workshop Series will be offered, including
a writing workshop and a writing/photography workshop for children
ages 8-12, and a special workshop for teens (ages 13-16) entitled
Creating Stories From Our Lives.
In addition to its Creative Writing Workshop Series, the festival
will address the literary arts by encouraging participation in
the Cormac McCarthy Society Conference, taking place on the campus
from July 29-31, and featuring keynote speaker (and author) Robert
Morgan.
The festival is proud to announce a recent collaboration with
the Metropolitan Opera Guild in New York City and the Watauga
County Public Schools, which will bring a program called "Creating
Original Opera" to area public schools. The program will
be launched this summer in conjunction with Watauga County Parks
and Recreation, and will result in a public performance by school-age
children during the last week of the festival.
Last but not least, the festival's colorful and spirited community
fundraising event, the Annual Gala, is scheduled for the evening
of July 30th at the Broyhill Inn, and will feature an elegant
dinner/dance, as well as a spectacular Silent Auction supported
by area businesses and artists.
Tickets for most festival performances are $12 - $20 for adults,
$5 - $10 for students, and $2 for all children age 12 and under
(with special pricing for the Outdoor Fireworks Concert). Subscription
packages and a flexible "Create Your Own Series" packages
are available at discounted prices, and all visual arts exhibits
are offered at no charge. Vacation packages are also available,
through the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center.
For further information about An Appalachian Summer Festival check
our NC Institutional Gallery listings or call 828/262-4046, or
800/841-ARTS, outside of the Boone area or on the web at (www.appsummer.org).
Call the same numbers to request a season brochure from the Farthing
Auditorium Box Office at Appalachian State University.
Mailing Address: Carolina Arts, P.O. Drawer 427, Bonneau, SC
29431
Telephone, Answering Machine and FAX: 843/825-3408
E-Mail: carolinart@aol.com
Subscriptions are available for $18 a year.
Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring
Publishing Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc.
Copyright© 1999 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston
Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts
from Jan. 1995 - Dec. 1996. It also publishes Carolina Arts
Online, Copyright© 1999 by PSMG, Inc. All rights reserved
by PSMG, Inc. or by the authors of articles. Reproduction or use
without written permission is strictly prohibited. Carolina
Arts is available throughout North & South Carolina.