Bluegrass Day coming to Davie County High School
Published 12:00 am Thursday, August 30, 2018
Carolina Bible Camp Bluegrass Festival
MOCKSVILLE – Davie County High School will be the site for the first Seniors’ Bluegrass Day, sponsored by Chick-fil-A of Clemmons and the Carolina Bible Camp Bluegrass Festival.
Two artists scheduled to appear at the Sept. 8 festival will first present a 90-minute program on Sept. 7 at the high school on War Eagle Drive. The program will include performances, history and instruction by musicians Fireside Collective and Dwight Hawkins and Brody Hunt. Each of Davie County High School’s 390 seniors and their teachers will receive a free wristband from Carolina Bible Camp to attend the festival on Saturday.
Although the Friday performance is open only to the seniors, faculty and staff, Saturday’s Carolina Bible Camp Bluegrass Festival at 1988 Jericho Church Road in Mocksville is open to the public. The annual festival is a fundraiser for the nonprofit camp, which promotes Bible education and wholesome recreation.
The festival benefits the capital development and scholarship funds. No child has been turned away from the camp because of an inability to pay.
“This event will be educational and enjoyable for our hard-working seniors and instructors,” said DCHS Principal Doyle Nicholson. “We are grateful to Carolina Bible Camp and Chick-fil-A of Clemmons for honoring them in this way.”
“We are proud to partner with our like-minded friends at Carolina Bible Camp and bring Davie County High School seniors the finest in bluegrass and roots music,” said Clemmons Chick-fil-A owner David Moore. “Good things happen when good music, good food, and great family values come together in one place.
“The volunteers at this festival wear T-shirts that say, ‘Servants.’ That’s where we want to be in our community: among the ‘Servants.’ After all, our corporate purpose is to glorify God through excellence, stewardship, and the love of others,” Moore added.
Chick-fil-A of Clemmons is contributing a digital gift card good for one sandwich to each of the 390 seniors and their instructors. In addition, the restaurant is donating sandwiches to be sold at the festival and providing food for Friday’s artists and volunteers.
Fireside Collective, the winner of the 2016 MerleFest Band Competition, is quickly gaining a reputation as a must-see progressive acoustic ensemble. Formed in 2014, this group of folk music enthusiasts blends elements of traditional bluegrass and American roots music with modern acoustic arrangements. Their energetic show transitions smoothly between danceable bluegrass numbers and passionate folk ballads, with a surprise Paul Simon number thrown in for good measure.
The band features Jesse Iaquinto on mandolin, Tommy Maher on dobro, Joe Cicero on acoustic guitar, Carson White on upright bass and Alex Genova on banjo.
Dwight “Sawman” Hawkins is a Raleigh-based musician specializing in pre-war string-band music. He is also knowledgeable about hillbilly, hokum and jug music. The founding member of the popular Asheville band Blind Boy Chocolate and the Milk Sheiks, Hawkins left Raleigh at an early age for the life of “a hobo.” He jumped on his first freight train at 18 and quickly became an expert, figuring out which direction each train traveled and how to get from one city to the next without spending any money.
Since then, he has been around the country eight times. It was riding trains that inspired him to leave punk rock behind and embrace the early 20th-century blues he loves today.
He works in construction (not only using a saw, but playing it as well), and he plays the music he loves as often as possible.
“I used to be the road,” Hawkins said recently, “but now I’m the lighthouse.”
The Sept. 8 festival is sponsored by Brewer Brewer & Sorel Attorneys at Law, Carolina Hearing Doctors and Peak Eye Care of Salisbury, Statesville and Hickory. Additional sponsors include DavidSon Home Crafters and Agape of North Carolina. Hospitality sponsors are Chick-fil-A of Clemmons and Comfort Inn & Suites and Days Inn properties of Mocksville.
Tickets for the Carolina Bible Camp Bluegrass Festival 2018 are on sale at www.cbcbluegrass.com. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the gate; children under 12 are admitted free with a paying adult. No alcohol, tobacco or pets are permitted.
The Saturday festival performance also includes headliner Alison Brown; Bobby Hicks, Mark Kuykendall and Asheville Bluegrass; Tim White & Troublesome Hollow; the Snyder Family Band; The Trailblazers with Ivy Phillips; and the national anthem sung by The A Cafellas.
Carolina Bible Camp Bluegrass Festival 2018 features an exhibit of classic cars included in the price of admission.
The festival also offers innovative outdoor play equipment, free arts and crafts activities, and old-fashioned sidewalk games for kids of all ages. Shoppers will enjoy a variety of vendors as well as an auction. Musicians will want to bring their instruments to take advantage of the Pickers’ Place jam tent.
Carolina Bible Camp Bluegrass Festival gates open at 10 a.m. and close at 6:30 p.m. Parking is free. Handicapped parking and assistance is available for guests with special needs. Guests should bring their own chairs.
The festival will be held rain or shine. Professional-grade tents will keep guests comfortable.
Carolina Bible Camp is at 1988 Jericho Church Road in Mocksville. For more information, contact Bluegrass Festival Executive Director Lisa Brewer at 336-262-6325 or visit www.cbcbluegrass.com.
