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Music Hall of Fame exhibit unveiled
by Staff
(Photo caption) Photo courtesy of Wilkes Chamber of Commerce-AUDIO/VISUAL KIOSK featuring Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame inductees is funded with $25,000 donated by the American Express Foundation, represented by Tim Goetz, right. At left is Old Wilkes Inc. Chairman R.G. Absher. Behind them are the Kruger Brothers.
The Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame Exhibit at the Wilkes Heritage Museum in the old county courthouse was unveiled during an event Thursday night that included tours and a concert by the Wilkes County-based Krüger Brothers.
With attendance by invitation only, the grand opening event drew about 100 people and was provided by the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame Committee and Old Wilkes Inc.
It included presentation of a $25,000 grant from the American Express Foundation, represented at the event by Tim Goetz, manager of community affairs for American Express.
The $25,000 will fund an audio/visual kiosk for the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame, which Old Wilkes Inc. Director Jennifer Furr said would show film clips of performances by Hall of Fame inductees.
“This grant will allow Old Wilkes to expand on the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame and make the exhibit a truly interactive display,” said Mrs. Furr. Old Wilkes Inc. Chairman R.G. Absher accepted the grant on behalf of Old Wilkes, the nonprofit organization that created the Wilkes Heritage Museum after restoring the old county courthouse.
The Hall of Fame exhibit so far includes antique musical instruments from the Wilkes area provided by Old Wilkes board members. They include a banjo, guitar, traveling organ, concertina and two fiddles provided by Old Wilkes board members.
There also are old photos of area musicians in the late 1800s and early 1900s, recordings of music from the 1930s and 1940s, a log cabin facade and a photo of C.C. Wright Elementary student Jacob Johnson playing his banjo and fellow musician Dub Harris.
Other exhibit sponsors and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony partners were recognized in a ceremony before the Kruger Brothers concert. In addition to American Express, primary exhibit sponsors include the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area and the Wilkesboro Tourism Development Authority.
The Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame was created in 2006 to recognize and honor musicians and others who have contributed to the musical heritage of the Blue Ridge Mountains, said Mrs. Furr.
The inaugural Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is June 13, 2008 at Wilkes Community College’s John A. Walker Community Center in Wilkesboro.
Charter inductees include Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs, the Carter Family Jarrell, Dolly Parton, David Johnson, Ralph Rinzler, Ralph Epperson, Wayne Henderson and Sam Love Queen Sr.
Announcements are expected later on performances of inductees at the first ceremony.
Partners for the ceremony include the Town of Wilkesboro, County of Wilkes, Lowe’s Companies Inc., Kulynych Family Foundation, CommunityOne Bank, Dwight and Anne Pardue, David and Jean Deal, Town of North Wilkesboro, Nancy Watson, Wilkes Telecommunications Inc., Wilkes Income Tax Service, Addison Inn, J.R. Vannoy & Sons Const. Co. Inc., WKBC Radio, Tyson Foods, Grassy Creek Winery, Wilkes Playmakers, Hampton Inn, Tom Graves, SE Systems Inc., The Walker Center, MerleFest, Pumpkin Creek Video Productions, Isaac G. Forrester, CPA, N.C. Division of Tourism, Film, and Sports Development, Cultural Arts Council of Wilkes, Wachovia Foundation, Wilkes Community Foundation, Wilkes Steel Inc., A-1 Self Storage, F. Rhodes Foods Inc., Brushy Mountain Smokehouse and Creamery, Physical Therapy Associates of Wilkes, LLC, Brame Huie Pharmacy, Canter Construction Company, Larry Pendry, Cooks Inc., Carolina Realty Inc., Wilkes Acoustic Folk Society, and DonLin Counseling Services.
Tickets are on sale now and may be purchased from the Walker Center box office at www.walkercenteronline.org or by phone at 838-6260.
Dinner is at 6 p.m. and the Induction Ceremony is at 8 p.m. A l |
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