A! Magazine for the Arts Archive

Verner Blankenship Park Music Jam in Hurley to Become an Affiliated Venue of The Crooked Road

Buchanan County, is an area rich in coal resources. It is also rich in traditional music, including gospel, old-time and bluegrass.

In This Issue

• ETSU students' barbershop Quartet to sing at Regional Competition They have sung the national anthem before an East Tennessee State University basketball game, performed at many campus events and participated in the ETSU Music Department's Big Fall Show.
• ETSU's Bluegrass, Country & Old-TimeMusic Program
• Jack Tottle performing in Hawaii Jack Tottle may have retired from East Tennessee State University, but he certainly has not retired from the stage.
• Jack Tottle to perform in Tri-Cities Jack Tottle will unveil his latest album, "The Eagle," during performances in the Tri-Cities in April, May and perhaps June, at venues to be announced.
• Reflections On Bluegrass, Old Time and Country Music at ETSU
• Arts for Youth Spotlight: Michelle Schodowski Michelle Schodowski has a long list of musical accomplishments to her name.
• Charles Goodwin and Sons Weavers and Entrepreneurs Not many people today have heard of the Clinch Valley Blanket Mill, but everybody knew about it before 1950.
• Virginia Highlands Festival announces signature art The Virginia Highlands Festival announces this year's signature art and theme for the festival, "The Jewel of the Blue Ridge."
• Paper Windows 11 winners announced The first place winner of the 11th session of Paper Windows, titled "Seeing Red," is "Happy Train" shot by Marlisa Osborne Moura.
• Poetry Out Loud winner is from Johnson City From a competitive field of more than 1,500 students across the state, Whitney Baxter from Providence Academy in Johnson City, Tenn., received the title of 2013 Poetry Out Loud Tennessee State Champion.
• ETSU Junior selected to perform at Kennedy Center Brock Cooley, a junior theater major at East Tennessee State University, is one of eight student directors from across the nation selected for the SDC Student Director Fellowship Program and to participate in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Fe

A! Extra

• King University Unveils Online Museum of Fine Arts King University has announced the launch of the King University Museum of Fine Arts. The Museum of Fine Arts is a web-based art gallery at museum.king.edu comprised of the Neal and Alice Caldwell Art Collection.
• Border Bash ... Free Summer Concert Series At a press conference on Friday, April 19, Believe in Bristol, alongside community partners Birthplace of Country Music and Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion, revealed plans for a summer packed with free live music and family fun on State Street and beyond.
• Look for MAY A! Magazine on Wednesday, MAY 1 Check out the 25th anniversary of MECCA in the MAY edition of A! Magazine available beginning Wednesday, MAY 1. And plan now to submit press releases and to advertise in our JUNE edition.
• Barter scores with well-loved story The March sisters. For many women, these young ladies, from Louisa May Alcott's beloved book, Little Women, are cherished friends from childhood.
• Emory breaks ground for new center Two theaters, gallery space, a design studio and the college's radio station will all fit into a new building at Emory & Henry College.
• Celebrate National Poetry Month in April Twelve-year-old Garytt Hubbard, a neighborhood kid, stood on the newspaperman's porch. In one hand he held a poem, his poem, "Words Nothing But Words." The other hand supplied the knocks.
• Birthplace of Country Museum striking opening chord Visitors behind a makeshift barricade were abuzz Monday, gazing down through two large, freshly cut triangle-shaped openings to the ground floor below and upward toward the steel framework that will soon support a skylight.
• One Book Was Not Enough One book was not enough for Betsy K. White. In fact, what she found out in producing her first book, "Great Road Style: The Decorative Arts Legacy of Southwest Virginia & Northeast Tennessee" (University of Virginia Press, 2006), only piqued her interest
• Review: Barter's "Half a World Away" is intense drama The Barter Theatre's Stage II production of "Half a World Away" is excellent drama but very difficult to watch — and that is the point.
• "Unnecessary Farce' leaves Audience near 'kilt' with Laughter As a good farce should be, "Unnecessary Farce" has nary a wee dram of subtlety and if you've ever wondered whether Scotsmen wear anything under those kilts this play will settle the question once and for all.
• Hillbilly Opry to become a Crooked Road Venue When someone speaks of a "Phoenix rising" it is usually in reference to good things that rise from the ashes like the fabled bird of Greek mythology.
• Carousel Fine Craft Show & Gala Fundraiser BIG SUCESS! The City of Kingsport Office of Cultural Arts and Engage Kingsport announce the successful completion of the Carousel Fine Craft Show and Brass Ring Gala fundraiser for the Kingsport Carousel Project.
• Recipients Announced For 2013 Governor's Arts Awards Tennessee's highest honor in the arts will be awarded Tuesday, April 23, to nine recipients, including a Johnson City resident, who represent the state's finest cultural traditions.
• Milligan Students selected as Finalists in Photography Contest Six Milligan College students were selected as finalists in the Photographer's Forum Magazine 33rd Annual College and High School Photography Contest.
• Grant Awarded for Music/Film Series The Bristol Public Library partnered with Virginia Intermont College and BCMA and has been awarded a $2,500 grant.
• A First for Barter Theatre In the 80 years Barter Theatre has been producing theatre, it has never taken a show from Stage II to Main Stage in less than four weeks, but that's exactly what it is doing with "I'll Never Be Hungry Again!"