By Parker Stevens
Parker served as Development Associate for Appalachian Voices from January 2010 to December 2011, coordinating our membership and directing two Riverkeeper festivals for the organization. She left to head up the Appalachian Women’s Fund based in Boone, N.C.

Appalachian Voices’ 2nd annual RiverFest is coming up on June 4th at the beautiful park in Valle Crucis, N.C. With lots of great activities – from storytelling to fly tying, primitive skills to facepainting – and a variety of vendors, RiverFest promises to be a great day by the river.

Local and regional musicians will provide foot-stompin’ tunes from a solar powered stage. Festival goers can hear blues and bluegrass throughout the day and can even bring their own instruments and join in at the Pickin’ Parlor.

Bill Adams from Charlottesville, Va., will start the morning off with some solo, acoustic guitar picking. His unique fingerstyle arrangements blend old time and blues and even a little ragtime. His country blues approach to traditional fiddle tunes makes for a fun, one-of-a-kind sound that everyone can enjoy. Sample some of his songs online at www.fngrpkr.com. (11 am – 1 pm)

Boone is full of talented performers of all ages, and some of our younger musicians are taking the stage at RiverFest to show off their skills. Jammers from the Watauga Junior Appalachian Musicians program range from third to eighth grade and attend weekly classes at the Jones House Community Center where they learn traditional folk tunes on guitar, banjo, and fiddle. (1:15 pm to 1:45 pm)

The mountain sounds of the Boone-based band Upright & Breathin’ will round out the afternoon. The core of Upright & Breathin’ consists of Jeff Moretz, Brian Kreher, and Chris Capozzoli, but the group is frequently joined by other talented musicians. Their songs are some of the best bluegrass tunes around, though they also spice things up with elements of jazz, gypsy swing, and good old fashioned rock & roll. (2 pm – 4 pm)

So, bring your dancing shoes and an instrument if you’ve got one, and don’t miss the Appalachian sounds of these regional acts at RiverFest 2011!

Learn more about RiverFest at www.AppalachianVoices.org/Riverfest.