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ch-scene - Press Release - Summerfest Finale in Saxapahaw with The Kickin Grass Band. The End of Wonderful Summer!

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  • From: Heather LaGarde <heather AT barnstarvintage.com>
  • To: tom LaGarde <tomlagarde AT bellsouth.net>
  • Subject: Press Release - Summerfest Finale in Saxapahaw with The Kickin Grass Band. The End of Wonderful Summer!
  • Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2007 10:38:27 -0400

PRESS RELEASE:
Summerfest Finale in Saxapahaw with The Kickin Grass Band. The End of Wonderful Summer!
Saxapahaw, NC
Saturday, August 25th,
Saxapahaw Outside - Next to the Post Office
Farmer's Market 5-8
Music 6-8
Contact: Heather LaGarde, 336 376 5694 heather AT barnstarvintage.com
High Res (GREAT!) Pictures Available

After a summer of great music, healthy local fare, facepainting, parades, bubbles, zipboats and homemade waterslides, the Saxapahaw Rivermill Farmer's Market and Music Series comes to a close for the season at the grand Summerfest Finale this Saturday, August 25th. The Kickin' Grass Band will be playing on the haywagon stage at the meadow amphitheater over the Haw River celebrating local arts, & local food in what has become a thriving and diverse community gala. Centrally located between the Triangle and the Triad, the Saturdays in Saxapahaw series draws crowds from Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Durham, and Raleigh as well as Graham, Burlington and Greensboro with a different band every week, free activities for kids and a Farmer's Market offering locally produced cheese, wine, baked goods, honey, flowers, fish, pork, eggs, chicken, jams, chutney, and organic produce. The market added a section for local artisans this year called Front Porch Crafts featuring jewelry, toys, woodworking, baskets and pottery and The Barbecue Joint brings their mobile kitchen out each week to provide dinner to picnicers.

Each Saturday beautiful Saxapahaw, an historic and bucolic milltown, finds itself packed as parked cars line sides of the streets. Families hike in carrying picnic blankets and baskets, Cyclers ride in on backroads, organized kayaking trips paddle down the Haw River from Swepsonville as farmers and artisans set up their tents. The haywagon stage is exactly that, two haywagons puled together covered with a tent to keep the summer's heat off the musicians. The Market opens at 5 to the weekly soundtrack of vintage Calypso and Bahamian numbers about tomotoes and okra, dotted with market themed specials from The Andrews Sisters (Beer Barrel Polka), Louis Armstrong (Potato Head Blues), and Dinah Shore (Shoo Fly Pie). The rolling hillsides around the stage fill with picnic blankets and chairs as people stake their spot for the show and shop the farmer's market. The bands start playing at 6 and run until 8 with organizers collecting for the band using a large swan bucket to hold donations- which is what covers band fees -and this inevitably inspires weekly jokes about the Swan Song etc.

Crowds have peaked at over 1000 a week for some of the biggest bands including the Two Dollar Pistols and Polecat Creek, and organizers note that even with crowds of that size there is never trash left on the ground and the hills hold the crowds so that it doesn't feel too full. Maybe it's the historic setting, or the river, or the local feel of the event but the sense of camaraderie and community is so strong with all ages, all kinds of backgrounds joining together to enjoy a lovely night out with the only cost being what you might choose to feed a swan.

Sponsors for the series include The Saxapahaw Rivermill, Haw Village, Fifth Season Gardening, Open Eye Cafe, Townsend Bertram and The Barbecue Joint.
Children's Activities are run and sponsored by Ceres and Bioallies.

Join us for the last Saturday in Saxapahaw this year! (Oktoberfest is October 20th!)
More information www.rivermillvillage.com

The Kickin Grass Band http://www.kickingrass.com
Up-and-coming bluegrass group, The Kickin Grass Band, have set themselves a cut above the rest with their tight vocal harmony, driving instrumentation and effusive energy on and off the stage. The band prides itself on reaching all types of bluegrass and non- bluegrass audiences, incorporating standard bluegrass tunes, rock & country classics and a number of "can't get 'em out of yer head" originals into their entertaining sets. With rich vocals, skilled fiddle and a banjo that lives in the perfect space between Scruggs and Fleck, The Kickin Grass Band brings traditional music to the forefront of modern bluegrass and a new generation of music fans.

"The band picks with power and authority and the vocals are sung with passion and grace. And, best of all, along the way, the band has forged its own unique sound. The original tunes are just stellar." — Dave Higgs, Bluegrass Breakdown, Nashville Public Radio

"A unique musical offering, which stands out in the sometimes crowded field of similar sounding bluegrass acts, and appeals to a broad range of tastes."- Swallow Hill Newsletter, Denver CO

"An entertaining ride fueled by rich harmonies and pulsing rhythms."- Chris Parker, The Durham Herald-Sun








  • Press Release - Summerfest Finale in Saxapahaw with The Kickin Grass Band. The End of Wonderful Summer!, Heather LaGarde, 08/20/2007

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