Too much to do?

By Published by The Editorial Board

Published: June 11, 2008

Fans of bluegrass music living in and around Rockingham County are surely anticipating this weekend as much as any since Merlefest, held each spring in nearby Wilkesboro.
Some may be looking ahead with some anxiousness, however, as they may be torn between staying home for the annual Charlie Poole festival or traveling to Wilkes County for the inaugural induction to the The Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame, which, according to its Web site, will be housed on the second floor of the Wilkes Heritage Museum in the restored old Wilkes Courthouse in downtown Wilkesboro.
The ceremony is Friday night and induction will include a dinner, presentations and performances by some of the living inductees. The first inductees, according to the Wilkes Journal-Patriot, are Doc Watson, The Carter Family, Ralph Epperson, Tommy Jarrell, Dolly Parton, Ralph Rinzler, Sam Love Queen Sr., Wayne Henderson, Earl Scruggs and Wilkes native and resident David Johnson.
In Eden, the Charlie Poole festival, which begins Friday and ends Saturday with headliners the McPeak Brothers, is one of the county’s premier events, and includes several well-known acts as well as other activities. Last year, the festival featured Uncle Earl and the Carolina Chocolate Drops – a must-hear string band that is destined for big things.
The Poole festival is being held two weeks later than last year, which coincides with local high school graduation ceremonies, all four of which are Saturday morning. Last year, the graduation ceremonies were held a week earlier.
By the way, country stars Phil Vassar and Bucky Covington are performing Friday night at the Carrington Pavilion in Danville, Va., the first show of the Harvest Jubilee Summer Concert Series. Music fans will have quite the conundrum, and those with graduating seniors – and maybe the graduates themselves—can look forward to a busy weekend.
Scheduling such events so far in advance is difficult, especially when booking performers—Jim Lauderdale, a nationally known folk artist, was the original headliner for the Poole festival, but he backed out due to “unforeseen circumstances.”
The weekend is filled with entertainment options, and that’s a good thing. It’s also not so good, because when so much is happening an event invariably suffers – not to mention the fans. There was likely little the organizers could do prevent the confluence of so many big events over a single weekend, but the scheduling conflicts are certainly something to think about when planning for next year and beyond.