Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 30, 1994 TAG: 9407070100
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: ABINGDON LENGTH: Medium
Founded in 1948 by the late Robert Porterfield, who had already founded Abingdon's Barter Theatre, the festival now draws more than 200,000 people to its events during its two weeks each summer.
Porterfield organized the festival to celebrate and preserve the cultural heritage of the region with its arts, crafts and other activities. In addition to that, the festival now also imports other artists and performers.
Barter will be offering performances of ``Man of La Mancha,'' ``Three to Get Ready,'' ``Oleanna,'' ``Ugly: the Story of a Duck,'' ``Jack & the Giant,'' ``John Henry: Steel Driving Man'' and ``Spirits of the South'' at its main theater, Barter Playhouse and First Light Theatre during the festival. Further information is available by calling 1-800-368-3240.
Information on all other festival activities is available by calling the Washington County Chamber of Commerce at 628-8141.
Those activities include historical tours, face-painting, Indian dancers, poetry workshops, demonstrations ranging from karate and gymnastics to salt-making, blacksmithing and making apple butter, carriage rides, opportunities to peer behind the scenes at Barter Theatre, an antique and classic car show, fly-fishing techniques, quilting, clogging, international dancing, concerts on instruments ranging from saxophone to pipe organ, hot-air balloons, and Civil War re-enactor demonstrations from battles to encampments.
Participants will include poets and writers Michael McFee, Madison Smartt Bell, Pickney Benedict and Elizabeth Spires, artist John Sauer, musicians Robin and Linda Williams, and Bill McCall & Southern Country, programs on Appalachia's cultural heritage by Jean Haskell Speer and even a three-day course on integrating Appalachian history across the curriculum that offers a graduate-level credit hour to participants.
by CNB