Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, October 14, 1994 TAG: 9410140064
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLE
SOURCE: DONNA ALVIS BANKS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Jonas, one of the organizers of this year's Count Pulaski Festival, is hoping for a whopping turnout at the 17th annual event in downtown Pulaski.
O he festival starts at 8:30 a.m. aturday and continues until 6 p.m. with a full day of live entertainment, arts and crafts displays, exhibits and special events, including an appearance by Count Casimir Pulaski.
Actually, Dr. Winston Pound will portray the town's esteemed namesake. Count Pulaski was an exiled Polish nobleman who aided George Washington's army in 1777 and died in October 1779 during the Siege of Savannah.
Pound will speak during the opening ceremonies Saturday.
Most of the activities will take place in the historic district on Main Street. Revolutionary War re-enactors will give demonstrations, wagon rides will be available and a variety of costumed characters will entertain throughout the day.
Jackson Park is where you'll find displays by government, industrial and civic agencies. Other displays - including floral arrangements, dolls, teddy bears and emergency vehicle exhibits - will be at several buildings downtown.
Kids won't want to miss the petting zoo in the parking lot at Signet Bank. The Pulaski Police Department will sponsor a children's bike rodeo at the NationsBank parking lot from 3:30 to 5 p.m.
Cougar fans will like this: Pulaski County High School athletes and coaches will be signing autographs downtown throughout the day. Tours of the Pulaski County Courthouse will be given at 1, 2 and 3 p.m., and tours of the renovated Pulaski Railway Station will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The entertainment lineup includes performers from all over the New River Valley. Here's the schedule:
9-11 a.m. - Music by The Hunter Family.
11-11:30 a.m. - The Gospel Experience, Marva Hickman and the Randolph Avenue United Methodist Church Choir.
11:30 a.m.-noon - The Pulaski County Melodies with Nancy Ballinger and Pulaski County Middle School.
Noon - 12:30 p.m. - "Cat Tales" with storyteller and guitarist Chris White.
12:30-1 p.m. - Jeremy Greystroke, conjurer and magician.
1-1:30 p.m. - Square dancing with the New River Squares.
1:30-2 p.m. - Juggler David Rose.
2-3:30 p.m. - The Sauerkraut Band, directed by Ed Schwartz, plays German oompah music.
3:30-4:30 p.m. - Dancing by The Confederate Cloggers.
4:30-6 p.m. - The No Name Band, Jack Jackson and Chuck Shomo.
In addition to performances on the Main Street stage, you can catch country music shows at Pulaski Motors on East Main. Sierra plays from 3 to 4 p.m., and Marcia & The Wily Fox Band plays from 4 to 6 p.m.
Other events include a pie-eating contest from 2 to 2:30 at the fire station and a scarecrow contest from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at the Fine Arts Center. The Fine Arts Center also will have several pieces of art and memorabilia related to Count Pulaski on display, as well as its current exhibit, "Crosses, Crosses," featuring works by Blacksburg artist Nadine Allen. Admission to the center is free.
Of course, it wouldn't be a festival without food. Come hungry - lots of vendors will be there to indulge your taste buds.
BEAUSOLEIL: In French, the word means "beautiful sun."
"There ain't no cure for my blues today, except when the paper says Beausoleil is coming to town."
Mary Chapin-Carpenter sang praises for Beausoleil in her 1991 Grammy Award-winning song, "Down at the Twist and Shout." Garrison Keillor of public radio's "A Prairie Home Companion" called Beausoleil the best Cajun band in the world.
You would be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't love Beausoleil.
The popular band records for Rhino Records and features fiddler Michael Ducet. The group's style has been called a "sauce picante that mixes Cajun and zydeco music with blues, country, Tex-Mex, Caribbean and every other that's made its way down the Mississippi or across the Gulf of Mexico to Louisiana."
Beausoleil will be in Blacksburg on Saturday for a concert at Virginia Tech. It starts at 7:30 p.m. in Old Dominion Ballroom at Squires Student Center.
Tickets are $12. You can order them by calling Ticketmaster, 951-8427.
SOMETHING TO SEE: "Appalachian Voices," a multimedia show with striking photographs of the New River Valley and entrancing dancing by Radford University students, opens today and runs through Saturday in Preston Auditorium. Performances are at 5 and 7 p.m. both days.
The project, now in its fourth year, was the brainchild of Margaret Devaney, who heads the the university's dance department, and Anna Fariello, director of galleries. Both women came to Radford from other parts of the country in the mid-'80s. They say their shared appreciation of the local landscape and culture inspired them to put their heads together.
Fariello, who has a strong interest in architecture, decided to document local houses and buildings. She says she bypassed the grandiose and formal buildings which appear in architecture textbooks so she could concentrate on the smaller buildings common to Appalachia.
Long rides down gravel roads in Montgomery County produced many of the photos for "Appalachian Voices." Fariello spent one afternoon photographing a Civil-War-era house on Rock Road in Radford. When she returned to take more pictures, the house had been demolished. The photo of the house is one of the most impressive images in the show.
As Devaney began choreographing the dance for the show, she decided to blend abstract design with literal gesture. Some of the motions are adaptations of sign language used by the hearing impaired. The dance also includes movements which tell a story from the viewpoint of a grandmother figure.
The photographic images used in "Appalachian Voices" are projected in larger-than-life frames behind the dancers on stage. In addition, the show features readings from Southern writers such as James Agee, Jo Carson and Wendell Berry.
Admission is $3 for the public and free for Radford University students and staff. To order tickets, call 831-5141 or 831-5420.
INCOGNITO: By day, he's John Lloyd, the mild-mannered mail carrier.
At night, he becomes Houserockin' John, the dude who plays a mean Fender guitar.
Houserockin' John and the Hyper Brothers will play tonight at Classics Lounge in the Best Western Radford Inn on Tyler Avenue. The music starts at 9, and a $2 cover charge gets you in.
In addition to Houserockin' John, the group features Jack Hyper on drums and Aaron Hyper on bass. Don't look the brothers up in the phone book - they're local but they've adopted stage names!
The trio plays classic rock, blues, soul music and a few original tunes. Expect everything from the Ramones to Jimi Hendrix to Wilson Pickett.
"We have 89 songs on our playlist now," says Houserockin' John, "and there's more to come."
HARD-HITTING: "Soul Hammer," the debut album by Egypt, is a high-energy collection of original tunes characterized by pounding rhythms and soulful lyrics. It hits the stores today on the Trumpeter Records label.
The group will be at South Main Cafe in Blacksburg on Saturday for a concert to celebrate the release. It starts at 10 p.m.
Egypt features lead singer Jeff Brodnax, formerly of 24-7 Spyz, along with Andy Waldeck on bass, Joe Lawlor on guitar and Tony McGhee on drums.
The cover charge for Saturday's show is $4 if you're over 21 or $5 if you're under 21.
by CNB