ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, July 28, 1996 TAG: 9607270007
SECTION: TRAVEL PAGE: 6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ABINGDON
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
Some of the thousands of people who visit Abingdon during the Virginia Highlands Festival come to shop for antiques, collectibles and all the other items offered by nearly 100 dealers under tents covering more than 45,000 square feet on the Virginia Highlands Community College campus.
Others may be more interested in seeing four professionally produced plays in two days, performed on a rotating basis at the newly renovated Barter Theatre and its alternate stage on the opposite side of Main Street, as well as several productions for young people ranging from "Pecos Bill" and "The Wizard of Oz" to "The Hunchback of Notre Dame."
And still others may come for the outdoor musical performances ranging from country to bagpipes, arts and crafts sales and demonstrations, sidewalk vendors of all kinds, lectures on subjects ranging from the archaeology of nearby Saltville to history or the value of old books, food- or wine-tastings, bird walks, creative writing workshops, arts and crafts competitions, tours of historic homes, antique car displays, storytellers, living history performers doing interpretations of people associated with the region such as the sister of Patrick Henry and wife of Woodrow Wilson ...
You get the idea.
This granddaddy of all Southwest Virginia festivals will be Saturday-Aug. 18 this year, with activities stretching all along Abingdon's Main Street and branching out from the Washington County Fairgrounds to the west, Emory & Henry College to the east, and the Saltville area to the north where tours will go to excavation research areas that have produced astonishing artifacts shedding light on prehistoric animal and human habitation of the region.
The late Robert Porterfield, who founded Barter Theatre during the Depression bringing out-of-work New York actors to his native Southwest Virginia to barter their performances for farm goods, also started the Virginia Highlands Festival in 1949. He envisioned the annual festival as a way to celebrate and preserve the cultural heritage of the Appalachian region.
Now in its 48th year, the festival still does that, but it offers still more to the estimated 200,000 visitors it draws. Tourism publications have named it one of the top 100 tourist events in North America and one of the top 20 in the Southeast.
The Highlands Garden Symposium all day Aug. 7 is a new event this year, said festival Chairwoman Betsy White. "It will feature lectures by the editor of Southern Living, who is going to talk on landscape design," she said.
One of the most popular events is the antiques market which also includes items ranging from handmade jewelry to movie memorabilia. "They've got right many new dealers featured, as does the juried crafts demonstration," White said.
White had been director of the William King Regional Arts Center in Abingdon until she became director of a project to research the decorative arts of the region nearly three years ago. The research has finally been completed and the first exhibit based on it, offering more than 40 pierced- tin furniture such as pie safes and sideboards from throughout the region, will open during the festival at the Abingdon United Methodist Church.
"The music events are, as always, varied and excellent. The international dances, which have become a fixture of the festival, are coming from Russia this year, from Georgia," she said. The International Dance Extravaganza will be a prefestival event, set for 8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday at Barter.
One of this year's musical performances will be the debut of "Virginia Highlands Suite," a composition by Cynthia Dobrinski commissioned by the festival, at 5 p.m. Aug. 10.
Teachers can earn recertification credits by signing up for some of the festival's workshops, lectures, slide presentations and panel discussions on topics including art, music, history, social studies, literature and natural history. Events last from one hour to several days, with presenters who are recognized authorities in their fields.
Creative writing day, Aug. 12, will offer readings, lectures and workshops featuring authors William Baldwin, Abigail Thomas and Neile Graham. A children's literature program Aug. 9 will include Boston Globe and Horn Book honoree Janet Hickman, psychiatrist and author-illustrator Lynn Reiser and Newbery honoree Lawrence Yep.
Author Lee Smith, a Southwest Virginia native, will have some of her work performed by actress Barbara Bates Smith, no relation, who has adapted the material for the stage. "B. Smith Does Lee Smith" will be 8 p.m. Aug. 13 at Barter Stage II.
Musical performers include several featured on National Public Radio's "Prairie Home Companion" - Robin and Linda Williams and Their Fine Group, at 8 p.m. Aug. 11. Others include the music video singing team of Cathy Fink and Marcey Marxer; the Kentucky-based Metropolitan Blues All-Stars, whose most recent CD release is "Hillbilly Nation"; the Brass 5 musicians from Roanoke, who have also performed on National Public Radio; and a three-woman comedy team called Sensible Footwear.
Many of the activities are free. There is a daily $2 charge for the antiques market (or $6 for all 16 days; children under 12 free) and various prices for the Barter plays and other activities scheduled there. Brochures with all the activities, prices and locations will be available at the festival. Additional information is available by calling the festival office (623-5266), Washington County Chamber of Commerce (628-8141) or Abingdon Convention & Visitors Bureau (676-2282 or toll-free 1-800-435-3440). Barter information is available by calling 1-800-368-3240.
LENGTH: Long : 112 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: File. 1. One way to tour Abingdon is by horse andby CNBcarriage; Pete Sheffey (right), a longtime employee at the Martha
Washington Inn, can fix visitors up. 2. Antique hunters will love
the tables and tables of collectibles (below) found at Virginia
Highlands Community College. 3. Hot-air balloons are part of the
Virginia Highlands Festival. This year's festival will be held in
Abingdon Saturday-Aug. 18. 4. Music - from bagpipes to Bach - is
always a highlight at the Virginia Highlands Festival (above), named
by several publications as one of the top tourist draws in the
Southeast. 5. Food-tastings, wine-tastings, bird walks, creative
writing workshops, arts and crafts competitions and tours of
historic homes - not to mention art work - all can be found at the
annual Virginia Highlands Festival. color. Graphic: Map. color.