Camp Washington-Carver will present its musical entertainment series, Sweets and Sounds, on three consecutive Sundays in September at 3 p.m. The one-hour concerts are followed by delicious homemade desserts in the Great Chestnut Lodge. The series will begin Sept. 7 and continue on Sept. 14 and Sept. 21.
On Sept. 7, the Whoopin’ Hollar String Band will perform a set of traditional Appalachian old-time tunes. The band features Andrew Dunlap of St. Albans on guitar, Jake Krack of Nicut on fiddle and David O’Dell of Spencer on banjo. The three members have studied under the tutelage of West Virginia master musicians including Frank George, Lester McCumbers, Brooks Smith, Bob Taylor and Melvin Wine to name a few.
The band has a combined total of more than 70 years experience in playing music. All three musicians have won numerous awards at the annual Vandalia Gathering in Charleston and various other venues. The band itself took first place honors in the traditional band contest at the 2006 Appalachian String Band Music Festival at Camp Washington-Carver.
Reservations are recommended, but tickets also will be sold the evening of the performance. Tickets are $10 per person for the performance and dessert.
For more information about the Sweets and Sounds musical entertainment series or to make reservations for the concert, call (304) 558-0220, ext. 130.
Sweets and Sounds will continue on Sept. 14 featuring The Carpenter Ants, a Charleston-based group specializing in rhythm and blues, gospel/soul and country/funk. The series concludes on Sept. 21 with Angie Richardson, a traditional gospel singer and musician, also based in Charleston.
A beautiful retreat listed in the National Register of Historic Places and operated by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, Camp Washington-Carver serves as the state’s mountain cultural arts center and nurtures the cultural heritage embodied in the site since its dedication in 1942 as a 4-H and agricultural extension camp for West Virginia’s African Americans. The camp is located adjacent to Babcock State Park just off Route 60 (Midland Trail) on Route 41 South in Clifftop, Fayette County.
The West Virginia Division of Culture and History, an agency of the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts, brings together the state’s past, present and future through programs and services in the areas of archives and history, the arts, historic preservation and museums. Its administrative offices are located at the Cultural Center in the State Capitol Complex in Charleston, which also houses the state archives and state museum. The Cultural Center is West Virginia’s official showcase for the arts. The agency also operates a network of museums and historic sites across the state. For more information about the Division’s programs, visit www.wvculture.org. The Division of Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
- 30 -