Promoting Stokes: Foothills Hayride celebrates the county’s musical accomplishments—past and present
by Leslie Bray Evans, News Editor1 day 12 hrs ago | 99 views | 0 | 2 | |
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Stokes County is being put on the musical map.
Or rather, Stokes County has been on the musical map and big red arrows are being drawn to make the public aware of that.
Already the county is a lure for those who want to hear good music. Some of the drawing cards are the Stokes Stomp, Jomeokee, Fourth of July celebrations, Pickin’ at Priddy’s, as well as the municipal festivals such as Kingfest and the Walnut Festival.
Yes, the present is sparkling and the future looks bright.
But that isn’t all that a group at the Stokes County Arts Council wants the public to know. They have begun a program called the “Foothills Hayride” which will market Stokes County as a 12-month musical destination and publicize the county’s musical heritage as a qualifying factor.
“In Stokes County, we have a story,” says SCAC Executive Director Eddy McGee. “It’s time for us to say, ‘Hey, we’ve got our own history here.’”
According to McGee, other areas and surrounding counties emphasize their musical heritage in an effort to establish their region as a longstanding hotbed of musical prowess. “They tell their story,” McGee points out. “It’s time we tell ours.”
And the story of Stokes is one that even its longtime residents may not be aware of.
Like the day the legendary Carter family was passing through and their car broke down. Some Stokes County folks came to their aid; in exchange, this founding family of country music performed for their benefactors.
Lester Flatt at one time owned Jomeokee Musical Park in Pinnacle. He held his Pilot Mountain Bluegrass Festival there. Word on the street is that Roy Acuff, Bill Monroe and Flatt and Scruggs came through Stokes years ago to add to its musical resume.
And that’s not all.
Few remember that the Godfather of Soul, James Brown himself, performed at London Gym in the mid-1960s.
“Stokes has a reputation,” McGee states.
He recalls talking to bluegrass star Rhonda Vincent at a concert in another state. When he mentioned Stokes County, Vincent exclaimed, “There's something in the water down there!” According to McGee, Vincent was referring to the incredible musical talent that has come, and is coming, out of Stokes.
There’s Alan Bibey, a Stokes County mandolin player who has been internationally acclaimed. There’s native son Lou Reid who moves in the upper echelons of bluegrass circles. And don’t forget Ronnie Bowman who played with the Lonesome River Band and has written numerous hit songs, including two that hit number one for Brooks and Dunn and Kenny Chesney.
Also helping to put Stokes County on the musical map are more recent names such as two Walnut Cove natives—Matt Dylan (Flinchum) who is suddenly taking the country music world by storm and Heather Berry who is becoming known as a bluegrass voice to be reckoned with, to mention a few.
McGee and the other SCAC members who are organizing the Foothills Hayride have multiple goals in mind. The premier one is the marketing of Stokes County as a year-round musical venue par excellence. McGee is pleased that this ties into what the Travel and Tourism Committee is doing under the direction of Stokes County Economic Director Alan Wood and the Economic Development Commission.
The Foothills Hayride is not a one-time event; it is a continual tool to market anything musical in Stokes County. Even weekly music jams around the county could be promoted through this new program, says McGee.
“People long to be a part of that, but they don’t know how,” McGee speaks of the regular bluegrass pickings, chicken stews and other gatherings where good music is a draw.
“It’s one of our greatest cultural assets,” he adds, “and we take it for granted.”
The Foothills Hayride will be marketed statewide and regionally in ways that include websites dedicated to tourism. The program has its own website as well at www.foothillshayride.com which is updated daily. “It is still a work in progress, having only been live since early February,” McGee cautions.
The 2009 Stokes Stomp in September was the first event promoted under the banner of the Foothills Hayride. “It was the start of getting the word out there,” McGee explains.
The next big event they are promoting is the Jomeokee Musical Festival at Jomeokee Campground in Pinnacle, which takes place Friday and Saturday, May 14-15. Musical groups and artists such as Grasstowne with Alan Bibey, Rich in Tradition, Steep Canyon Rangers, John Cowan, and Junior Sisk and Rambler’s Choice will be performing. Local groups such as Blues Creek, the McGee Brothers, and a host of others will also be part of the entertainment.
Individual events, such as the Stomp and Jomeokee, will remain individualized, thus not losing their personal charm, but will gain greater exposure through the Foothills Hayride marketing package. The Hayride will soon become part of Blue Ridge Music Trails which promotes musical events in North Carolina and Virginia. In the past, Stokes County has not been included in this marketing of great music in the Blue Ridge Mountains and foothills.
The Foothills Hayride has multiple corporate sponsors, such as the R.J. Reynolds Foundation, Wachovia Foundation, Southern Community Bank and the North Carolina Arts Council. McGee is on what he calls “a daily search for grants.” He works tirelessly at this endeavor, rationalizing, “If it takes more than once of knocking, then that’s just the way it is.”
Since Stokes County has no foundations of its own, McGee has to go out-of-county to raise money for things such as the Foothills Hayride which is just one of many things the SCAC promotes. He sees fundraising as “a relationship, not a ‘one and done.’” He raises funds for programs that will have a permanent impact on the local community, which is what funders, as good stewards of their money, want to see.
“You’ve gotta have a story to tell,” McGee details selling Stokes County programs to outside funders. “You’ve gotta be positive and you’ve gotta be persistent.”
He is enthused about this latest program for which he has helped raise funding. “I’m excited for Stokes County,” McGee says. “What better way to honor my family’s name and other musical families’ names! We’re out there representing what went before.”
And that is another primary goal of the Foothills Hayride—to preserve Stokes County’s musical heritage. Even the name Foothills Hayride was chosen by the committee to evoke memories of days gone by.
“‘Hayride’ is a term from our past,” McGee elaborates. He recalls the Louisiana Hayride, a radio and television show years ago, which featured musical artists such as Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash.
McGee feels that Stokes County’s own hayride can draw on the past as well.
“We want to encourage Stokes County residents that have a story that needs to be told,” McGee urges people to come forward with their remembrances of musical events in the county’s past. His group is compiling these stories on their website as part of their marketing efforts.
All it takes is a call or an email to the SCAC to tell the story or set up an interview. McGee and company hope to utilize high school students to help document these stories.
McGee encourages other counties to do the same. He notes that the term “Foothills” in the program’s title obviously relates to the location of Stokes County, but he adds that it also encompasses surrounding counties. He hopes it inspires other counties to market themselves.
“I would love to have a Foothills Hayride in Surry, Wilkes and other counties,” McGee says.
But for right now, he and the Foothills Hayride committee are focusing on blowing the dust off Stokes County’s spot on the musical map of the past and highlighting its place on the current map.
McGee is passionate about the project, “Stokes County has an incredible musical past and incredible musical present that we need to promote, to celebrate.”
A past and a present that should lead to a future of good music ringing through the hills and hollows of Stokes County.
For more information on the Foothills Hayride, call 593-8159 or visit www.stokescountyarts.com.
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