Rugby’s annual celebration of our British Isles and Appalachian heritage is this Saturday and Sunday, May 14 and 15.
The music begins Saturday with a Bluegrass Competition, a first here in Rugby. Area bands are being invited to show up (no booking required) and let us see what they've got.
On Sunday, we'll change our tune a bit. David Coe (photo to the right) and The Irish-Appalachian band is a featured act. Also on the billing are Tony Thomas and Judy Carter's "Old Time Music," and Liz McGeachy and Tim Marema with songs "From England to Appalachia."
Coe, of Nashville, began playing old-time fiddle at an early age in Oklahoma. In the 1980s he teamed up with country artist Michael Martin Murphey, a relationship continuing today. He's made several trips to Ireland to learn from and play with musicians there. His workshops have drawn fans to the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville.
Accompanying him are multi-instrumentalist Josh Culley, from a Nashville musical family, and accordionist Jeff Taylor, who has played sessions with everyone from Elvis Costello to Ricky Scaggs to Mandy Barnett. Taylor frequently accompanies Vince Gill and The Time Jumpers at Nashville's Station Inn.
Craft artisans bring demonstrations, sales
We'll showcase more than 60 traditional arts/crafts experts, many showing how they use their skills.
From musical instrument makers to potters, knitters, carvers, copperworkers, basket weavers, soapmakers, photographers and more -- there's something for all tastes.
Lark in the Morn English Country Dancers will perform and teach all ages. Don't miss their Maypole dance, a crowd favorite!
Tours of several of Rugby's 1880s buildings are included, among them the Rugby Printing Works.
Saturday's hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern. Sunday's are 10-5. Just $5 adults/ $2 K-12 students.
Call toll-free 888-214-3400 for special questions or lodging reservations.
Historic Front Door to Be Auctioned
Christ Church will have children's activities and booths in the churchyard during Festival. On Saturday, the church will have a silent auction of the old front door of the church so that someone can give this piece of Rugby history a loving home. Check by the baked goods booth early on Saturday for more details, including the closing time for the final bids.
Bishop Charles von Rosenberg will make the last visitation to the church before his retirement the Sunday of Festival. There will be a special reception after the Sunday service; all are welcome to attend the service and reception.
Bell Rings for Early Morning Broadcast
To help get the word out about Rugby, Knoxville News WATE did an early morning telecast from Rugby last Thursday. Real early. The broadcast got a number of folks up at 5 a.m. Eastern. The program was part of its series showing places that Knoxville area families can visit that are close to home. One highlight of the video shows Dennis Cribbet ringing the newly functioning Schoolhouse bell. Here is a link to part of the broadcast:
www.wate.com/story/14586693/visit-rugby-a-victorian-settlement-in-east-tennessee
Rugby Bear
The Rugby bear has repeatedly made its presence known in the last week. We have heard reports of evidence of bear activity and sightings all around the village. Villagers are asked to redouble their efforts to leave no animal food, bird food or trash where the bear can get to it. Sightings should continue to be reported to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
On Friday night it made an appearance near the Café’s bear-proof dumpster at about 9 p.m. TWRA has been doing late night patrols in areas where the bear has been reported.
Volunteers Clean Up Rugby
Volunteers, supported by Morgan County's "Clean Up Community" program, picked up 23 bags of litter between the White Oak Bridge and the Historic Rugby Visitor Centre on Wednesday. Thank you for pitching in, and for Morgan County's anti-litter coordinator Molly Cerra of Deer Lodge for helping. The village is now more welcoming for our Spring Festival visitors. In addition, each of the 7 participants burned up 50 calories for every 8 minutes they worked during the two hours they helped in the pickup. Excercise and no litter, what more can we hope for?
Gardening Workshop Coming Up
This year’s Historic Rugby gardening workshop is scheduled for Saturday, May 21, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. "Small Space Vegetable Growing in a Raised Bed." Bob Washburn of nearby Pall Mall greenhouse fame (Wolf River Valley Growers) will be the guest expert. He'll show how to get the most out of the limited spaces for growing that many of us face today. ($15) To register for the workshop, call Historic Rugby toll-free 888-214-3400 or 423-628-2441.
BIRTHDAYS
May 10 - Bob Trumbo
May 11 - Valerie Donegan
CALENDAR
Rugby is in the Eastern Time zone, just barely
Saturday, May 14 and 15 – Historic Rugby’s 37th Annual Festival of British and Appalachian Culture. Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. British Isles and Appalachian bluegrass music, dancing, and historic building tours. A variety of British and Appalachian foods will be available at the Harrow Road Cafe and throughout the festival grounds. For further information call 1-888-214-3400 or email rugbylegacy@highland.net or visit http://www.historicrugby.org/.
Saturday, May 14 – Rabies Vaccination Clinic outside Brooks Store, 2:30 p.m. Price is $10 for a one-year rabies vaccination. For qualifying animals, a three-year vaccination will be offered for $14, so bring proof of previous vaccinations.
Saturday, May 21 – Book Club – 7 p.m. We’ll discuss “Red on Red” a mystery written by a former New York City police detective, Edward Conlon. http://www.amazon.com/Red-Novel-Edward-Conlon/dp/0385519176. Meeting is at Walton Court on Hwy. 52. Please let Rick Murphy know if you are coming or if you have any questions - 423-319-7842 or rickmurphy1@aol.com.
Saturday, June 4 – Community Potluck – 7 p.m.
Sunday, June 5, Cumberland Odyssey Celebration and Book Signing - 3 p.m. Rugby’s Johnson Theatre. Join author David Brill and photographer Bill Campbell for a personal journey through their coffee table book on the Cumberland Plateau. Bobby Fulcher will perform some of the old-time Plateau music described in the text. Proceeds from book sales support completion of the Cumberland Trail. Free.
Quilters Group - Wed. and Sat. 2–4 p.m. at the Friendly House
Green Flowers
By Linda Konig
This last week I found a wild bush that I'd been looking for off and on for several years. Darwin and Glenda Bertram told me about this bush sometime back. They gave me one of the seeds from it (called buffalo nut, tallow nut, oil nut, rabbitwood, etc.) and said they'd found the bush in the woods near the river at Burnt Mill bridge. They even planted one of the seeds and grew it in a pot, but it didn't live long after they transplanted it to their yard.
They found out later that this bush is parasitic to other plants. One source stated quite definitely that it is parasitic on oak roots. Another stated just as emphatically that it is parasitic on hemlocks. Still another site said it is parasitic to various woodland plants. Anyway, that's probably why Glenda, whose hands are nothing but green thumbs, didn't succeed in growing Buffalo Nut bushes in her yard.
So of course I was curious and read all I could find about Buffalo Nuts. Learned that Buffalo Nuts were highly esteemed by pioneers and succeeding generations in Appalachia, not for eating (the nuts are poisonous) but for illumination. Folks would press the oil out of the seeds, put the oil in a candle mold or coal oil lamp and stick a wick in it. Cheaper than coal oil or candles!
In April, I'd looked about in the woods hoping to find it. I wasn't at all sure what the blooms looked like or even when the bush would bloom. Well, the other day I was at Leatherwood Ford looking about for wildflowers, etc., when I noticed a few spreading bushes bunched together that had little spires sticking upwards here and there. Each short spire had exquisite tiny green flowers arranged up and down on it. They reminded somewhat of the little delicate green flowers on Hearts-a-Bustin'-with-Love bushes or Pokeweed flowers or holly tree flowers. What were they?
I had to get home and comb through my books to try to find it. Aha! There they were in a book on wildflowers of North Carolina -- Buffalo Nut flowers. I do believe that they're the tiniest and prettiest green flowers I've ever seen. Most of us have what I call lazy eyes when it comes to looking at nature. I'm trying to be more observant, to concentrate more on the small stuff, and not to see only the big and bright. I used to miss a lot.
Historic Rugby’s Spring Workshops
May 21 - Small Space Vegetable Growing in a Raised Bed 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Instructor: Bob Washburn Fee $15.
May 28 - Spring Wildflower Walk and Picnic Lunch ~ 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. - attendees can take part in one of the most diverse wildflower walks in Tennessee, led by instructor Jack Carman. His book Wildflowers of Tennessee is a definitive guide. Jack leads field trips and photo workshops for the Gatlinburg Spring Flower Pilgrimage, among others, and has won awards for his wildflower photos. The fee is $25, including a plant list of expected sightings. The day will finish with a film presentation and book signing in the late afternoon.
June 11 - Imagery In Writing Workshop - 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This workshop will focus on voice and imagery. Struggling to find a voice in writing? The student will produce writing a reader will listen to and read. Included are exploring subject matter, diction, point of view, syntax, grammar, and imagery to allow the voice of an author to be distinguished from that of others. Come prepared to write and bring along some work you have already begun. The instructor is K.B. Ballentine. She has attended writing academies in both America and Britain and has published in Alehouse, Bent Pin, Front Range, River Poets Journal, Touchstone and others. The fee is $28.
To register for workshops, call toll-free 1-888-214-3400 or 423-628-2441. Lodging may be available at 1880 Newbury House and local cottages at a 10% discount to students. Food service is available at the Harrow Road Café.
Historic Rugby’s website at http://www.historicrugby.org/ lists all workshops for the year.
This Week’s Editors: Rick Murphy and George Zepp
