Shell
09-05-2003, 06:57 PM
Arts, Crafts and Hockey at Sanford's AutumnFest
Brian Dukes September 03, 2003
Quickly becoming one of southeast North Carolina's fastest growing, and much anticipated, festivals, AutumnFest celebrates the marriage of several things: art, pottery, antiques, music, the arrival of Fall ... and hockey.
Well, maybe not strictly hockey, but representatives from the Carolina Hurricanes will be on hand, and the sport begins in the Fall (more on that later.)
At any rate, the second annual celebration will be held in the historic downtown district of Sanford on Saturday, September 13, beginning at 9 a.m. and continuing until 6 p.m. Event organizers brought more than 7,000 people to last year's inaugural AutumnFest, despite poor cooperation from Mother Nature, and they hope to grow the event even more this year. "This year we have more music, more room for parking and more events happening in the evening," said Yvonne Bullard, an AutumnFest 2003 volunteer. According to Bullard, this year's festival aims at drawing larger crowds by not only increasing the space for the festival's grounds and parking areas, but by hosting more potters and including, for the first time, a live music concert. "It's a very diverse, and high-quality group of potters we're bringing in," she said. "And when you add in all the things we have for children, and the music, it's going to be a great time for everyone."
Centrally located in the Tar Heel state, Sanford's heart beats to the rhythm of a turning potter's wheel. The area has historically been home to famous potters for generations, and is in close proximity to other regions that share this tradition - namely the Seagrove area, which helped produce such pottery dynasties as the A.R. Cole family.
A celebration of arts, AutumnFest will not only provide a chance for great shopping - as hundreds of artisans from all over the state will be on hand with their unique wares - but it will give attendees a chance to experience art first hand by ... well ... getting their hands dirty. For adults and children alike AutumnFest will have several hands-on art displays set up, as well as the do-it-yourself Raku and Artasia activities, which let anyone create their own ceramics and pottery.
Artasia, the epitome of an artistic hands-on learning experience, will allow kids (and big kids too) to paint and sculpt to their hearts' content. The most notable feature, however, will be the clay Raku pots that children can glaze after watching the pots get "fired" in front of them by specially trained teachers. The spectacular Raku firing process will not only help Artasia artisans visualize the beauty of creating pottery, but will provide them a chance to help support the future of arts in Lee County. Proceeds from the sale of the Raku pots at the Artasia area will raise money to purchase much needed arts supplies for Lee County school kids.
"The Children's activities were so popular last year, we plan to expand them this year," said Mollie Dowdy, executive vice president of the Sanford Chamber of Commerce. "One of the most popular activities, 'The Moon Walk' is sure to be back, as well as the 'Monkey Striker' game - which children enjoyed it so much, some did it 3 or 4 times!" Additional children's activities include face painting, a Children's Identification service, a Slap Shot event hosted by the Carolina Hurricanes (told you we'd get back to this) and performances by the Lee County gymnastics and dance teams.
When the arts aren't taking center stage, there will be concerts - held on two different downtown stages - to provide a musical mosaic backdrop to AutumnFest. According to Charles Taylor, music event coordinator for AutumnFest, 16 different musical acts will provide sounds ranging from Gospel to country to bluegrass. "The headlining act is Tommy Black & Blooz from Fayetteville," said Taylor, adding that the band has strong local ties to Fayetteville and has recently seen a surge in airtime. "He's on his way up and."
Taylor said musical diversity would be found in spades at AutumnFest. "We want to offer all types of genres and tap into the diversity of AutumnFest-goers' tastes," said Taylor. In fact, Taylor added, one of the country's "hottest" bluegrass bands, the Deep Canyon Rangers, will be on hand for the festival. "They're based in Asheville, but they play all over the place," Taylor said. "We're very fortunate to have them here - they're phenomenal."
Brian Dukes September 03, 2003
Quickly becoming one of southeast North Carolina's fastest growing, and much anticipated, festivals, AutumnFest celebrates the marriage of several things: art, pottery, antiques, music, the arrival of Fall ... and hockey.
Well, maybe not strictly hockey, but representatives from the Carolina Hurricanes will be on hand, and the sport begins in the Fall (more on that later.)
At any rate, the second annual celebration will be held in the historic downtown district of Sanford on Saturday, September 13, beginning at 9 a.m. and continuing until 6 p.m. Event organizers brought more than 7,000 people to last year's inaugural AutumnFest, despite poor cooperation from Mother Nature, and they hope to grow the event even more this year. "This year we have more music, more room for parking and more events happening in the evening," said Yvonne Bullard, an AutumnFest 2003 volunteer. According to Bullard, this year's festival aims at drawing larger crowds by not only increasing the space for the festival's grounds and parking areas, but by hosting more potters and including, for the first time, a live music concert. "It's a very diverse, and high-quality group of potters we're bringing in," she said. "And when you add in all the things we have for children, and the music, it's going to be a great time for everyone."
Centrally located in the Tar Heel state, Sanford's heart beats to the rhythm of a turning potter's wheel. The area has historically been home to famous potters for generations, and is in close proximity to other regions that share this tradition - namely the Seagrove area, which helped produce such pottery dynasties as the A.R. Cole family.
A celebration of arts, AutumnFest will not only provide a chance for great shopping - as hundreds of artisans from all over the state will be on hand with their unique wares - but it will give attendees a chance to experience art first hand by ... well ... getting their hands dirty. For adults and children alike AutumnFest will have several hands-on art displays set up, as well as the do-it-yourself Raku and Artasia activities, which let anyone create their own ceramics and pottery.
Artasia, the epitome of an artistic hands-on learning experience, will allow kids (and big kids too) to paint and sculpt to their hearts' content. The most notable feature, however, will be the clay Raku pots that children can glaze after watching the pots get "fired" in front of them by specially trained teachers. The spectacular Raku firing process will not only help Artasia artisans visualize the beauty of creating pottery, but will provide them a chance to help support the future of arts in Lee County. Proceeds from the sale of the Raku pots at the Artasia area will raise money to purchase much needed arts supplies for Lee County school kids.
"The Children's activities were so popular last year, we plan to expand them this year," said Mollie Dowdy, executive vice president of the Sanford Chamber of Commerce. "One of the most popular activities, 'The Moon Walk' is sure to be back, as well as the 'Monkey Striker' game - which children enjoyed it so much, some did it 3 or 4 times!" Additional children's activities include face painting, a Children's Identification service, a Slap Shot event hosted by the Carolina Hurricanes (told you we'd get back to this) and performances by the Lee County gymnastics and dance teams.
When the arts aren't taking center stage, there will be concerts - held on two different downtown stages - to provide a musical mosaic backdrop to AutumnFest. According to Charles Taylor, music event coordinator for AutumnFest, 16 different musical acts will provide sounds ranging from Gospel to country to bluegrass. "The headlining act is Tommy Black & Blooz from Fayetteville," said Taylor, adding that the band has strong local ties to Fayetteville and has recently seen a surge in airtime. "He's on his way up and."
Taylor said musical diversity would be found in spades at AutumnFest. "We want to offer all types of genres and tap into the diversity of AutumnFest-goers' tastes," said Taylor. In fact, Taylor added, one of the country's "hottest" bluegrass bands, the Deep Canyon Rangers, will be on hand for the festival. "They're based in Asheville, but they play all over the place," Taylor said. "We're very fortunate to have them here - they're phenomenal."