SUMMER 2009
Welcome to Artful Living
Summer is heating up in North Carolina with sizzling theatrical performances, fiery fiddle music, blazing brass bands and dancers burning up the stage. Experience flashes of brilliance as symphonies play under the stars, share the tradition of a long-running outdoor drama, or jump to your feet and dance in the street. In a hillside amphitheater or an air-conditioned hall, summer is prime time for the performing arts in North Carolina. Let the N.C. Arts Council be your guide!
Good news. There's still time to enroll yourself, your kids or your entire family in an artful summer camp to explore music, dance, drama, printmaking, painting, pottery and more. Check out some of our suggestions for artful explorations this summer, and for adult instruction that happens throughout the year.
Hit the road for even more artful adventures on our newest cultural trail, Historic Happy Valley, highlighting the legendary place immortalized in the world-famous ballad, "Hang Down Your Head, Tom Dooley." Plan your trip to include visits to Lenoir, Blowing Rock and the Blue Ridge Parkway, only minutes away.
Summer is also a great time for a walking or driving tour of the artist studios that abound in our state. Meet the artists, discuss their work and take home a piece of locally-made art for a gift or for your own collection. Explore a summer craft festival or auction bringing together hundreds of artisans under one roof.
The arts in North Carolina have never been hotter! Whether you're in the front row for a theatrical production, expanding your horizons at a summer camp, or getting to know a local artist, we invite you to take advantage of all of our state's artful offerings this summer.
—David Potorti, the Artful Traveler
and
the Artful Living team, N. C. Arts Council
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Summer Performing Arts
From opera to outdoor drama, classical music to community theater, modern dance to old-time fiddlers, the performing arts come alive during the summer in North Carolina. Whether you're planning a day trip or a weekend or week-long adventure, you'll find a host of arts offerings to explore no matter where your travels take you, with a high concentration of performing arts series in the Boone, Asheville, Triangle and Triad regions. Enrich your life this summer, spend quality time with your family and support local artists! Here are just a few of the major opportunities to experience summer performing arts in North Carolina. For even more, visit our Events Calendar, OnStage in North Carolina, VisitNC.com and your local arts council.
Explore performing arts events in these areas:
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Artful Exploration
Summer camp is not just about roasting marshmallows, hiking trails and singing campfire songs. Across the state of North Carolina, kids and adults can explore all kinds of artistic endeavors, from pottery and printmaking to storytelling and performing arts.
Read more about summer camp opportunities in North Carolina »
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New Web site: Historic Happy Valley
Historic Happy Valley
Now it's even easier to experience authentic North Carolina! Our newest cultural trail, Historic Happy Valley, highlights the artful traditions carried on by descendants of some of the region's early settlers, who make music, paint, spin, weave, quilt, make molasses and soap, tell stories and practice the traditional farming methods of earlier generations. Explore the legendary place recalled in tales of frontiersman Daniel Boone and brought to life in Charles Frazier's award-winning book, Cold Mountain. Make Historic Happy Valley your next artful adventure—it's only a short drive from Lenoir, Blowing Rock and the Blue Ridge Parkway, celebrating its 75th anniversary next year.
Check out all of our authentic North Carolina adventures, including HomegrownHandmade.com, Literary Trails of the North Carolina Mountains, Blue Ridge Music Trails and Cherokee Heritage.
Visit www.ncculturaltrails.org »
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Open Studio Tours
Art from a Toe River artist
Open studio tours are unique opportunities to meet artists, discuss their work and observe them in the creative act. Bring a friend or make a new one, visit a local cafe or restaurant and support the arts community by taking home a piece of locally-made art. Open studio tours typically take place at the end of the year, but two major tours make return engagements in the summer months featuring works in clay, fiber, jewelry, metal, painting, sculpture, wood and more.
In Asheville, the River District Studio Stroll on June 13 and 14 highlights 110 studios in a hip warehouse-turned-art district along the French Broad River. Enjoy a leisurely walk or take advantage of Asheville Historic Trolley Tours ($5 for a day pass) for shuttle service between buildings both days.
Nearly 70 artists across Mitchell and Yancey Counties open their doors for the Toe River Studio Tour, June 12–14. Sponsored by the Toe River Arts Council since 1993, the tour has added extra hours this year.
Read more about additional open studio tours across North Carolina »
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Craft Festivals & Fairs
Courtesy of Highland Craft Guild
Whether you're beginning a collection or looking for a unique gift, summer craft festivals and auctions are great ways to connect with regional traditions while supporting local artisans. The Transylvania County Arts Council's 37th Annual Fine Arts & Crafts Showcase, held in downtown Brevard July 4, features the work of 50 regional artists.
The historic Penland School of Crafts holds its annual auction August 7–8 in support of the school's educational programs, which have helped thousands of people to live creative lives. There will be more than 220 works in books, clay, drawing, glass, iron, letterpress, metals, painting, photography, printmaking, textiles and wood. Costs to participate in the auction range from $25 to $375.
The 62nd season of the Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands brings more than 200 craftspeople to Asheville's Civic Center July 16–19 (it returns October 15–18). Local musicians will play live on stage and craft educators will share their knowledge with kids through hands-on projects. Activities range from free to $7.
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"Best of Our State" Accentuates the Arts
 Laura Boosinger
Join Our State as it brings the magazine to life through the arts this Fourth of July weekend! The elegant Pinehurst resort will be the setting for traditional music, storytelling and comedy from a host of North Carolina Arts Council touring artists.
The package includes an evening of traditional Southern Appalachian music by Laura Boosinger, an award-winning champion of banjo, guitar, autoharp and dulcimer.
 Kelly Swanson
The July 3–5 weekend also will include the UNC-Greensboro Jazz Trio performing classics from the American Songbook, a seminar with Rob Amberg, photographer and writer of Sodom Laurel Album and The New Road: I-26 and The Footprints of Progress, and other seminars and guests.
The weekend package at Pinehurst includes two nights accommodations (double occupancy), two Southern buffet breakfasts in the renowned Carolina Dining Room, a Friday show with Laura Boosinger, Saturday night dinner and concert with the UNC-G Jazz Trio, ice cream social and attendance to all seminars.
For reservations or more information, call (800) 487-4653.
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Regional Arts Resources
For a complete list of other arts events in North Carolina visit www.ncarts.org/events or check out these regional resources:
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About the North Carolina Arts Council
The North Carolina Arts Council works to make North Carolina The Creative State where a robust arts industry produces a creative economy, vibrant communities, children prepared for the 21st century and lives filled with discovery and learning. The Arts Council accomplishes this in partnership with artists and arts organizations, other organizations that use the arts to make their communities stronger, and North Carolinians—young and old—who enjoy and participate in the arts. For more information, visit www.ncarts.org.
The N.C. Arts Council is a division of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, a state agency dedicated to the promotion and protection of North Carolina's arts, history and culture. www.ncculture.com
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