Highlands Festival Features Acclaimed Performers

The Virginia Highlands Festival's Performing Arts Series brings a dazzling variety of professional entertainers from around the world to historic Abingdon. Festival-goers can indulge their love of dance and theatre as well as storytelling tours.

Headliners range from acclaimed jazz singers to renowned magicians, from dance ensembles to entire symphony orchestras. In the middle of it all, the historic Barter Theatre, the official State Theatre of Virginia, is in repertory - see four plays in two days - and sponsors an annual Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights.

Patrons Event

The Festival Patrons Event will feature The Hunt Family Fiddlers on Barter Theatre's Main Stage. The world-ranked Irish dancers, singers and champion fiddlers will perform Tuesday, July 22 at 8 p.m. After July 15, tickets available to the general public, $15 adults and $10 children, by calling the Barter Box Office: 276-628-3991.

This family of nine performs Celtic, bluegrass, inspirational and popular tunes. Audiences love the ensemble's high-powered step dancing and fast fiddling, as well as their talents playing drums, accordion, keyboard and guitar.

The Hunt Family Fiddlers are refreshing entertainment and are growing in demand. The family completed three seasons at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, producing and performing four different shows. Their versatility and popularity with audiences led to the development of several themed shows, including "Riverdance and Celtic Favorites," "The Sound of Music," Italian favorites a la "O Sole Mio" and "Time to Say Goodbye," and a "Fall Harvest Hoedown" with fast-paced bluegrass fiddling and lots of super-charged dancing.

Songwriters and performers Clint and Sandy, along with their seven children -- Jessica, Jennifer, Joshua, Jonathan, Jordan, Justin and Jamison -- are currently touring the country and producing their fifth album to be released this summer. Previous albums include "Table for Two," "Dance in the Field," "Be Thou My Vision" and "Christmas with the Hunts." They have authored and published "101 Sizzling Tips for Excellence on the Violin" and "Fiddle Book," and have produced "The Hunt Family DVD."

The Hunt Family Fiddlers have performed in Scotland, opened three consecutive years for the Virginia Symphony at the "Symphony Under the Stars" concert, and are now touring the nation in theatres, colleges, festivals, churches and various other venues. They will amaze you with their high-class performance and capture your heart with their charm.

Adults Only

The Barter Theatre Company will present

  • Improv Nights, July 25 & 26
  • Cabaret, Aug. 8 & 9

These "midnight madness" events take place from 11:30 p.m.-1 a.m. Admission $7. Tickets available at the Barter Theatre Box Office: 276-628-3991.

Comedy with Buzz Sutherland

When Buzz Sutherland take the stage at Barter Theatre Sunday, July 27 at 7 p.m., he'll have you rolling in the aisles! Tickets are $12 adults, $10 seniors, and $8 for youth. 276-628-3991.

His style of comedy is contagious, and he's funny without being offensive. He is perhaps best known for his Daffy Duck voice impressions. Sutherland plays with the audience rather than talking to them, and some audience members literally become part of the show! His smooth blend of homespun characters and outrageous facial expressions keep audiences laughing.

In 2007 Sutherland was nominated Best Comedy Show by American Entertainment Magazine, and he has been named Comedian of the Year by America's colleges and universities a record 16 times. According to a college audience member, "His jokes and bits ranged from ragging on TV personalities, drunks, King of the Hill, campus safety, and duct tape (yes, he even did an impression of duct tape, or at least some flawless sound effects and pantomime), to pulling off impressions of all of them while making some of the most unusual facial expressions ever seen by most human beings."

Late Night Chicago Blues with Katherine Davis & Erwin Helfer
will be presented Friday and Saturday, Aug. 1-2 at 11:30 p.m. on Barter's Stage II. Admission $10. 276-628-3991.

Davis will be joined by Helfer, a legendary boogie woogie pianist who has been performing for more than 50 years and is featured on three CDs.

Davis grew up in Chicago and began performing in 1979. Although she initially wanted to sing opera, her musical interests shifted to blues, jazz, and theater. An entertaining performer, she has recently written and starred in an autobiographical production entitled "I Dream in Blues." In a Chicago Tribune theatre review in 2006, Nina Metz described the performance as one that "…pulls you in with her haunting sweetness and utter lack of pretension." When Davis is not performing, she is happily teaching the blues to children in Chicago's public schools.

Erwin Helfer, a Chicago boogie woogie innovator and master, has been forging his own piano music legacy. Born in 1936, Erwin has been playing and performing for over forty years. The sounds and personalities of past boogie woogie and blues pianists have nurtured Erwin's musical growth. For many years, Erwin accompanied Mama Yancey, the wife of Chicago blues piano patriarch Jimmy "Papa" Yancey, and later recorded one album with her. He was also mentored and influenced by Cripple Clarence Lofton, Speckled Red, and Sunnyland Slim.

During the 60's and 70's, Erwin released two piano duet albums with his performing and recording partner of ten years, Jimmy Walker. On their first album, Peter J. Welding, one of the preeminent blues historians and scholars of all time, wrote that Helfer had "mastered the rhythmic and melodic subtleties" of the blues piano style. Other Helfer recordings include "Heavy Timbre", a compilation of Chicago blues pianists, several Lps for his own record label Red Beans, and two CDs for Austrian Label CMA. Erwin has the chops, the feel, and the drive of the masters but he also pushes the "classic" blues piano music forward in a totally new direction.

His music is graceful, spirited, and at times beautifully dissonant. Erwin's classical music training allows him to hear and interpret the simple, percussive blues and boogie piano style like no one else. Yet, his classical training is not overbearing on his own piano approach; that is, his playing is fluid and carefree, not stiff. Chicago has long recognized its musical treasure, Erwin Helfer.

He performs regularly at Chicago clubs and annually at the Chicago Blues Festival garnering rave reviews from publications such as The Reader and Chicago Magazine. His local gigs and frequent European tours have created a strong and loyal following in Chicago and overseas. (From the liner note of the CD "I'm Not Hungry, but I like to eat - Blues"- The Sirens Records SR-5001)

His most recent European tours include Berlin Jazz Festival and Debrecen Jazz Festival, the oldest Jazz Festival in Hungary.

The Latin Ballet of Virginia
will present "Danza & Pasion" (Dance & Passion) Monday, Aug. 4 at 7 p.m. on Barter Theatre's Main Stage. Tickets are $16 adults, $14 seniors, and $12 youth. 276-628-3991.

From the passionate fury of flamenco to tango's forbidden heat, the polished elegance of classical ballet to the earthen power of modern dance, the Latin Ballet uses the expressive beauty of movement in its many forms to weave the tales and traditions that are the heart and soul of Hispanic culture. Bringing the culture and history of Spain and Latin America to passionate life through the joy of dance, the Latin Ballet combines technical excellence with a soulful depth of emotion and an unwavering commitment to education, diversity and accessibility.

In "Lo Mejor! (The Best!)" you will see dances from the passionate fury of Flamenco and Tango to Mambo, Reggae and Salsa. The presentation celebrates five years of the Latin Ballet, presenting the best of the dance ensemble's repertory. Audiences selected favorite scenes from the Latin Ballet's historical and cultural productions such as AmorAmerica, Alma Latina, Son Corazon, NuYoRican, Macondo and Mujeres "Lo Mejor!" represents the Hispanic conquest and first settlers in the Americas. The dances explore the African-Cuban and Spanish rhythms that are the heart of Latin American dance and music, along with the blessing, strength and the boundaries of Latin American families. "Lo Mejor!" also includes an homage to Tito Puente, "El Rey Del Mambo" (The Mambo King), and a tribute to Bob Marley, Jamaica and Reggae.

Founded in 1997, in Richmond, Virginia, under the direction of Colombia, South America native, Ana Ines King, the Latin Ballet of Virginia is the area's pre-eminent Hispanic dance company. King has more than 20 years of experience teaching, directing and performing in South America and the United States. The company is comprised of 12 professional dancers from throughout the world, 10 professional musicians and 25 students who perform as the Junior Company.

Laughing With the Legends: Musical Theater and Comedy from the Fabulous '50s!
will take the stage Tuesday, Aug. 5, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Tickets are $16 adults, $14 seniors, and $12 for youth. 276-628-3991. Experience the riveting presence of Elvis, the hilarious antics of Lucy, the sparkling Liberace, the magnificent Marilyn, and the electrifying Jerry Lee Lewis -- as well as Ed Sullivan, Debbie Reynolds, Fats Domino, poodle skirted teeny boppers and many other highlights from the unforgettable, fast-paced '50s. The nationally known husband-and-wife team of Joey and Brian Gurl (aka Gurl & Girl) explodes on stage with this energetic, exhilarating production guaranteed to be a "blast from the past"! Laughing With The Legends brings to life many memorable '50s songs and personalities from all corners of the entertainment world including movies, television, Broadway and pop culture, using an incredible array of singing, dancing, costume changes, dynamic impersonations, outstanding musicianship, masterful theater, and fun-filled comedy.

The Interactive Theatre of Jef
will present mime, masks, street theatre, and juggling near the Youth Tent daily. The fun and games include a human-sized ring toss game, posing for photos with Jef's masterpiece camera, creating faces on his masks, and more. Jef is a teaching artist in the North Carolina Arts Council's Roster of Touring Artists and an approved artist for the South Carolina Arts Commission. For 17 years he performed and toured across the country as a member and co-artistic director for the mime ensemble Touch. Today he is a solo artist with more than 27 years of performing experience.

Dance

The Highlands Ballet Company will present Reflections & Visions, featuring music by Mendelssohn, Gershwin, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, and more. A reception, discussion and performance will begin at 7 p.m. August 7 at the Highlands Center for Ballet Arts, just off I-81 Exit 13. Free admission. Joining the dancers will be guest musicians, vocalists, and professional dancers. 276-623-0822.

From the Paramount Center in Bristol to the Barter Theatre in Abingdon to Jamestown's 400th Year Anniversary Celebration, the Highlands Ballet brings originality and excitement, along with dazzling imagery, to audiences of all ages. Beginning with "a blast from the past," the ensemble will present excerpts from their repertoire, including "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "Gershwin by George," "Stars & Stripes & Lots of Splash," "Mexicali Suite," and more. Next, the program will take a visionary journey with Pink Floyd's "Echoes," a trip full of haunting melodies, percussive instrumentation, and flowing movement. The end of the evening brings the past into the future with the time-tested popularity and genius of The Beatles.

Storytelling

Abingdon's Spirit Tour (July 30, Aug. 3, 6, and 9: 7:30-10:30 p.m.) Stroll the streets of historic downtown Abingdon and learn where the skeletons are buried — literally! Meet "Haint Mistress" Donnamarie Emmert on the lawn of the Martha Washington Inn to begin this walking tour, filled with ghost stories. Wear comfortable shoes and carry water for the mile-long trek. Not recommended for children under age 10. Cost: $10. To book group tours, call 276-676-0849.


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