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There’s been a lot of buzz about Virginia’s Heritage Music
Trail, The Crooked Road, which has been featured in USA Today‘s Top 10
Driving Vacations, The Wall Street Journal and other notable national and
international publications. This week
will mark the unveiling of some big financial successes for this economic
development project. Some of Virginia’s
best known musicians and public officials are expected to attend the two events
held at The Rex Theater in Galax, VA and The Carter Fold in Hiltons, VA on
December 9th and 10th.
On Tuesday, December 9th, at 2:00 p.m., The Rex
Theater will host the first of two press events that will announce the results
of a recent Economic Impact Assessment developed by Sustainable Development
Consulting International (SDCI) of Lebanon, VA
The assessment, which was conducted over several months and includes
extensive economic data, demographic tracking, and interviews, is based on
fiscal year 2008 and indicates the significant impact of The Crooked Road on
the economy of the ten county region served by The Crooked Road.
Dale Jett and his group, “Hello Stranger” will be on hand at
The Rex to highlight how the Road has contributed to their success and will be
performing as part of the event. Dale is
a third generation member of the legendary Carter Family. The son of Janette Carter, the grandson of
A.P. and Sara Carter, Dale’s roots has been heavily steeped within the heart of
his family's musical heritage.
The press conference at The Rex begins at 2:00 p.m. and will
feature an introduction by The Crooked Road’s Board President Jim Baldwin. Todd
Christensen and Bill Shelton will speak on about the Virginia Department of
Housing and Community Development’s involvement in the project. Rob Jones, of SDCI will provide a brief
presentation of the assessment’s results and copies of the PowerPoint
presentation will be available to the press.
At the event’s conclusion, there will be a question and answer session
followed by a reception and plenty of time for interviews and pictures.
The press conference at the Carter Fold will begin
Wednesday, December 10th at 2:00 p.m. and will feature a similar
format. Entertainment will be provided
by well-known Crooked Road
success stories, Wayne Henderson, Gerald Anderson, Spencer Strickland and Jimmy
Edmonds. Wayne Henderson is a local
legend and has been proclaimed a national treasure by The White House. He is a lifelong luthier and musician, winning
numerous guitar contests, and awards. He
is also the subject of a book by Allen St. John, that chronicles St. John’s desire to procure a Henderson
guitar and how Eric Clapton waited 10 years for one of Wayne’s instruments. Gerald Anderson is a former apprentice of Henderson’s and now
shares his shop with Spencer Strickland.
Both are world class luthiers and winners of numerous music accolades
including awards at Merle Fest and The Galax Fiddlers’ Convention. Jimmy Edmonds was a fiddle prodigy, winning
several contests and playing for the Queen of England before turning the age of
12. He is the former music director of
the Carolina Opry in Myrtle Beach
and is a second generation luthier producing some of the finest guitars and
fiddles in the world.
The Crooked Road receives annual financial support from ten
counties (Carroll, Dickenson, Floyd, Franklin, Grayson, Lee, Patrick, Scott,
Washington, and Wise), three cities (Bristol, Galax, and Norton), and nineteen
towns (Abingdon, Appalachia, Big Stone Gap, Clintwood, Coeburn, Damascus,
Floyd, Fries, Gate City, Glade Spring, Haysi, Hillsville, Independence,
Jonesville, Pennington Gap, Pound, Rocky Mount, Stuart, and Wise).
The Crooked
Road receives major support from the Virginia
Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission, the Virginia
Department of Housing and Community Development, the Virginia Tourism
Corporation, the Virginia Department of Transportation, the Virginia Foundation
for the Humanities, and the Virginia Commission for the Arts.
For additional information, contact Jonathan Romeo at
(276) 492-2085.
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