“The most exhilarating and authentic show from Ireland in decades…” kicks off the ‘12 Roanoke St. Patrick’s Day Celebration

The young and enormously talented lads & lasses of Celtic Crossroads made their Roanoke debut last year, and boy did they wow the audience!  This year they are back with their newly updated World Fusion Tour show which adds an additional dancer and new twists.  The show is presented by Jefferson Surgical Clinic and kicks off this year’s Roanoke St. Patrick’s Day Celebration and is scheduled for Friday March 16, 2012 at 8:00pm at Jefferson Center’s beautiful Shaftman Hall Theater.  Tickets are on sale now, and make great Christmas gift ideas – see this web site for details.

Celtic Crossroads presents Irish music like never before, set to do to Irish music what Riverdance has done to Irish dance. With the recent release of their “World Fusion” DVD (in partnership with PBS) Celtic Crossroads is taking the US by storm! This is not a performance to be missed!

Celtic Crossroads © is critically acclaimed as ‘the most exhilarating and authentic show to come from Ireland in decades – not to be missed’. It is an explosion of youthful energy and dazzling musicianship. Celtic Crossroads abounds with fusions of traditional Irish music, bluegrass, gypsy and jazz whilst pulsating with the rhythms of exciting Irish dance percussion. Spontaneous mid show ovations are the norm, and enraptured Celtic Crossroads audiences are always compelled to shout, and SHOUT for more.

PLUS, as a special St. Patrick’s Day treat, the Virginia Highlands Pipe & Drum Band will perform to open the show. The Virginia Highlands Pipes & Drum Band, based in the Roanoke Valley, was formed in 1983 with just three pipers and one drummer. Their sound is as traditional as the MacFarlane tartan they proudly wear.

It’s all part of the 2012 Roanoke St. Patrick’s Day Celebration, which of course includes the award winning McDonald’s St. Pat’s Parade, and the Roanoke Celtic Festival, featuring Roanoke’s legendary Celtic group Second Wynde, on Sat. March 17 (St. Patrick’s Day!).  So break out the green and get ready to “Get Lucky!”

Craig Woolard Band, The Embers & Band of Oz – will warm you up!

After the hustle and bustle of the holiday season is over and the cold winter weather sets in; we will just be heating things up with our Kroger Cabin Fever Series starting Friday, January 20, 2012 with the sizzling sounds of the Craig Woolard Band. After several crowd-pleasing appearances at BB&T’s Party in the Park, we’re excited to welcome back one of the best voices in the Carolina Beach music scene and winner of the 2011 CAMMY Awards “Best Male Vocalist” !

If you’ve seen their show once, you’ll undoubtedly want more! The classics and The Embers never go out of style.  An evening of dancing to The Embers at the Kroger Cabin Fever Series is just what the doctor would order for those cold February nights! So mark your calendar now for Friday, February 17th to hear this legendary beach and party band!

And last but not least, The Band of Oz, winners of the 2011 CAMMY Awards “Group of the Year,” will be closing out the Cabin Fever Series on Friday, March 9th! They boast countless Cammy’s for “Best Group,” “Best Album,” “Song of the Year,” and were inducted into the Beach Music Hall of Fame in 1997.

Don’t wait to purchase your tickets, if you plan to come to all three, go ahead and buy your 3 pass, that comes with a complimentary CD of highlights from 2011 BB&T’s Party in the Park. You can’t buy this CD, so don’t pass on this amazing deal! What a great gift to give to someone special!  To purchase tickets, click here!

Who should be honored as the ‘12 St. Patrick’s Day Parade Grand Marshal?

A favorite Roanoke and regional tradition is just right around the corner!  The Roanoke St. Patrick’s Day Celebration, which includes the 23rd Annual McDonald’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade and the Celtic Festival featuring Second Wynde, will take place Saturday, March 17th in downtown Roanoke. The festivities start at 10:00am, with the parade stepping off at 11:00am.  The McDonald’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade has become one of the largest St. Patrick’s Day parades in the Mid-Atlantic region.

The 23rd Annual McDonald’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade will continue its long standing tradition of “honoring those who protect and serve,” by selecting someone to serve as the  parade’s Grand Marshal, who has dedicated their time and effort to serving the Roanoke community.  There are so many worthy candidates who are citizens in the Roanoke Valley working in public service positions to make this community a better place.  This year the St. Patrick’s Day committee is looking to the citizens of Roanoke to nominate a person to serve as the 2012 parade Grand Marshal.  In past years, the Grand Marshal has not been limited to just a male or female, in fact a service dog has had the honor!  The ideal candidate has gone above and beyond the call of duty in a standout example of dedication to the citizens of Roanoke.  Past year’s marshals include Brian Lawrence, retired Roanoke City Police officer; Captain Chris Brown’s family, representing the late Roanoke City Fire and EMS captain; St. Francis service dogs; and Henley Green, Roanoke City Fire and EMS.  McDonald’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade has also had many Veterans, both active and retired, share this honor.  If you would like to nominate an individual please contact Amanda Gaylor via e-mail at Amanda@eventzone.org or by phone at (540)-342-2640X233.

March 17th is a day for the entire family to enjoy all that downtown Roanoke has to offer.  For a complete schedule of activities visit the event website at www.RoanokSaintPats.org.

Roanoke’s Elmwood Park – for 100 year it’s been a City park – now it’s getting a facelift!

Sister Hazel at '10 Festival in the Park

Jason Michael Carrol at '08 Festival in the Park

You may have heard about the City of Roanoke’s plans to provide much needed renovations to Elmwood Park.  We encourage you to share your vision of the future of Elmwood Park and get more details at the City of Roanoke’s web site. This historic urban park has such a rich and vibrant history and has played such an important part in the lives of so many Roanoker’s we thought it would be nice to share some interesting information and history.

In addition to being downtown Roanoke’s only major green space, Elmwood Park is currently the home for at least 17 annual events, and is utilized for these events an average of 54 days each year for these activities.  These festivals and events collectively attract over 120,000 people to downtown Roanoke each year.  They include Festival in the Park, Party in the Park,  Big Lick Blues Festival, Microfestivus, Henry Street Festival, Strawberry Festival, Blues Ridge Blues Festival, Movies in the Park, Pride in the Park, Latino Festival, Festival of India, Local Colors and many others of various sizes and types.

2011 Festival in the Park

So as you might imagine EventZone and other event organizers enthusiastically support renovations to the park that include updated and improved features and design.  But we also are thrilled that the direction this project is taking stresses keeping this space a multi use park with a vision for many types of gathers and uses.  The renovation of Elmwood Park can serve Roanoke on many levels and be the next big boost to downtown development.  It’ll generate greater activity, revenue for downtown businesses, the city and other organizations and continue to be a focal point for social gathers and recreation for downtown and the region – as it has for so many years.  It’s our hope that it will become an improved festival/concert venue as well with improved comfort features for the thousands that attend!

Let’s look a little closer at the park’s history while many are seriously considering it’s future.

BB&T's Party in the Park - crowded dance floor

Early History
In the early 19th century, the Tosh family owned 200 acres, which included the property that became Elmwood Park. In the mid-1830s, Jonathan Tosh built the house which contemporary Roanoker’s know as the Terry home, for the last family that owned the property. Thomas Tosh, the son of Jonathan, sold the property to John T.J. White in 1841, who in turn sold it to Col. William Madison Peyton in 1846.

"Elmwood" circa 1914. What will it look like in 2014?

Col. Peyton named the estate “Elmwood” and is credited with planting the elms and many other species including the Japanese magnolia, still alive and blooming today. The tree was a gift from Commodore Matthew C. Perry, who brought it from Japan around 1855. Sold to a Benjamin Dennis in 1858, then to Benjamin Tinsley later that year, the property was eventually purchased by Mr. Peyton Leftwich Terry. After the death of his widow in 1910, the city purchased what is now Elmwood Park for $150,000 in 1911. This fulfilled a long-standing goal of the Woman’s Civic Betterment Club (WCBC) which was given a few rooms in the Terry house. The WCBC is the same group that commissioned urban planner John Nolen’s Remodeling Roanoke, a plan which included recommendations to integrate the facilities for city government and services with beautiful public spaces. Elmwood Park is Roanoke’s third park. It is predated by Highland Park created in 1901 and Melrose Park of 1907.

A packed park for BB&T's Party in the Park - it happens every Thursday night May - Sept.

The Park Changes
In the 1920s and 1930s the Roanoke Valley Garden Club created rose beds with more that 100 varieties and planted trees and shrubbery. As of the mid-1970s, only a few boxwoods remained. The stone wall around the property and the iron gate gave way to street widening, and most of this early landscaping was lost. In those early days, as in the park upgrades of the early 1980s, garden clubs and individual citizens donated funds to purchase much of the parks trees and shrubs.

Accompanying the library addition of 1982, many changes came to Elmwood Park. The Mayor’s Monument was moved from its original location at Church and Fifth Streets to the corner of Elm and Williamson in the park. Erected in 1892 by P.L. Terry and F.J. Kimball, president of the Norfolk & Western, it was an “Industrial Monument to mark progress of the City of Roanoke.” It was cleaned and a new star pedestal added in 2008.

A “Breathing Space” for Roanokers
Since the park’s creation it has been a gathering place and a green space. In 1913 an editor for the World News wrote “People of Roanoke bought Elmwood for a park, a playground and a breathing space.” In the early decades tennis courts brought in crowds for tournaments, as did the bandstand for weekend concerts. There was even a pond with the requisite ducks. In the 1910s and 1920s there were numerous large gatherings, often celebrations with parades which culminated with speeches in the park attended by thousands of citizens. Open air concerts began again with Event Zone, in 2003, continuing the Easter Seals Summer Concert Series (renamed Party in the Park). And into the present the park is busy from late spring through fall with a variety of cultural events for all ages and interests including festivals, concerts, and film showings.

The Elmwood Park pond was located where the stage currently sits

Developing Urban Center Looks to Park’s Open Space
These events created strong support for maintaining the parks open spaces, in sharp contrast to the voices in support of development. Since its inception, its open spaces have invited development. In 1912 and 1913 there were proposals that the park be the site of a new municipal building and jail. In 1947, a report of City Council’s War Memorial Committee suggested making the park a war memorial. In 1953, the year the Academy of Music was razed, 1955 and again in 1961, it was suggested that an auditorium or arena be erected in the park. In the late 1970s there were proposals to move the library to the old post office building and establish a cultural center, including the Historical Society and art museum in Elmwood Park. The existing library was built in 1952, with an addition built in 1982. The old Terry house in the park, the city’s first public library, was torn down in 1964.

Over the years Letters to the Editor, and newspaper articles and editorials have debated the potential costs and benefits of maintaining the park in its current configuration, moving or keeping the library, and whether to create a cultural center and amphitheater. This is a debate which continues in one form or another to this day.

In the April 1985 dedication of the park makeover, Mayor Noel Taylor, who previously had been a member of the library advisory board, stated “Elmwood Park today is a tribute to the vision of the Roanoker’s who supported its purchase by the city in 1911.” The history of Elmwood Park in many ways reflects the inherent challenges Roanoker’s face as the city and its citizens balance shared values of pride of heritage with modernity while preserving green and open civic spaces in a busy urban center.

Kicks off the 2012 Kroger Cabin Fever Series!

Friday night Jan. 20, 2012. Roanoke Civic Center.

The Embers at ‘12 Kroger Cabin Fever Series!

Friday, Feb. 17, 2012.

Celtic Crossroads – World Fusion Tour Show kicks off the 2012 Roanoke St. Patrick’s Day Celebration

Friday, March 16, 2012 at Jefferson Center.

Get ready for Grammy winning blues & smokin’ ribs – Sat. Oct. 1

As the summer is winding down and fall festivities begin, make sure you’ve got one of Roanoke’s Best Festivals marked on your calendar.  The fifth annual SunTrust Big Lick Blues Festival will take place on October 1, 2011 in Elmwood Park downtown Roanoke.

This year we’ve got an award winning musical line up in store.  Three time Grammy winner, Delbert McClinton is back to headline this rockin’ blues festival and he’s not coming alone!  As members of Texas R&B/country Delbert McClinton’s band, the musicians of Dick50––Steve Mackey, Kevin McKendree, Rob McNelley, Lynn Williams will be sharing the stage with the soul legend. SunTrust Big Lick Blues Festival is thrilled that we were included in one of the few U.S. shows that Bernard Allison has scheduled this year. Bernard Allison totes the same smokin’ six string shooter that his late father Luther Allison assaulted the blues with. And he is blessed with his father’s soulful voice, spiritual devotion, and a musical freedom which experiments with the blues.

As if these tremendous national acts weren’t enough, a local legend, The Fat Daddy Band will grace the stage at BLB.  Since 1995, The Fat Daddy Band has been delivering what many call exceptional Blue Ridge blues to the Roanoke Valley and beyond.  This band’s success has allowed them to open for headliners such as The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Train, Susan Tedeschi, and the legendary Nighthawks!  To start this day of fantastic blues music, from early funk, blues, rock and soul, Skinny Velvet will be sure to get you on your feet and groovin’ to the smooth sounds of your favorite blues tunes.  Who is Skinny Velvet? That’s a great question that is not easily answered. As a man, Skinny is an enigma….a dark, southern, musical mystery. As a band, Skinny Velvet is the brainchild of four of the Carolina’s most talented and determined troubadours!  Skinny Velvet was conceived from several of North Carolina’s finest groups. These boys have toured the U.S. in their well respected bands for years and now come together to make one of the strongest line-ups around!

The music is not the only award winning aspect of this festival- what goes hand in hand with blues music? Mouth watering ribs- not only mouth watering but award winning!  That’s right; we’ve got your favorite rib vendors back again to battle it out for the bragging rights of best rack in town!  It’s not just the familiar veterans such as Martin’s Downtown Grill, Blue 5, Thelma’s Chicken & Waffles and Bastians.; there are some rookie competitors stepping up this year!  And for those of you with a competitive edge yourself; be sure to sign up for the popular Martin’s Rib Eating contest.  This festival is sure to leave you with a full stomach and a satisfied soul!

The 5^th annual SunTrust Big Lick Blues Festival kicks off at 2:00pm on Saturday, October 1.  Music begins at 2:15pm with the winner of the Blue Ridge Blues Society competition, Skinny Velvet. And in case you’re wondering how you are going to be able to catch the game and enjoy all this event has to offer- we thought of that too! We will have a game day area with a big screen showing college football as well as all your favorite tailgate games brought to you by Tailgaters United! Tickets are $24.00 in advance and if you’re a SunTrust customer, it’s cheaper than that! Tickets are available at all local SunTrust branch locations as well as online at www.BigLickBlues.org