6th Annual Montford Music & Arts Festival

6th ANNUAL MONTFORD MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2009

This year’s festival will feature a great variety of food, so come hungry. The Greek Ladies Philoptochos Society will once again sell their delectable breads and desserts, Satay a Go-Go will be back with authentic Thai food, and Twin Cousins will serve delectable Cajun cuisine. We hope that Mr. Gene’s, a Goombay favorite, will be offering fried chicken and fish specialties. If you’re thirsty, fresh lemonade will also be available. For those who want to eat inside, Nine Mile Restaurant will serve up its menu of Jamaican food all day to match Pure Fiyah Reggae Band’s music.
Artists and crafters will be everywhere this year. The winners from last year will be back: Les Powell with his pottery, Wonderland 5 with their fabric creations, and Scott Owen with his fabulous jewelry. A previous winner, Una Barrett, will return with new jewelry designs. Many festival artists show their work on www.etsy.com Check out www.montfordfestival.com for links to the artists’ websites.
The festival is a great opportunity to learn more about nonprofits such as the Animal Compassion Network and the Asheville Vegetarians. The Alzheimer’s Association and Odyssey Community School, among others, will also be represented. So join the fun and spend the day. As always, we’ll have a limited number of chairs available for folks who want to sit and listen to the music. This year’s festival promises to be bigger and better than ever.
Oh yes—the Health Department asks that you please leave your dog at home. See you on
Saturday, May 16!

Performers

Snake Oil Medicine Show, Pure Fiyah Reggae Band, Good Old Boyz, and Ira Bernstein and John Herrmann will headline the Six Annual Montford Music and Arts Festival on Saturday, May 16. The party will start at 10:00 a.m. and keep going until around 8:00 p.m. on Montford Avenue between Cullowhee and Waneta Streets. Other performers include Tater Diggers, Kon Tiki, Vollie McKenzie and the Lead-Foot Vipers, and WestSound. The Montford festival is unique
in that every act features performers who are current or former residents of the neighborhood.
Highlighting the diverse strengths of Asheville’s most historic neighborhood, this year’s festival will offer a wider array of arts and crafts than ever. The juried art show is regarded as one of the best in the region. And the food available on the long block promises to be outstanding!
Celebrating its sixth anniversary, the Montford Music and Arts Festival is free to the public. The festival is produced by the Montford Neighborhood Association and made possible by the generosity of corporate and individual sponsors. Dozens of Montford volunteers make this festival go, and we want to give special thanks to the festival committee: Sharon Fahrer, Ben
Scales, Mitch Russell, Ross Terry, David Patterson, Laurence Pamer, and Wanda Hawthorne.


Performance Schedule

10:00 a.m.—Tater Diggers. This trio enjoys digging into the songs and styles of the mountains,and they’ll sprinkle in a sea shanty or two as well.

11:00 a.m.—Kon Tiki. Tropical lounge swing will make late morning on Montford Avenue
feel like an evening on the beach at Waikiki.

Noon—Ira Bernstein and John Herrmann. John, the Zen Master of Old-Time, will put
Ira through the paces of Ten Toe Percussion.

1:00 p.m.—Vollie McKenzie and the Lead-Foot Vipers. Step to vintage jazz, swing,
and blues with influences ranging from Hank Williams and Ray Charles to Appalachian string bands and gospel.

2:00 p.m.—WestSound. This family band mixes gospel favorites with high-energy soul and R&B.

3:15 p.m.—Good Old Boyz. These rock and rollers can sure enough play outlaw country,
conjuring some of the legends of hard-edged country music.

4:45 p.m.—Snake Oil Medicine Show. Danceable, zany, and crazy, this troupe will cure
what ails you with their potent mixture of music and art.

6:15 p.m.—Pure Fiyah Reggae Band. “Our music is the sounds of the system, the good,
the bad and the oppressed ones.” Move to this powerful music and feel the positive vibration.

Throughout the day, enjoy the artistry of: Asheville Morris Men and Ashgrove Garland—traditional dances of the British Isles melmacpink—hoop dancing.

Don’t miss the Maypole celebration at around 1:00 p.m.!