EVENT DETAILS AND SCHEDULE

Showcase highlights include performances by stellar old-time musicians the Whitetop Mountain Band; the last surviving member of blues and soul legends the Holmes Brothers, Sherman Holmes, with his apprentice Whitney Nelson; numerous bluegrass artists including Danny Knicely,Herschel Sizemore, and Billy Baker; and musical traditions as diverse as Russian balalaika and polka accordion. The music program will also feature an appearance by Old Regular Baptist hymn master and National Heritage Fellow Reverend Frank Newsome. At the conclusion of the showcase, all in attendance will be invited to join in a traditional square dance led by Shenandoah Valley master callers Eugene and Ellen Ratcliffe.

The Apprenticeship Showcase features more than great music and crafts. The event is a feast for all the senses, as culinary masters of the folk world return to serve up some audience favorites:

• The Proclamation Stew Crew will cook 600 quarts of delicious, real Brunswick Stew. Though preparations begin at 5 AM, complimentary bowls will be ready at about 1 PM, and additional quarts will be on sale to take home.
• Frances Davis, the “Fried Apple Pie Lady,” will be on hand to demonstrate and share her legendary pies.
• Joey Mirabile of Joey’s Hot Dogs in Richmond will have his mobile cart on site, sharing his family’s legacy of purveying hot dogs. These are so good and so simple, but unlike any others.
• The amazing oyster-shucking world champion sisters Deborah Pratt and Clementine Macon Boyd will be back to demonstrate their skills and rekindle their rivalry in our annual oyster-shucking contest. Feared throughout the oyster shucking competition circuit, these ladies can open two dozen oysters in less than three minutes. We know you can’t try that at home, so come learn from the masters, and maybe eat a Rappahannock oyster or two. (They are bringing three bushels!)

Full Performance Schedule: