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MainStage Performers Announced
For 2010 Bear on the Square Festival
The 14th annual Bear on the Square Mountain Festival, scheduled Friday through Sunday, April 16-18, will bring another outstanding lineup of musicians to Dahlonega.
The MainStage Tent headline acts include multiple International Bluegrass Music Association award-winning band, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper; Jesse McReynolds and The Virginia Boys, led by the surviving member of the legendary bluegrass brother duo of Jim & Jesse; roots music group The Dixie Bee-Liners; soul-stirring singers Ginny Hawker and Tracy Schwarz with original roots country musician Kari Sickenberger; multi-talented acoustic musician John Lilly, making his fifth appearance at the festival; and Curtis Jones & Mountain Gypsy Project, a group of talented musicians led by Dahlonega resident Jones, who has performed before audiences throughout the world.
Throughout the three days of the festival, visiting and local musicians will gather in groups beginning at midday on Friday to jam on the lawn of the historic Gold Museum and at other points around the Public Square, providing the sounds of music throughout the downtown area. On Friday from 1:30-5:30 p.m., Southeastern Bluegrass Association members Estill Nicholson and Friends will be leading the jam on the square. A series of music workshops featuring many of the festival’s talented performers will be conducted throughout the three days, with Master Class Workshops on Friday and an Old-Time Mountain Dance planned for Saturday night.
Featured musicians for this year, including the headliners and several well known regional and local groups, will be onstage Saturday and Sunday in the large white tent in Hancock Park just north of the Public Square. Other scheduled performers include The Buzzard Mountain Boys, Gold Rush with Neel Pender, the Georgia Mudcats, High Windy, Whitepath, Camp Creek Committee, The Rosin Sisters, Curley Maple and the Georgia Pick and Bow Traditional Music School. The final act on Saturday will be the Rockin’ the Roots set: Honky Tonk Night in the Round featuring Ginny Hawker, Tracy Schwarz, Kari Sickenberger, John Lilly, Sonny Houston, Neel Pender and Dan Martin.
Another premier North Georgia band, BlueBilly Grit, will provide music for the annual Live Country Auction, a major fund-raiser for the festival, which will be held in the performance tent in Hancock Park on Friday night. And, on Sunday morning, the MainStage Tent will be the scene of the annual Gospel Jam.
In addition to music, Bear on the Square also celebrates the traditional art and craft of the mountains in its juried Mountain Marketplace, offering handcrafted art based on Appalachian culture. The artists and their work will be available at booths around the Public Square which will be filled with pottery, handmade baskets, jewelry, candles, instruments, jams and jellies, artwork, and much more. With the prestigious John C. Campbell Folk School as a major sponsor for the second year, the festival will include artwork, performances, and demonstrations from some of the folk school's dancers, musicians and artists.
Dahlonega’s business community is also participating in the festivities, with special showings at the art galleries on and near the Public Square. Plus, a number of local music venues have scheduled performances that weekend.
Special children's activities in and around the Public Square are also planned during the event, including a hands-on Little Pickers Tent, where children can have fun with real old-time and bluegrass musical instruments, a Teddy Bear Picnic and a performance of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears on the Square.”
Major sponsors for the festival include Jim Ellis Audi of Atlanta, Corporate Sponsor; John C. Campbell Folk School, Marketplace Sponsor; The Fudge Factory and The Crimson Moon Cafe´, both of Dahlonega, MainStage Sponsors; LVS Homes, Workshop Tent Sponsor for Saturday and Sunday workshops; Norman Adams Insurance, Food Court Sponsor; SouthEastern Bluegrass Association (SEBA) Education Committee, Master Class Workshops Sponsor; North Georgia Wealth Management Group, Live Country Auction Sponsor; folk artist Billy Roper, Heritage Sponsor; and The Pender Family, Founding Sponsor. Co-sponsor of the event is the Convention & Visitors Bureau of the Dahlonega-Lumpkin County Chamber of Commerce. The Appalachian Studies Center at North Georgia College & State University is a partner of the festival, and the Friends of Music at North Georgia College & State University’s Music Department is a partner for the Friday Master Class Workshops.
More information about the 2010 Bear on the Square Mountain Festival, including details of other activities, can be found at www.bearonthesquare.org. Last year's festival drew a record estimated 50,000 people to the three-day event.
Bear on the Square Mountain Festival, Inc., which stages the show each year, is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit cultural arts organization whose mission is to preserve and celebrate the culture of the Southern Appalachians through the presentation of music, traditional craft, and folkways. Tax deductible donations are welcome and can be sent to P.O. Box 338, Dahlonega, GA 30533.
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