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Headlining this year's benefit Balsam Mountains Bluegrass and Gospel Jamboree will be crowd-pleasing Blue Persuasion of Hartselle, Ala. The daylong event is set for Saturday, July 12, from 10 a.m. until 11 p.m. at the Community Service Center. Other musical guests include the Larkins from Church Hill, Tenn., and the Birdson Family from LaFollette, Tenn. Also performing will be local favorites Britney Acosta of Cullowhee, and the Deitz Family, Smoky Mountain Strings and Susie Beckwith, all of Sylva. Proceeds from this year¼s show will benefit Natalie Elders of Whittier, who was critically injured during an April automobile accident; Shane Cook of the gospel group Golden Valley Crusaders, who has cancer; and theWestern North Carolina Make-A-Wish Foundation, which helps children with life-threatening illnesses. For information, call Terry Crisp at 586-6792 or e-mail him at crispterry2@aol.com. A top-flight lineup of bluegrass and gospel musicians will take the stage and bring great music to the Great Smokies during the 15th anniversary Balsam Mountains Bluegrass and Gospel Jamboree. The daylong event will get under way at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 12. Music will continue until 11 p.m., and most groups will perform twice, said jamboree organizer Terry Crisp of Sylva. Billed as an Appalachian Heritage Event, this year's benefit show at Sylva's Community Service Center will feature mountain music, folk, gospel and bluegrass from artists like crowd-pleasing Blue Persuasion of Hartselle, Ala., as well as local favorites the Deitz Family and Susie Beckwith. Organizer Terry Crisp said this year's event will benefit Natalie Elders of Whittier, who was critically injured in an automobile accident this past April; Shane Cook, a cancer patient who is a member of the gospel group Golden Valley Crusaders; and the Western Carolina Make-A-Wish Foundations, which aids children in Jackson, Haywood, Macon and Swain counties who suffer from life-threatening illness. Special events are planned throughout the day with door prizes, raffles, T-shirts and crafts. Food - including a hot lunch and dinner - will be available all day. Menu items include barbecue and hot dog plates with baked beans, coleslaw and chips, and pinto beans, onions and cornbread. Desserts, coffee, soft drinks and lemonade will also be served. Additional performers include the Larkins of Church Hill, Tenn., who are regulars at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.; the Birdsong Family of LaFollette, Tenn.; Sunset-Dawn from Cincinnati; Split-Rail of Union, S.C.; Blades of Grass of Englewood, Tenn.; Ball Sisters of Rogersville, Tenn.; Britney Acosta of Cullowhee; Smoky Mountain Strings of Sylva; Abigail Moore of Robbinsville; clogger Billy Nations, a seven-time Georgia clogging champion; Mala Patterson, current Alabama buck-dancing champion; Southern Appalachian Cloggers of Canton; Green Valley Cloggers of Candler; and Katie Micheletta of Knoxville, Tenn. "Everyone is invited to join us for a full day of good, old-fashioned family fun," Crisp said. Sylva's Community Service Center is located on Scotts Creek Road near Harris Regional Hospital. Admission is $10; children 12 and under will be admitted free. For information, call Crisp at 586-6792 or contact him by e-mail at crispterry2@aol.com. |
