Hi Everyone, I was fortunate to be visiting my East Tennessee home this weekend, and be able to attend the 2nd Annual Avery County Heritage Fest in Newland. This year's event was a little bigger than last year's, and every bit as enjoyable. The square was ringed with canopies that had been set up for the local families who came to share their family histories. A small Civil War camp was set up on one end of the square, and on the opposite end was an encampment from the Overmountain Victory Trail. Period reenactors shared their stories, their eqipment and artifacts, and their research. The Fest got underway with the sound of Bagpipes echoing off of the nearby hills, a fitting start for this community with so much Scots-Irish heritage. This was followed by several local entertainers performing traditional and contemporary country and gospel music. The information that was available in the family tents ranged from the stories that are passed from one generation to the next, to complete family genealogies prepared on computers. Heirlooms and family treasures could be found in most tents, complete with the histories of the objects. The whole scene was characterized by a friendly atmosphere, and a desire to exchange information. The following family tents and displays were set up: Holden Blalock Trivett Blue Ridge Soap Shed Robbins - Aldridge Fletcher - Daniels Gribble - Tolley Stewart Cook Watson Avery/Banner Elk Chamber of Commerce Two tents featuring local authors Franklin Burleson - Houston Burleson Feely - Munday Hartley Crowe - Garland Sudderth Robert Harris also roamed around the Square astride his beautiful horse portraying The Circuit Rider that was an important part of many of the early churches in the area. The Avery Heritage Committee published the Avery Heritage Family Scrapbook 2000, which is full of family pictures and stories. I believe that these will be available for mail order through the Avery/Banner Elk Chamber of Commerce. On a personal note, it was a pleasure to meet James and Diana Ward Trivett, with whom I had exchanged information concerning out Trivett(e) ancestry. They had done a terrific job in preparing and displaying their family history. I also got to renew my acquaintence with Grace Tolley and her family. Grace shared a family Bible record from her grandfather George Tolley, and this record has been placed in the Avery County USGenWeb Archives: http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/nc/avery.htm This report would not be complete without mentioning the Avery County Museum. I arrived in Newland early, and my first stop was the Museum. Elaine Speer gave me a personal tour of this year's new display, The Life and Music of Lulu Belle and Scotty. I have long been a devoted fan of traditional mountain and bluegrass music, and am no stranger to Scotty Wiseman and his wife Lulu Belle. I quickly learned how little I knew about this pair as Elaine showed all of the information that she had gathered during her year-long research project leading up to the display. I was very impressed with the professional quality of this presentation, and highly recommend it to everyone. Plus, they have all of those great Avery County history and genealogy books on display and for sale. About mid-afternoon, the clouds which had been growing ominously on the western horizon cut loose with a heavy thunderstorm, abruptly ending the Fest. A lot of people went home very wet, but the spirit of this event was not dampened. See you next year? Mike