Ryan Finn
Staff Writer
On Saturday An Appalachian Summer Festival will cap off its successful
season with its annual Outdoor Fireworks Concert in Kidd Brewer
Stadium. In addition to the fireworks display, the concert will
feature the performances of Cornell Gunter’s Coasters, Beary
Hobbs’ Drifters and The Platters.
The stadium gates open at 6:30 p.m., the music starts at 7:30, and
the night ends approximately at 10:00, though exact times may vary.
An Appalachian Summer Festival has already had great success this
season, bringing to the community programs as diverse as the Atlanta
Ballet, APPropos!, the Eastern Philharmonic Orchestra, the NC Symphony
Pops, a lecture from Appalachian State University professor Dr.
Timothy H. Silver, the Doc Watson & Dirk Powell Band and many
more.
An Appalachian Summer Festival was started 20 years ago as a summer
arts series that could bridge the gap between the arts and the Appalachian
community, Denise R. Ringler, director of marketing for the Office
of Cultural Affairs, said.
The tremendous success of the annual series owes much to the affordable
ticket prices and to the large-scale, broad-based popular appeal
that stems from the selection of events, Ringler said.
In its 20th year, An Appalachian Summer Festival has been one of
the more well-known and celebrated cultural events in the southeast.
In just this year alone, the festival has been cited and advertised
in The Boston Globe, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
Although country music and the like has traditionally been the musical
focus of the Outdoor Fireworks Concert, the event this year leans
in a different direction.
Providing the musical performances for the night are three groups
certain to provide nostalgia for many.
The Coasters’ first record, “Down in Mexico,”
was recorded in 1956. From then on, the group was a hit, selling
gold records for over a decade. The group has performed at Madison
Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall, to name but two world-famous
locations. When the original group broke up, Cornell Gunter formed
the new group to keep the spirit alive.
Some of the Coasters’ most famous hits include “Charlie
Brown,” “Yakety Yak,” “Searching,”
“Smokey Joe’s Cafe,” “Love Potion #9”
and “Down In Mexico.”
Elsbeary Hobbs leads the Drifters and performed with them on some
of their greatest hits from 1958 to 1996. Today, Hobbs’ wife
Odessa has united several former band members in an effort to commemorate
the much-loved material. The Drifters have sold 200 million singles
and 80 million albums.
The Drifters created hits out of songs like “There Goes My
Baby,” “This Magic Moment,” “On Broadway”
and “Under the Boardwalk.”
The Platters formed in Los Angeles in 1953 and recorded their first
hit, “Only You,” in 1955. The Platters had four number
one songs and sixteen gold records between 1955 and 1960. Today,
their sales reach 80 million copies. They have toured all over the
world and appeared in 20 feature films.
The Platters are known for songs like “Only You,” “The
Magic Touch,” “The Great Pretender,” “It’s
Magic,” “Heaven on Earth” and many more.
The members of the three groups were mostly recruited from Broadway.
Next to the attraction of the musical performances, there will also
be a much-loved fireworks display to bring the night to a close.
Throughout the early evening, attendees are encouraged to bring
picnic meals, although alcohol is prohibited.
In addition to the music and fireworks display, a dance floor will
be erected near the stage. On hand will be The Boone Shag Club to
lead the way and provide free shag lessons to those who purchased
tickets in advance and present them at the concert.
For ticket information, call the Festival Box Office at 262-4046.
Box-office hours run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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