April 17, 1997

Celebrate Earth Day at Earth Fest
Matt Russ
Writing Coach

April 22 is Earth Day and this weekend a party is being thrown in honor and respect of our great mother.

Earth Fest is being held Friday, April 18 through Sunday, April 20.

In its third year, the festival is a benefit for the Watauga Land Trust and the Southern Appalachian Defense Fund, held to raise money to give back to the Earth what is so often taken for granted.

Things will get started on Friday afternoon and will roll on until Sunday afternoon. Friday features four bands, Saturday features six and Sunday will hold three. Booths and speakers from regional environmental firms will also be featured.

Featured bands will include Snake Oil Medicine Show, Larry Keel Experience, Morning Glory, The Kick, Natural Healing, Dogs of a Feather, Acoustic Syndicate, Honeysuckle Wine, The Liz Riddick Fantasy, Selah, Wherever It Goes, Self-Rising Biscuit Brothers and the Alan Smithie Band.

In the spirit of environmentally minded thought, the Appalachian State University Solar Energy Society (ASUSES) will be providing solar power for all the booths. Among them will be North Carolina Hemp, an organization promoting the legalization of one of the most useful and widespread resources in the state.

Tickets can be bought in advance for $12 at Expressions and will be sold at the door for $15.

Where is your money going? Other than guaranteeing you a fun and dance-filled weekend in the outdoors, you will also be supporting worthy local organizations in their attempts at preserving the environment.

Watauga Land Trust will be receiving half the money made over the top, which will be going to their general fund. They have been avid supporters for the preservation of Howard’s Knob, and at the Fest they will be announcing other directions they intend to take.

The other half of the money raised will go to the Southern Appalachian Defense Fund; a group organized to take direct action against threats to the environment.

Earth Fest organizer and member of ASUSES Mateo Williford expects not only an enjoyable weekend, but also a productive one.

"It’s an opportunity to come out and have a good time and learn how to get involved with groups trying to make a difference in the area," says Williford.

The festival is being held at Turkey Tom’s Music Park near Ferguson, N.C. and should provide a beautiful atmosphere for such an occasion. It’s located on a lush, green field with a large pond. There will also be a Kiddie Village set up for the little ones.

Carpooling is encouraged, so load up the van or bus or whatever mode of transportation you happen to use and come out and celebrate the day dedicated to Mother Earth.

How to get there: take 421 S 9.9 miles past the Parkway bridge, just beyond the end of the four lane; turn right onto Lewis Fork Church Road and ride it out to the dead end, then turn right; go 8/10 of a mile and turn right on Mt. Zion Road; the festival will appear about 6.4 miles on the left; the trip should take you about 40 minutes if you’re doing the speed limit. Have fun and be safe.

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WASU celebrates 25th birthday with flashbacks
Aimee Yawn
Reporter

Tomorrow, 90.5 The APP (WASU-FM) will be 25 years old.

The station that got its start as a mono FM station in a small room in Chapel Wilson Hall has now grown to great heights and is celebrating 25 years of broadcasting.

The APP went through several names including "Boone’s Rock ‘n Roll Animal," "91 Rock," and "WASU" before adopting "90.5 The APP" in the fall of 1995.

The station, now located on the third floor of Wey Hall, broadcasts in stereo every kind of program that one can think of.

Such programs include classical, ska, classic-rock, Christian, soul and funk, jazz, blue grass, local, hip-hop and college-core music. Anything that you want to hear will be played.

To celebrate its 25th anniversary the station is going to begin with David Wright, the first student on the air back in April of 1972.

Wright, who now works in sales for an AM station in Greensboro, will re-enact the first morning on the air with his show, "Great Awakening." The show will be in correlation with "Tim and Sherry in the Morning."

The "Great Awakening meets Tim and Sherry in the Morning" show will start off at 6 a.m. Throughout the day The APP will mix music from 1972 into their regular rotation.

There are many things you can do to get involved at the radio station. The APP is always looking for volunteers to help out with their various programs, and if you’re interested in being a DJ, there is a DJ class that you can take. In order to get on the air, you have to make a certain grade in the class.

According to Music Director Scotty D. Immel, a senior from Long Island, New York, the station is a great music market. "It gives you high quality music with a personal touch."

Congratulations to The APP for all of its hard work! They have come a long way!

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An ASU down home summer
Michelle Steiner
Reporter

This summer, Amy Talley, Michelle Steiner and Kris Adams will spend ten weeks involved in an experiential learning internship and leadership development program with Student Action with Farm Workers, or SAF, in Western North Carolina.

SAF is a non-profit organization that allows students to perform services with farm workers, an unrecognized and underpaid, yet, hardworking segment of our population, and agencies and community groups which are constantly in need of human resources.

The summer service-learning project known as Into The Fields is coordinated yearly by SAF to give students the opportunity to work in the farm worker community. Through their participation, interns promote justice and respect for the men and women who provide the food we put on our tables.

A primary result is the supportive atmosphere farm workers will be a part of, which they hopefully will come to expect.

Farm workers, including migrant farm workers who are transitory in their search for employment, commonly work unbearably long hours for low wages. Many workers are from other countries that suffer from economic difficulties, forcing them to seek other alternatives in order to provide for their families or simply themselves. Others are from rural areas of the United States and depend on farm work for sustenance. Interns provide much needed skills and energy to organizations serving farm workers, and in return are rewarded with a life-changing experience.

To promote awareness of and to educate the Boone and ASU communities about the struggles which face workers daily in the United States, the film El Norte will be shown on campus at 8 p.m. in the Alpine Lounge, April 24.

The interns are selling raffle tickets, for which over 30 great prizes have been generously donated by local Boone businesses. The drawing will be held May 1. Tickets cost $2 apiece and will be sold at the El Norte showing.

The interns will also hold two yard sales at the Unitarian Universalist Church on Saturday, April 19, and the following Saturday, April 26, beginning at 8 a.m. All proceeds will serve to fund the women this summer during their internship.

Any persons wishing to donate items to be sold at the yard sales, please contact Amy Talley at 264-0871. Transportation to pick up the items can be arranged, and all donations are welcome and appreciated.

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