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Free Programs at the N.C. Museum of History
Enjoy these free programs at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh. See beautiful examples of beadwork, or kick back during a Sunday afternoon performance of old-time music. Drop by for a lunchtime program by the museum’s 2008 Student Essay Contest winner, James Burke, who will present a program about the stagecoach line of the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad.
While you’re at the museum, check out the new exhibits Cherokee Pottery: People of One Fire and A Thousand Words: Photographs by Vietnam Veterans. Parking is free on weekends.
Beading Demonstration
On Saturday, May 10, during a drop-in program from 1 to 3 p.m., watch members of the Capital Area Beading Organization demonstrate beading techniques used in jewelry and decoration. Get tips on caring for your beaded jewelry and make a simple strung bracelet. See examples of netting techniques and pieces inspired by 1950s jewelry. The Capital Area Beading Organization was founded in 2002 and meets regularly to share tips and techniques for jewelry and other beading projects.
Bridal necklace
Music of the Carolinas: Martin and Johnson
On Sunday, May 11, at 3 p.m., hear Wayne Martin, Margaret Martin and Craig Johnson and their old-time string band. They will combine strong singing and great picking on old-time breakdowns, gospel tunes, blues and novelty songs. PineCone co-sponsors the performance.
Martin and Johnson
Birdie, a recording of Southern songs and fiddle tunes performed by the North Carolina string band Martin and Johnson, is the newest release from 5-String Productions of Philadelphia. The veteran musicians are reviving the string-band tradition for a new generation. Wayne Martin, a fiddler and harmonica player, says their musical mentors belonged to a generation that played for tobacco farm frolics and rural square dances, for medicine shows and live country radio. “We try to honor these rich musical traditions in our playing,” he emphasizes. “We strive for the energy of breakdowns and hornpipes, salted with a good dose of the blues.”
Wayne Martin has performed with African American fiddle and banjo dynamos Joe and Odell Thompson, with Piedmont dance fiddler Lauchlin Shaw and banjo player A.C. Overton, and with mountain ballad singer Doug Wallin.
Margaret Martin played for years with “Hash House” Harvey Ellington and “Starvin” Sam Pridgen, original members of the 1930s-era Tobacco Tags and the Swingbillies. She was the guitarist for the Tar Heel Hot Shots, a Piedmont string band.
Johnson, a highly respected fiddler, banjo player and guitarist, is a long-time member of the Washington, D.C.-based Double Decker String Band. He has performed at festivals and workshops throughout the United States, Canada and Europe.
The trio recently performed at the International String Band Festival in Calhoun, Ga., and one reviewer called Martin and Johnson an “outstanding example of American string-band music, [whose] skill and delivery illustrates the indelible mark our own pioneers left on American roots music.”
History à la Carte: Wilmington and Raleigh Stagecoach Stagecoaches crisscrossed more than just the Wild West. They also formed an important connecting line to the developing railroads in North Carolina. On Wednesday, May 14, at 12:10 p.m., James Burke, a student at UNC-Greensboro, will discuss the links between the stagecoach line of the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad, modern roads and the state’s landscape. Bring your lunch; beverages are provided.
Burke’s research included archival records, map analysis and field study. He discovered Frances Anne Kemble’s Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1838-1839, which described travel on the stagecoach line and placed the line in geographical context.
For more information, call 919-807-7900.
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