Palustris

Palustris Festival - March 25-28, 2010 - Pinehurst-Southern Pines-Aberdeen Area

Presented by the Arts Council of Moore County and the Convention & Visitor’s Bureau of Pinehurst, Southern Pines & Aberdeen Area, the Palustris Festival will present a remarkable variety of events showcasing the visual, literary and performing arts in Moore County.  Scheduled for March 25-28, 2010, the festival is drawing attention from a wide range of arts groups and institutions in and around the Sandhills area.

Why the name Palustris?  The word palustris is taken from the Latin name of the longleaf pine and was chosen for this event because of its unique connection to Moore County.  One visit to our area and you will see the influence of the longleaf pine.  Even the names of our towns, like Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Pinebluff and Whispering Pines, give you a sense of this special connection.  In fact, Moore County is home to one of the largest stands of virgin longleaf pine forests in the country (160 acres in the Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve called the Boyd Round-Timber Tract), which is also home to the oldest living longleaf pine tree known in the world at more than 460 years old.

The Palustris Festival will be a community event unlike any other in the Sandhills.  From its inception, the event has many goals:  1) Attract thousands of visitors from all over North Carolina and beyond to enjoy what makes Moore County unique; 2) Promote and support the local economy through increased retail and food sales and higher hotel occupancy rates; 3) Increase regional support of our community arts and cultural organizations and other nonprofits; and 4) Raise the sense of pride in Moore County’s culture and history.

The Palustris Festival will include a concentration of diverse cultural performances, activities and events that will celebrate the visual, literary and performing arts in the Sandhills.  We currently have over 75 events scheduled for this 4-day event, and some include:

• Concerts by Grammy-nominated, singer-songwriter Tift Merritt, Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, Moore County Choral Society, Craig & Patrick Fuller, Larry McNeely, Baxter Clement, Danny & June Infantino, Swing Street Band, Joe Craven, Boulder Acoustic Society and Hot Club of Cowtown.

• Art exhibits at the Artists League of the Sandhills, Bella Filati, Campbell House Galleries, Hollyhocks Art Gallery and Hastings Gallery at Sandhills Community College.
• Theater productions by Jane Holding, Allan Gurganus, Stephen Smith and Pat Riviere-Seel.
• Tours & Hikes of the Village of Pinehurst, Shaw House property, Weymouth Center, Weymouth Woods and Sandhills Community College Gardens.
• Lectures and readings by Vivian Jacobson, Seagrove Area Potters Association and several professors at Sandhills Community College.

A couple unique events scheduled during the festival will be a birthday celebration of the oldest living longleaf pine in Weymouth Woods, and a cultural theater production by Ray Owen called Greeting the Train with Sounds of Southern Pines Memory, which will recreate two historical occurrences that helped found Southern Pines—African American choirs greeting the arriving trains and northern settlers meeting with representatives from local Scottish families.

In keeping with the desire to have the Palustris Festival as accessible as possible, more than 60% of the events are free and open to the public.  Of the rest, which are ticketed events, none are more than $25 per ticket.

Just as the settlers who transformed Moore County from what was once called the “pine barrens,” we hope the Palustris Festival can transform Moore County into a destination known as much for its arts, culture and history, as it is for its golf, horses and beauty.

For more information on the Palustris Festival events, visit www.PalustrisFestival.com.

_______________

FAYETTEVILLE symphony TO Open Palustris Festival!

The Arts Council of Moore County is proud to present the fayetteville Symphony Orchestra in the opening concert of the first-ever Palustris Festival on Thursday, March 25, 2010 at 8 p.m. at R.E. Lee Auditorium on the campus of Pinecrest High School in Southern Pines, NC. Tickets are $15 each and available online at www.PalustrisFestival.com, at the Campbell House (482 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines), or by calling 910-692-ARTS (2787).

The debut of the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra in the 1956 realized the dream of instrumental groups who first gathered to play together in private homes in Fayetteville.  The instrumentalists resolved early in 1957, however, to enlarge their circle to that of a symphonic organization.  They welcomed volunteers to perform with the group, as well as to assist with producing public performances of the standard classical repertoire.

With Dr. Fouad Fakhouri’s recent assumption of the baton, the 60-member orchestra has evolved from the status of “community” to “regional” orchestra. Many of the players, all auditioned, hail from all over North Carolina, some from South Carolina, a few from farther afield.

Maestro Fakhouri, however, has further introduced the group to an international audience.  When Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan (the country in which he grew up) graciously accepted the Maestro’s invitation to be the honored guest at the orchestra’s 50^th anniversary concert,  she did so on the condition that 15 members of the Orchestra of the National Conservatory of Jordan accompany her to perform also.  The bonding among the performers was reaffirmed the next year when 15 members of the Fayetteville Symphony were invited to perform with the Jordanian orchestra in Amman, Jordan, with Maestro Fouad Fakhouri conducting.

For the Palustris Festival’s opening concert, the Fayetteville Symphony will perform some symphonic favorites, including Rossini’s The Barber of Seville Overture, Haydn’s Symphony No. 88 in G major, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4, Op. 60 in B-flat major.  Children, 5 years and up, are welcome.

With over 100 events scheduled for the 4-day event, the Palustris Festival has something for everyone. For additional information on this concert and other events at the Palustris Festival, visit www.PalustrisFestival.com.

TIFT MERRITT TO PERFORM at the Palustris Festival on March 27!

The Arts Council of Moore County and Moore County Historical Association are proud to present Tift Merritt in concert at the first-ever Palustris Festival on Saturday, March 27, 2010 at 8 p.m. at R.E. Lee Auditorium on the campus of Pinecrest High School in Southern Pines, NC. Tickets are $25 each and available online at www.PalustrisFestival.com, at any First Bank location in Moore County, the Campbell House (482 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines), or by calling 910-692-ARTS (2787).

Tift Merritt is a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and recording artist whose music defies categorization. Her uniquely satisfying stew of rock and roll, soul, folk and country has record stores scratching their heads and audiences dancing in the aisles and telling their friends.

Born in Texas, Tift grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her father taught her “the only chords you need to know,” and his Bob Dylan and Dolly Parton records were part of her childhood. After high school she waited tables, gigged around North Carolina, went to New York City, and at her mother’s urging came back to North Carolina to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While in college she met Zeke Hutchins, who encouraged her to start a band and has been her drummer ever since.

In the early days, Tift sent out demos and press kits to every club she could from her post office box at the Bynum General Store, and she and the band drove all over North Carolina in their old van. With help from her friend and fellow North Carolina musician Ryan Adams, she got her first record deal, and her debut album Bramble Rose was released in 2002.

Tift quickly garnered high critical acclaim from Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Time, The Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio and CNN. Her first two records landed on The New Yorker’s Top Ten List. Her TV appearances include Austin City Limits, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Late Show with David Letterman. Tambourine was Grammy-nominated for Best Country Album, and the Americana Music Association nominated Tift for 2004 Album, Artist and Song of the Year.

“Broken,” the first single from her next CD, Another Country, parked itself at #1 on the Americana Airplay Chart for weeks, and was nominated for Song of the Year by the Americana Music Association. Another Country ended the year as the 5^th most played Americana album of 2008, and wound up on best-of-year lists from Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, AllMusic, and Country Standard Time.

For the time being, Tift lives in New York City with her husband and drummer Zeke, and on the road.

With over 100 events scheduled for the 4-day event, the Palustris Festival has something for everyone. For additional information on Tift’s concert and the Palustris Festival, visit www.PalustrisFestival.com.

_______________