For Bernie & WV: Flatfoot Dancing in WEST VIRGINIA to Song 'ARKANSAS TRAVELER' :)

[appalachiablue]

Last edited Wed May 11, 2016, 12:19 AM - Edit history (1)

One of the best around, Charlie Burton dances to the tune 'ARKANSAS TRAVELER', played by the old-time string band on the porch of Miller's Inn in Hampshire, West Virginia. ~ The foot dancing style is performed in the US as far west as Oregon, in the British Isles and many other regions.

[pmorlan1]

1. Great Post

Thanks appalachiablue. This reminded my husband of his younger days in eastern Kentucky.

[appalachiablue]

2. That's so great! Wow, eastern KY was close, across the Ohio River from Htgn.,

esp. Ashland. Guys would go over to get 'power beer'! Rolling Rock I think.

*I thought this Song Selection, 'Arkansas Traveller' was appropriate for tonight too.

[pmorlan1]

3. Arkansas Traveller

was very appropriate. My husband lived in Pikeville.

[appalachiablue]

5. Thanks, I didn't know any history of the song. Wonderful spirited tune.

You mean the composer of the state song lived in Pikeville I think. That area and the Big Sandy are a bit familiar from long ago. Family from Logan goes way back in that area. Colorful characters, some of them.

[pmorlan1]

7. Ooops

Sorry. I fixed my earlier post. I was referring to my husband. He lived in Pikeville. It's obviously past my bed time.

[appalachiablue]

9. No me, I must have thought you were another poster! Spaced, not even imbibing tonite, whew!

Oh well, special occasion! It's all good...

[appalachiablue]

10. Clifftop Festival looks wonderful. Your husband might like the 2008 Video Jam there at bottom :)

~ CLIFFTOP, APPALACHIAN STRING BAND FESTIVAL takes place annually. This year, Aug 3-7, 2016.
Location, Camp Washington-Carver, Clifftop. WV, 25831. Nearby New River Gorge area and Fayetteville.
This is the GREAT and possibly the largest festival for strictly old time music. There is no bluegrass here. The festival takes place every year, Wednesday to Sunday, first week in August.



It takes place in a secluded park with a great Depression-era log cabin and dance hall. Since the park is full by Wednesday, many musicians show up the weekend before. There is no such thing as a campsite reservation. Cars and tents and trailers and tarps are squeezed in everywhere. There is almost no such thing as level ground. It can be hot and it can be soggy and it can be muddy. The camp has been known to run low on water.
There is an organized square dance every night by the best bands in the land. There are ad-hoc dances too. Some campers organize talent shows and pot luck dinners. Sure, there is the stage show but who goes to that? There are organized kids' activities such as basket weaving but kids tend to wander off and find each other and have lots of fun. Grownups too.
Friday-Tuesday: pre-fest camping
•Wednesday: Dance workshop, slow jam.
•Thursday: Banjo and fiddle contests, dances, workshops.
•Friday: Neo-traditional band contest, dances, classes.
•Saturday: Traditional band contest, concert by past winners.
•Sunday: Pack up and go.
Next Festival: Aug. 3-7, 2016 https://www.sites.google.com/site/oldtimefrederick/home/events/clifftop-festival
*More, http://www.wvculture.org/stringband/index.html



"Clifftop: It's Just the Best Thing on Earth", Aug. 3, 2012, Charleston Gazette.
CLIFFTOP, W.Va. -- After eight days, Rebecca Dixon hadn't quite had enough of sleeping outdoors or listening to string band music. She probably won't be tired of it when the annual Appalachian String Band Festival at Clifftop concludes Sunday afternoon after the informal group hymn sing.
The North Carolina native arrived the night of July 26 at Camp Washington Carver in Fayette County. This is her fourth visit to the annual music festival and she's having a wonderful time. Taking a break from looking at a table loaded with new banjos to pet a friendly dog, the petite woman said of her arrival, "I slept in the front seat of my car. "In a rain storm," she added, sounding a little surprised at herself.
The festival didn't even officially begin until almost a week later. Workshops, contests, dances and classes started Aug. 1, but arriving a week before the festival starts isn't unusual. "There was a line of cars," she said. "I was 30th in line." Dixon and many others don't necessarily come for the events, although they're glad to have them. "Oh, it's the music and the people," she grinned. "There's this whole community of old-time music that comes here. It's just the best thing on earth!"
"Community" is the word repeated again and again at the Appalachian String Band Festival. Community is what brought Canadians Arielle Arnold-Levene and Sharon Joseph back from Toronto to rural West Virginia. "We don't really have this where we're from," Arnold-Levene said. "The people here are just so nice. Everyone is so nice, and there's the music. It's like stepping into a different world." MORE: http://www.wvgazettemail.com/News/201208030204#sthash.KdrDBbwY.dpuf

[pmorlan1]

12. Thanks

I'm sure he would love it. I'd love the music but I must confess that, unlike my husband who loves camping, my idea of roughing it is staying at a Holiday Inn. I can't see me being there except for maybe 1 day and then I'd have to have a shower.

[appalachiablue]

13. For the music, activities and the venue I'd love to go, but am with you about the

comforts of the Holiday Inn for night, esp. at this point in life. I got lucky with the old man who liked sports, fishing, music and culture but wasn't into overnight camping out much. But I can appreciate people who like it. When young I drove with friends to Boulder for a wedding ceremony in the Rockies which was so nice. That's been a long time and I can't remember where the heck we stayed, must have been the van we drove out in, of course...

[3catwoman3]

4. I used to be a member of a clogging group in the early 80s.

Some of the best fun I've ever had. Damn good exercise, too. Our style had elements of flatfooting. We called those wooden practice platforms 'step-a-tunes.' I still have one.

We performed at some music festivals in the upper peninsula of Michigan and in northern Wisconsin. We even got paid a few times. When I want to yank someone's chain, I tell them I was a semi-professional dancer for a while. After all, if you are getting paid, even a little bit, you are not an amateur, right?

[appalachiablue]

6. How terrific, you should be proud! Dancing Is the best exercise, using all

the body muscles and systems. You must be in good shape, for real.

[3catwoman3]

8. I learned to clog in Japan, of all places.

I was in the Air Force nurse corps, and stationed there for 2 years. One of the med techs at the small base hospital had been stationed in North Carolina before his tour in Japan. He was clogging one night at a hospital party, and a whole bunch of us pleaded for lessons, which he was kind enough to give us at no charge.

One evening, a Japanese blue grass band was performing on base. The lead singer was a Japanese doppelganger for John Denver - the hair, the granny glasses. Several of us got up and danced for what felt like hours, much to the delight of both ourselves and the rest of the audience.

[appalachiablue]

11. Great story, the universal appeal of dance, keep on clogging!