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Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation Newsletter 

May 2014  
 

Over 27,000 North Carolina residents have one...do you?

 

With a Parkway Specialty Plate you can beautify your car and help the Parkway at the same time!  

 

Click here to learn more! 

 

Protect the Parkway. Get the Plate!

SMILE - You're helping the Parkway!

 
Like to shop online? Shop at smile.amazon.com, and a portion of proceeds from eligible purchases will support the Foundation! 
 
Signing up is simple: visit smile.amazon.com. If you already have an Amazon.com account, you'll be prompted to log in; if not, you'll be asked to create an account.  

On your first visit to AmazonSmile, you'll be prompted to select a charitable organization to receive donations from eligible purchases. Choose the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, and then every eligible purchase you make on AmazonSmile will result in a donation to help protect the Parkway.

As always, thank you for your support!   
Save the Journey�
 
What do you love about the Parkway?

Click here to help protect it today.

Your tax deductible contribution will help protect America's Favorite Journey�. 
PARTNER EVENT 
 
On May 13, our friends at Mast General Store will host an evening with National Geographic explorer and photographer, Helen Thayer.
 
On Thursday, May 13 at 7pm at the Diana Wortham Theater in Asheville, Thayer will share her adventures from her best selling book, Three Among the Wolves.

Admission is $5 or 5 cans of food for MANNA Food Bank. Reserved seating is required.

Learn more by clicking here.

Did you hear?

Photo courtesy NPS

The Blue Ridge Parkway announced last week that the motor road north of Asheville...and site of last fall's infamous crack...is open! That's right - all 469 miles are open for your traveling pleasure.

Real-time road closure information is available here

BLUE RIDGE MUSIC CENTER OPENS FOR SEASON 

The Blue Ridge Music Center opens May 10. The BRMC will be open Thursday-Monday through May 24 and then be open 7 days a week.

There are several ways to find GREAT music at the BRMC. Join us every day from 12 - 4pm for our free Mid-Day Mountain Music program! Our Saturday Evening Concert Series begins May 31st. Learn more in the article to the right.

We hope to see you at MP 213 for a great season! Learn more at

  JOIN US!

Plates for the Parkway is around the corner! To date, almost 60 amazing restaurants, coffeehouses, breweries and more have signed on to help protect the Parkway during the week of June 16-19. Stay tuned for more details!

Can you hear it?

As we roll into May, we are hearing many great sounds on the Parkway...and not just the sounds of waterfalls, birds and other wildlife (although we love those, too!).

From the sounds of construction on projects like Mabry Mill, Price Lake and Graveyard Fields, to the sounds of the fiddle and the banjo coming from the Blue Ridge Music Center, the Parkway is alive with energy, excitement, and improvement....much of that thanks to you, our Community of Stewards.

Read below for some updates on some of our projects and events, and as always, thank you for being one of the People behind the Parkway!

Sincerely,
Carolyn Ward, CEO, Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation

Foundation News 

PROJECT UPDATE

We are pleased to announce that several of our 2014 projects are well underway...and one is totally funded!



Updates to Price Lake are almost complete...


As is the project at Mabry Mill...


 Construction at Graveyard Fields has begun, and a PSA about the project from our friends the Steep Canyon Rangers and Bonesteel Films is nearly complete...




The Summer Concert Series at the Music Center
is almost totally booked...



And the Linville Falls Overlook project is fully funded!
 
Photo by Ben Keys


It's an exciting time to be a part of our Community of Stewards. From all of us - THANK YOU for your continued support!


BLUE RIDGE MUSIC CENTER
ANNOUNCES SUMMER CONCERT SEASON 
 

 The Carolina Chocolate Drops will perform at the BRMC Friday, June 20 @ 7 PM! 

 

The 2014 Blue Ridge Music Center (BRMC) Summer Concert Series is shaping up to be an exciting one. Bands performing during the summer series include: Grammy Award Winners The Carolina Chocolate Drops and The Steep Canyon Rangers, Jens Kruger (2013 Steve Martin Excellence in Banjo & Bluegrass Award Winner) and The Kruger Brothers, bluegrass notables Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice & The James King Band, and Wyatt Rice, luthier and music maker Wayne Henderson, bluesmen Dom Flemons & Boo Hanks, guest hosts Paul Brown (NPR's Morning Edition) and Kinney Rorrer (WVTF - 89.1 FM), and a ton of amazingly talented local and regional old time, bluegrass and country blues performers including: Stevie Barr (Barr's Fiddle Shop in Galax) and The Mastertones, Big Country Bluegrass, The Slate Mountain Ramblers, The Elkville String Band, The Wolfe Brothers String Band, The New Ballards Branch Bogtrotters, and Mountain Park String Band plus a few younger, up and coming acts from North Carolina and Virginia: including Red June (Asheville), Chatham County Line (Raleigh), and Kripplekrunk feat. Rex McGee (Stokes County), The Buckstankle Boys (Round Peak, NC) New Spring Valley Boys (Grayson County, VA), Hard Cider (Grayson County, VA), Indian Run Stringband (Blacksburg, VA).

 

Plan on visiting the Music Center often? Don't miss this special opportunity to support the Blue Ridge Music Center's 2014 Concert Season and get a terrific deal on tickets to this seasons shows. For a limited time we will be offering a Season Pass - good for admission to all 19 BRMC shows for $100 (a $118 discount over the total ticket price for all 19 BRMC shows of $218).

 

We are also offering our supporters a special Premium Season Pass. In addition to getting a Season Admission Pass, the special Premium Pass gets the pass holder admission to two VIP receptions being planned at the Music Center to coincide with the Friday, June 20 concert with The Carolina Chocolate Drops and the Saturday, October 11 concert with The Steep Canyon Rangers. The Premium Season Pass is being offered for the special rate of $175 and will be limited to the first 100 folks responding. The special VIP receptions will include food and beverages and will be held at the Music Center prior to the concert.

 

If you are interested in either the Season Pass or the Premium Season Pass please contact the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation at 866-308-2773 x213 or x245.


Visit www.blueridgemusiccenter.org for more detailed information on all our upcoming 2014 Blue Ridge Music Center Concert Season shows or to purchase single-show tickets today  

 

Kids in Parks News 

TRACK AND KIP GO TO WASHINGTON
 
On April 26th, Kids in Parks and the National Park Service celebrated the grand opening of the TRACK Trail at President's Park...aka THE WHITE HOUSE! It was a great day... and a great event! John Stanwich, NPS Liaison to the White House, presided over the ceremony which included speeches from several VIPs, including: Carolyn Ward, CEO of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation and creator of the Kids in Parks program; Brad Wilson, President and CEO of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina; and Shellie Pfohl, President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. After the ribbon cutting, attendees went on a tour of the White House Gardens and walked the TRACK Trail.       

 
Thank You
The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation would like to thank you for your support. As the primary fundraiser and trusted steward of the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Foundation is forever committed to preserving the past, enhancing the present, and safeguarding the future of America's Favorite Journey™. Learn more at BRPFoundation.org.
 
Contact Info
Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation
717 S. Marshall Street Suite 105B
Winston-Salem, NC
866-308-2773