DINE at these locations...and more...during Plates for the Parkway!

Getting Hungry?

See any names you recognize? All the businesses above - and dozens of others - have joined our 3rd Annual Plates for the Parkway. During June 16-19, each of these businesses will donate a portion of proceeds from a meal or meals to protect our beautiful Parkway.

The catch?

The success of this event now depends on YOU! Dine out often during the week and you get to enjoy a great meal or beverage, support a charitable business in our community and protect the Parkway, all in one fell swoop.

Sounds delicious to us! Learn more about which restaurants are participating - and when - at:

www.platesfortheparkway.org.

Music Mingle at the Blue Ridge Music Center

You are invited to our first special event of the season - a Music Mingle and Artists' Reception - at the Blue Ridge Music Center in Galax.

On June 20th, the Music Mingle will begin at 5pm featuring delicious food, wine & beer and VIP seating for the main stage concert featuring The Amigos and the Carolina Chocolate Drops. Learn more about both bands below.

Tickets to the Music Mingle & Artists Reception, which include VIP Seating for the concert: $50. Concert Tickets only: $20. Only 60 tickets are left for the Music Mingle, Artists Reception and VIP Seating package...get yours today!

To purchase tickets, contact Lynne at 866-308-2773 x245.

This event is sponsored by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, University of North Carolina School of the Arts and Creek Bottom Brewing. See you at the show!

About the Carolina Chocolate Drops:

Rolling Stone Magazine described the Grammy Winning Carolina Chocolate Drops' style as "dirt-floor-dance electricity." With their 2010 Nonesuch debut, Genuine Negro Jig - which garnered a Best Traditional Folk Album Grammy - the Carolina Chocolate Drops proved that the old-time, fiddle and banjo-based music...learn more here!

About The Amigos:

The Amigos perform high-energy, original Americana music blending country, zydeco/cajun, and jazz. With rockin' accordion solos, dare-devil harmony singing, and breathtaking matching western-wear, "the Amigos are like classic Grand Ole Opry stars, transposed into the bodies of young men" (The Time Jumpers).

Artists Collaborate for Graveyard Fields

The mountains of western North Carolina are remarkable for their rugged beauty and for producing some of the world's best bluegrass music, including that of the Grammy-award-winning Steep Canyon Rangers. Their music emerges as a natural expression of deep feeling without sounding contrived or forced, and they are using their exceptional gift for good. Early this spring on a blustery, cold day they rolled up the mountain to Graveyard Fields on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The band's mandolin player, Mike Guggino, had written the instrumental "Graveyard Fields" for their latest album, Tell The Ones I Love, and they gathered here in a collaborative effort with Bonesteel Films to benefit the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation.

The end product is a beautiful film to bring awareness to, and help accelerate fundraising for, the Graveyard Fields project. See the film - and learn more - here.

Renew, Release and Reconnect

Spend a few days seeing more deeply, understanding the natural and cultural history that defines place, and expressing yourself in new ways. Days of hiking, birding, journaling, watercolors, photography, and fly-fishing, interspersed with great food, Appalachian music, and slow evenings, will make these memorable adventures.

Sounds nice, doesn't it?

The Foundation is offering two special adventures on the Blue Ridge Parkway this summer - Peaks of Otter Lodge (August 6-9) and High Country Grand Retreats (Sept. 4-7).

Each experience features experts who will deepen your understanding of the incredibly diverse natural and cultural assets of the Blue Ridge Parkway...and each is limited to only 20 guests.

To learn more, visit www.brpfoundation.org/L&L or call Willa at 866-308-2773 x305.

Kids in Parks TRACK Trail Opens at Grandfather Mountain State Park

On June 6th, the grand opening of the Grandfather Mountain State Park TRACK Trail took place at the Profile Trail parking lot. With more than 40 TRACK Trails already lining the ridges and hills of North Carolina, the Grandfather TRACK Trail is the 85th to be opened in the entire United States. Several other trails also celebrated grand openings this weekend. Learn more by clicking here!

Read more in the Mountain Times by clicking here.

Learn more about this TRACK Trail by clicking here.

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.