Poets from all over the state will present workshops and readings at the 2022 Little River Poetry Festival! The event begins Friday, June 3, at 1:00 pm, and will run through Sunday, June 5 at 3:00 pm. The event will take place inside the big tent in the meadow at Daniel Sowers’ ‘On the Water Outfitters’, 2053 Thunderstruck Road in Floyd. The Sowers family will host a poetic invasion and their farm will reverberate with music and laughter for this unique, inclusive experience. Visitors are encouraged to bring original poetry to share at any of the six Open Mic sessions, as well as notebooks to capture new ideas. Musical instruments welcome!
This year, Appalachian poets and much-loved teachers, Sharon Shaver Wood and Beth Simpson Huddleston, team up for an original performance of poetry and storytelling that will leave you laughing and marveling at their originality.
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Sydney grew up an only child at her family home in rural Peoria, Illinois. Many of her young days were spent watching the family’s neighbor, Fred, riding his beautiful white stallion out of the stables. Sydney often visited that farm where she’d spend time with the horses; feeding them carrots while Fred’s wife, Elsie, waved from the farmhouse’s kitchen door. It was exactly the kind of simple, pastoral scene that many imagine for life in 1957. The neighbor’s enormous barn fascinated the five-year old Sydney. She loved everything about it. She loved how massive it was and she loved the aroma of the hay. Most of all, however, she loved the horses. It thrilled her to hear them whinny. Eventually, Sydney got a stubborn and sassy Shetland Pony that she boarded in that barn. In the summer, Sydney’s mother would take her to Peoria’s Glen Oak Park, where there were pony rides and other children’s activities, including art lessons. A young art teacher there showed Sydney how to draw a house. She sat mesmerized while the roof, chimney, and shingles all magically appeared from the end of the ink pen. Something she knew well in real life was suddenly there on the paper in front of her. It was magic and it was life-changing. That moment sparked a passion for art that continued throughout Sydney’s education and into her graphic design career.
Because of her love for nature, Sydney envisioned a stand-alone building in the countryside where she could hear the birds while conceptualizing her art in the calm of nature’s peace.
Though Raleigh was close to Floyd, it became difficult staying in hotels to visit family. Sydney needed her own space.
The barn-shaped building was big enough to create and display art, and spacious enough to teach workshops. Located just a few steps away from the main house, a paved path allows visitors to walk from the parking area to the small deck in front where Sydney often sits to ponder, draw, and to watch the mountain winds playing through the trees.
Inside, an ever-changing collection of paintings cover most of the wall space; reminders of past themes and Sydney’s intense palette.
Group camping – often referred to as ‘buddy camping’ or ‘communal camping’ – is a fast-growing trend among travelers. To provide for this activity, Floyd County’s Chantilly Farm is hard at work on creating a village camping concept at their 200-acre campground and events venue. Guests will be given the option to choose from a variety of sites, including Creekside, Woodland, or premium sites that include electricity. All will be perfectly suited for group camping experiences.
The very first installation at Blue Mountain Village is a 14’x16’ platform tent, complete with an 8’ covered porch, queen size bed, two comfy chairs that turn into single beds, a propane grill, potable water, silverware, dishes, table lanterns, and drinking glasses.
Rain combined her knowledge of all things organic, her commitment to the environment, and her extraordinary business skills with my knowledge of the clothing and T-shirt industry. Together, we created a line of organic cotton clothing with positive messaging that was Made-in-America. We made it our company’s mission. As we like to say; we were “green” when green was still just a color! We began our company from an extra bedroom at home. Within two years, however, we had a 3,000 square-foot warehouse that was buzzing all day long.
We have sold nationally to Whole Foods Markets and REI Outfitters. We were even carried by a few branches of Macy’s, Nordstrom, and Dillard’s department stores. Over the years, we have sold to more than seven-hundred and fifty different retailers. And thanks to the internet, we had customers all over the world.
Thank you all, from the bottom of our hearts, for all the positive feedback and support you have given us for the past fifteen years. As we enter our final year of business, we will be offering tremendous bargains on our remaining inventory. Please come in to say hello and farewell, and perhaps pick up just one more of those super soft organic cotton T-shirts you have loved for so long. We look forward to seeing you and sharing our gratitude in person. As we say goodbye, we ask that you always Respect Labor, Respect the Planet, and Respect Yourself. That has been our company motto for these past fifteen years.
Originally from Wisconsin, Tim and Julie are coming to Floyd from their most recent home in Lake Norman, just north of Charlotte, North Carolina.
To Tim and Julie, however, family was also very important. Before making the commitment, they wanted their children and their children’s spouses to see the place. The kids were excited, but possibly a little skeptical when they heard the story of the winery. Once they visited Villa Appalaccia, however, they understood. “This place is totally you!” they all agreed. Not only did they accept the idea, they loved it. So much so that daughter Alicia and her husband also plan to move to the area.
During their first season, Tim and Julie met a lot of Villa Appalaccia’s long-time, regular patrons, and they loved hearing everyone’s comments and suggestions. Because the Blocks believe that communication with customers and community is very important, Julie has also begun sending out a monthly newsletter during the season; letting people know what’s going on at Villa Appalaccia.
For now, while continuing to make improvements to the winery’s various amenities, the Blocks plan to maintain Villa Appalaccia’s reputation for fine, high-quality wines. They will also keep the ambiance and the feel customers have come to love. They want the winery to remain a fresh, comfortable place to spend time.
Villa Appalaccia is located at 752 Rock Castle Gorge in Floyd, Virginia: between mileposts 170 and 171 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. They feature Italian style wines, and bread and cheese plates.
In 2006, the town purchased a desolate piece of farm-land from the Lineberry family. The plan was to create a place to get away. A place to enjoy and reminisce. A multi-purpose space for all ages in the community.
Many who shared this goal gathered community input, raised funds, and organized projects. Finally, they brought volunteers and professionals together to build the beautiful park that exists today.
With assistance from the Town Committee, Partnership for Floyd constructed the scenic Library Trail; creating a pathway leading from the Jesse Peterman Memorial Library to Warren G. Lineberry Community Park. The two organizations plan to explore ways of extending the trail throughout the Park, as well as around the Jesse Peterman Memorial Library. This would create additional natural-surface walking trails to engage more residents and visitors.
The Events Committee have designed a family environment in which young children can play in the Park while the adults relax and enjoy the new improvements. These bi-weekly events include great live music, movies, inflatables, face painting, food, and fun activities for the entire family. Adults, children, neighbors, and friends can all come together, listen to music and watch movies.
Thanks to a very supportive community, the Events series has grown; gaining momentum every year. Beginning June 6 and concluding on August 29, the 2019 series has an action-packed agenda of activities and fun for the entire family. The full schedule will be released in April, so be sure to check for updates online at www.FloydSmallTownSummer.com, or on Facebook at floydsmalltownsummer.
Part of the event will be outside under festival tents while other exhibits will be set up inside the Chantilly barn. The Floyd Energy Fest will be held rain or shine. To help offset event expenses, there will be a small admission fee of $5.00 per person, or $10.00 if you bring the whole family. The Fest provides a fun and interactive educational opportunity for the general public, covering a wide variety of energy related topics, issues, products and services.
There will also be a full day of presentations that will feature local and regional speakers on a variety of topics and issues from green building to climate change and more! These sessions have been standing room only in the past, and offer a unique opportunity for attendees to come early and spend the day taking part in these very important seminars.
The Fest is also planning separate workshops on building science, renewable energy, and electric cars. There will be a new Tesla on display, along with other electric vehicles and electric bicycles. SustainFloyd will have their famous solar-powered Voltzwagon on display, which will be providing solar powered electricity to the presentation area. This is a great opportunity to see clean and renewable energy at work.
Apple Ridge Farm will also offer tours throughout the day so guests may experience their Ebase USA: Blue Ridge. This is an off-grid solar and wind powered classroom, housed in a 1917 boxcar donated by the National Railway Historical Society. As this special classroom is located on the grounds of Apple Ridge Farm in Copper Hill, a shuttle will be provided for transport.
Plenty! will be set up inside the barn, serving delicious, locally-grown food for snacks and lunch. They will also be serving fresh and locally-brewed coffee from Floyd’s own Red Rooster Coffee. Areas for sitting and relaxing with food and beverages will be provided.
In 2001, Kris went to Africa expressly to find African musicians. He wanted to bring them home to Floyd where they would join Floyd-based musicians in the very first FloydFest, so as to demonstrate how similar we are as people and bridge the cultural gap between west Africa and Appalachia.
FloydFest has not only hosted big names like Blues Traveler, Alison Krauss, Bruce Hornsby, Ricky Skaggs, Gregg Allman, Levon Helm, and The Neville Brothers…they also select up-and-coming bands for an on-site competition. FloydFest is proud that many of its winners over the years have gone on to make it big. Their line-ups and rosters have grown from just a handful in 2002, to over ninety acts in 2018. 2018 also hosted over 14,000 patrons on its expansive location at 894 Rock Castle Gorge Road in Floyd.
Creating this event is an annual, full-time labor of love for the whole team. It takes an entire year to give birth to each and every five-day baby. In a flash of music, lights, camping tents, laughter, and love, however, the moment is gone and it’s time to begin work for the next. They do it all, however, each and every year, for the patrons who have come to love it. In a world obsessed with digital life, FloydFest is a celebration of community.
A once in a life time experience, every year. In addition to all the wonderful things that happen each year onsite, Kris, Sam, and the whole team are proud of the economic development the festival has brought to Southwest Virginia. Between a need for accommodations, food, and supplies, as well as a desire for souvenir hunting, businesses across the region see a boost in their bottom line every July. The local economy, however, isn’t the only legacy.
Looking ahead, the folks at FloydFest want to maintain what they have built. They want an event that is diverse and that has longevity. They want it to be a family reunion for many generations to come. To make that happen, they will continue offering new and exciting experiences. Kris believes that the spirit of diversity which inspired the festival remains at its heart. The thought that we can all coexist peaceably, with appreciation and enlightenment, is just as strong today as it was nineteen years ago. Spanning cultures and lifestyles, FloydFest will continue to embrace this ideal; encouraging others to do the same.