A Tradition of African-American Spirituals

“Follow the Drinking Gourd”
February 24th – Columbia Theater - Columbia, North Carolina

African-American music is the overwhelming influence in all American music. From the influence of "Blake and Sissle" on Broadway, Big Joe Turner on "Rock and Roll" and Scott Joplin on Jazz, the genres of music that bear the marks are legion; gospel, soul, rap, minstrel, Broadway, ragtime, jazz, blues, R&B, rock, samba, reggae, salsa and calypso. Nothing displays this better than spirituals.

Traditional African-American spirituals, originally referred to as slave songs or prayer songs, often spoke of a journey. These songs were an expression of feelings, heritage, and also a way of communicating messages. Not being permitted to learn directions for travel, songs like “Follow the Drinking Gourd” were coded.



To learn more about this genre and hear some great music, come join us at the Columbia Theater. Columbia, NC - 27925, on Thursday, February 24, 2005 at 7:00 PM in the evening.

There will be many returning participants from previous years including the choirs from: Alligator Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, Piney Grove Disciples Church, Salem Missionary Baptist Church, Pastor Randy Bryant, Gateway to Heaven Church of Elizabeth City, NC and members of the Columbia High School Black History Club. There will be a few surprise presenters as well.

For information or questions contact Brenda Mixon (252) 796-1000 or Helen Craddock (252) 796-0723

During the month of February, there will also be art from the private collections of Dorothy Redford, (Executive Director, Somerset Place) and Barbara Hill (Faculty Advisor, Columbia High School Black History Club) on display. Come share the history and the culture of an African-American tradition.

200th Anniversary Luncheon - Dismal Swamp Canal

The 200th anniversary of the Dismal Swamp Canal and the 65th anniversary of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Kick-off Luncheon are to be held on Friday, February 11, 2005, at noon, in the Chesapeake Conference Center, 900 Greenbrier Circle, Chesapeake, VA.

The Luncheon will be hosted by Camden County, the Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center and Dismal Swamp Natural Area, in North Carolina, and the City of Chesapeake, the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, and Great Dismal Swamp Coalition, in Virginia. All federal, state and local officials from both Virginia and North Carolina are invited, along with Col. Prettyman-Beck of the Norfolk District, US Army Corps of Engineers, who will serve as Mistress of Ceremonies. The general public is invited.

Bland Simpson will provide entertainment for this event. A teacher since 1982 in UNC-Chapel Hill's Creative Writing Program, and now the program's director, Bland is author of the book The Great Dismal, A Carolinian's Swamp Memoir. In this book, Bland, who grew up near the swamp in North Carolina, blends personal experience, travel narrative, oral history, and natural history to create an intriguing portrait of the Great Dismal Swamp and its people. In much the same way, his live performance blends these same characteristics with song and music.

Tickets for the luncheon are $20 per person. Come celebrate 200 years of history, the oldest man-made waterway in the country still in use today … the DISMAL SWAMP CANAL. Phone (252) 771.8333 or email Penny Leary-Smith for tickets or more information.

This just in: Bloggers had nothing to do with Rathergate

Hugh Hewitt links to several new blog posts taking apart the hypocrisy of the CBS whitewash. You think whitewash is too exaggerated a response to the CBS report? CBS's own technical expert determined the memos were false, but the report said ""The Panel was not able to reach a definitive conclusion as to the authenticity of the Killian documents." You have to read the appendix for the report to find out the truth. Why is CBS still trying to sell the possibility Dan Rather was right? Truth seems to be the greatest casualty of the Main Stream Media's attempt to discredit blogs!

Chowan County Tourism Development Authority Events Calendar

The Tourism Newsletter for January 2005 has been published, and it includes numerous events for the Chowan Arts Council. In addition the newsletter has some great photos of the events from the past year. Contact information is available here if you wish a copy.

Blogs and the Main Stream Media

Blog-Gate - Yes, CBS screwed up badly in ‘Memogate’ — but so did those who covered the affair
Columbia Journalism Review - By Corey Pein
"Bloggers have claimed the attack on CBS News as their Boston Tea Party, a triumph of the democratic rabble over the lazy elites of the MSM (that’s mainstream media to you)."

One Story Line About News Blogs: They Lag Far Behind Mainstream
Investor's Business Daily - By Brian Deagon
"It took Powerlineblog.com little more than two years to get its first 15 minutes of fame, but then the spotlight shone brightly."

-- Our new blog is one of many that prove the above articles missed the mark with criticism of blogs. The reality that blogs are not as powerful as the main stream media hides the new reality that they are growing explosively. There will never be a time when any major newspaper, or even a local newspaper, can focus on a community like Edenton and Chowan County as quickly as a blog. People in this area care about what is happening, and a blog is the way they can keep up with much less effort, and much less money, than any other known method. In a great irony, the second article by Brian Deagon has received so much negative press from blogs, that Investor's Business Daily pulled the article, and now the link simply pulls up an article on "Fancy Media Players". This less than 24 hours after they posted the article. Blogs are a form of giving power back to the people, and giving people the truth.

Miracle on 34th Street

Brendan, Sarah, Mike, Kristi, Pascale and Natasha get ready for Dress Rehearsal of the Gates County Historical Society production of Miracle on 34th Street. It was directed by Dr. Joyce Brown from Sunbury. Local actors Earl Spence, Sam Tackett and Audrey Lewis played the leading roles of Fred, Doris and Susan. The play was a great success, and everyone had a great time. Click on the link above to visit the web site for the play.