Free festival celebrates arts and the blues
August 23, 2007
This Saturday's 2007 Foothills Blues & Arts Festival in Meigs County is offering both music and art, and all for free.
"Music and art bring people together and that is what this festival is all about," Jared Sheets, president of the Foothills Music Foundation, said in a news release. The foundation is the festival's main sponsor.
Sheets touted the event's "great mix of bands, from national and international touring groups to local favorites as well as fabulous local and regional artisans."
Because of donations from local businesses and individuals, Sheets explained, the festival is a free event.
A new feature for this year's festival is the participation of Nelsonville's Foothills Art School, which will allow for a variety of art demonstrations that showcase the area's Appalachian heritage.
"We want to make this fun for the whole family, so our artists will do face painting and have make-and-take projects for the kids," Wayne Savage, director of the Foothills Art School, said in the release.
Jim and Jennifer Sheets are hosting the festival on their family farm in Scipio Township in Meigs County. It's located on Ohio Rt. 143 between Albany and Pomeroy, near Harrisonville.
Local food vendors will be on hand, and fest-goers are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs and coolers. No glass containers are allowed.
Doors open at noon Saturday with artist demonstrations. The music on the main stage starts soon after with local performers Bob Stewart and Liz Pahl, followed by the Opossum Trot Blues Band from Kentucky, and Mudfork Blues, the Sheets family band. The evening entertainment starts with the Free Beer and Chicken Coalition from Columbus, continues with Larry Garner from Baton Rouge and the Jimi Vincent Band from Cleveland, and ends with Wixom Slim & The Wyze Gyze, from Detroit.
Acoustic music will be played on a second stage in the concessions area. J.B. Brandt of Houston and M. Scott Horn of Akron, among others, will play during breaks between performers on the main stage.
Free camping will be available on-site, including RV parking by reservation. Those arriving on Friday evening will be treated to an open acoustic jam starting at 7 p.m.
For details and directions, visit www.foothillsmusic.org or call the Foothills Music Foundation at 594-9112.
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