Module Week 11 Assignment: The Blog

Battling the Rain at Shakori Hills

Note: I covered the third day of the Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival of Music and Dance (Oct. 8, 2006)

SILK HOPE, N.C. — For the second year in a row, the annual Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival of Music and Dance has been dubbed by some attendees as “Mudfest 2006.” Here in the parking lot of the 72-acre festival grounds, cars are covered in a soupy mix of mud and grass. And now a light drizzle grows in intensity as I gingerly move through the muck to the main gate.

But the weather doesn’t affect the mood of the ticket checker adored with dreadlocks, a yellow jacket and corduroy pants. The man continues to spin a hula hoop with stretched arms as if to welcome the rain.

Dance With Me

No dance partner? This isn’t a problem it seems at the Dance Tent where it takes only a few moments before you are engulfed by a large circle of barefoot dancers. I am paired with Elizabeth, an organic farmer who closely resembles actress Alexis Bledel. We spend the next 10 minutes learning the basic shag steps, but several missteps later, I realize my lack of rhythm makes it hard for me to succeed.

A Trip to “Antarctica”

There have been some great concept albums. The KISS classic, Destroyer comes to mind. The Who’s Tommy. Radiohead’s OK Computer. But the Never, based in Pittsboro, may be the first band to craft a storybook album focusing on a nuclear bomb and witches.

Antarctica centers on a young lad, Paul, who travels to the city to return the device to its owner. The book’s authors, the five-piece alternative band, handle the material with aplomb. The gentle guitar strumming and sunny harmonies provide a welcome contrast to the weather, and the music plays out well with the band’s young fans sitting in front of the stage. Behind them, a few kids shake their heads and flap their arms near a screen showing 40 different oil paintings from the book.

“Finger Billiards”

Billy Stevens sips hot chocolate from a biodegradable cup as he points out two teenage boys wandering to an open Carrom table.

“They’re back, so that means they are hooked,” he says with a smile.

Stevens can appreciate the addictiveness of the game that seems to attract newbies who can easily lose an hour playing on the square wooden board with four corner pockets. Commonly referred to as “finger billiards,” the game’s objective is simple.

Stevens tells me a player must flick a “striker” at black and white checkers, and victory is achieved when the 10 pieces, including a red one, dubbed the queen, find themselves in the pockets.

The game is a welcome distraction for some festival attendees who seek a break from the non-stop bluegrass and folk music dominating the festival. As the new players find, Carrom moves briskly and strategy plays a major role. Stevens, who is ranked 20th in the Carrom world rankings, tries to showcase the sport to anyone who wants to learn. That is why he’ll delay eating dinner for another hour just so he can hover around the nine tables and gently offer encouragement and tips to players.

“You’re flicking too hard,” he says. “Try guiding the striker.”

Stevens believes Carrom’s popularity could grow beyond the game shops into a wider market. There is no sarcasm in Stevens’ voice when he said the game would work well on ESPN next to the pool and poker programming. So Stevens is looking for an investor to fund his enthusiasm for the game to more lucrative heights. To build thousands of Carrom boards. To fund Carrom teams.

“To make $10 million, you need to invest $2 million,” he says. “And that is all I am looking for.”

And that makes demonstrations like the one here at Shakori Hills vital to growing the game. A sure draw would have been a 12-person tournament featuring some top players from the Southeast. But, alas, the cold rain stopped those plans.

“Out of the Rain”

The Duhks, (pronounced “ducks”) with their mix of gospel, roots, folk and bluegrass music, are made for Shakori Hills. Sure, their intensive instrumental skills and great vocal harmony are all over the map, but that’s a good thing.

They are also a sight to behold. Lead singer Jessica Havey is covered with tattoos and multi-percussionist Scott Senior plays like Animal from the Muppets. The group shined with an upbeat version of the Leonard Cohen tune Everybody Knows complete with a driving drum beat and the call-and-response of Death Came a Knockin’ is a highlight. But the song that drew the most cheers was the aptly named, Out of the Rain.