2nd Saturdays @ 7

Juanita Fireball and the Continental Drifters on August 13th

The Highland County Arts Council’s monthly 2nd Saturday at 7pm concert will be part of the upcoming Centennial festivities on August 13 at the Highland Center. Juanita Fireball and the Continental Drifters will be providing the music for a community square dance with callers Ellen and Eugene Ratcliffe.  The group plays the Appalachian string band tunes that they learned from old-timers in West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina. 

The Highland Center will be celebrating their 100 year old building. Food and beverages will be available during the evening. starting at 5:00 pm.

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The Highland County Arts Council’s contribution will highlight another long time Monterey tradition:  The Street Dance.  Callers Ellen and Eugene Ratcliffe are lifelong residents of Highland Co and both attended school in the building. They grew up in an era where square dances were an every weekend event. After several years of using square dance figures in clogging exhibitions, they began calling at square dances. They have developed their own style of calling while still preserving the old time figures of Appalachian mountain dancing. The dance will begin at 7 pm in the bowl at the Highland Center.  In case of rain, the dance will move into the Center’s auditorium.

The event is funded in part by a grant from the Community Foundation of the Central Blue Ridge and members of the Highland County Arts Council.  Donations at the dance will be gratefully accepted.