Hello Molasses Creek friends!
We have some exciting news before we tell you all about our travels these past two weeks. About a week and a half ago we confirmed with the WoodSongs Old-Time Radio hour that we would be on their upcoming show this next Monday, November 19th at 7:00 PM. The show is out of the historic Kentucky Theater, in Lexington, KY, so it means a bit of a drive from North Carolina. But it should be worth the trip! We will be sharing the stage with Caravan of Thieves. The WoodSongs Radio Hour is taped in front of a live audience and streamed immediately to the show's website. In about two months, the show will air on almost 500 radio stations to an audience of well over 1.3 million listeners. We're looking forward to a wonderful concert! Here is the website to find out more.
http://www.woodsongs.com/
Molasses Creek Travels: Where were we the last two weeks?
We are just returning from 11 days on the road. Whew! It has been a lot of fun . . . and we did have some unexpected adventures along the way. We caught the Swan Quarter Ferry on Thursday, November 1st, and made it as far as Roanoke Rapids, NC, when we decided to check out a funny noise coming out of the van. What we thought would be a couple hour fix turned into the replacement of a front ball joint. The part wouldn't be able to arrive until the next Monday, so we rented a van and went merrily on our way (okay, slightly less than merry).
We stayed overnight with Marcy's sister and husband in Jefferson, MD and then traveled up to Harrisburg for a concert with the Susquehanna Folk Music Society at the Fort Hunter Centennial Barn. The barn was constructed in 1876 as part of a dairy business and has now been redesigned as an activity space. You can read more about the beautiful Fort Hunter Mansion and Park at
http://forthunter.org/. Thanks so much to Jess Hayden and all of the friends at the
Susquehanna Folk Music Society for a packed out concert night!
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| Sound check time at the Susquehanna Folk Music Society |
We traveled on to spend the night with Mark Cuddy and Karen, friends who we met on Ocracoke at our Deepwater Theater. Mark works with the
Hershey Area Playhouse, and also works for the Hershey chocolate company. Let us tell you, when your host works for Hershey . . . you get a humungoid sized chocolate bar on your pillow in your room! Incredible!
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| Did we mention that there was also a bowl of chocolate treats next to each bed? |
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| Our instruments were protected from midnight barnyard attacks by this fierce chicken-eating terror! |
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| Gerald was initially reluctant to visit the local antique shoppe. |
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| Until he found this treasure! He'll never doubt Gary again! |
Mark and Karen took us on a tour of Hershey, PA and told us all about the history of founder Milton Hershey. What a fascinating tale. Read more about the origins of the company at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hershey_Company and about Milton Hershey at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_S._Hershey.
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| Hershey Park was originally built for the benefit of the Hershey community |
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| Lobby of the Hotel Hershey, built in 1933. |
Saturday afternoon we loaded in and prepared for the evening concert at the Hershey Area Playhouse. Another old Pennsylvania barn converted into a great performance space!
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| Here we are at home at the Hershey Area Playhouse |
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| Beautiful theater! |
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| Did you ever wonder what happens backstage before a concert? |
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| Ooops. That was a mistake! |
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| Fortunately Marcy always looks nice at showtime. Here she is sporting her hobo digs! |
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| Action! |
Thanks again to our gracious hosts for treating us like royalty!
On Sunday, Molasses Creek drove back down to Sykesville, MD to perform for
Uptown Concerts at the Baldwin Station.
Baldwin Station is an old railway station that has been converted into a fine restaurant. Hmm. Hmm. Tasty!
Thanks to Joyce Sica for hosting us!
After the Sunday concert we returned to Jefferson and then Gary and Dave spent the next day driving to pick up the van (5 hours south . . . 5 hours north). On Tuesday, we resumed our journey up to Albany area to spend a few days with Dave's uncle and aunt in Delmar. Ron and Carolyn Tweedie are close to winning the fig-stuffed turkey for putting up with more Molasses Creekness than anyone else we know. Ron is our #1 Albany are promoter, and Carolyn takes the prize as the #1 cook. Thanks to them for another incredible visit. We look forward to returning the favor this summer at the Ocrafolk Festival!
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| The repaired van made it safe and sound to Albany! |
On Thursday, November 8, Molasses Creek traveled south to the Hudson Valley Resort in Kerhonkson (bless you!) for the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance Conference (NERFA). Molasses Creek was awarded one of the 15 official showcase spots during the weekend. Here is where we got to perform!
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Backstage Getting ready to go on!
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Not that it is always about food . . . but we did find this great German restaurant (the Mountain Brauhaus) just over the Mohonk Preserve mountain.
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Pear, melted cheese sandwich
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| Hot Brown |
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| This looks like some traditional German fare! |
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| And back over the mountain |
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| Up to visit the glacial lake on top of the mountain |
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| Look at this ball of white stuff Fiddler Dave found! Must of been a big polar bear! |
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| Louie jamming at the conference |
On Sunday, we journeyed back to Jefferson one more time (kudos to Mark and Judy Coyne! We love you!). And on Monday we headed south . . . aiming for that 4 PM Swan Quarter Ferry.
On the way home we found an interesting town of Milford, PA. Here are some shots from that visit.
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| Fiddler Dave, eat your heart out! |
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| Ah! Swan Quarter Ferry on our way home to Ocracoke Island! |
Our next public performance after Woodsongs Radio Hour is the Ocrafolk Festival Thanksgiving Fundraiser on the island, on Friday, November 23. After that it's First Night Williamsburg on December 31. Hope everyone has a tasty Thanksgiving. We'll check in with you after this weekend's adventure!
