An event two-and-a-half centuries in the making, then delayed yet another year by the COVID-19 pandemic, finally will get underway in August.
Surry 250, a celebration of Surry County’s 250th anniversary, will take place Aug. 21 at the Historic Courthouse Square, 114 W. Atkins St., in Dobson.
That day’s ceremony will be the kick-off celebration for a months-long observance of the county’s sestercentennial. Local organizers had planned to start the celebrations in 2020 with a series of events, drawing those to a conclusion and final celebration this year, the actual 250th anniversary of the county’s founding. Now, the commemoration will begin in August and continue on in successive months.
The Aug. 21 celebration will include Surry County sonkers, numerous food trucks, children’s activities, displays by local historical organizations, Revolutionary War demonstrations and music from headliners Presley Barker and Taylon Hope, as well as the Nunn Brothers, the Slate Mountain Ramblers and Celtic Sessions.
Presley is a 16-year-old local musician who competed on American Idol and has appeared at the Grand Ole Opry, MerleFest, Elkin Roots Music Festival, the Reeves Theater and the Galax, Virginia, Old Fiddlers Convention, where he won the adult guitar competition when he was 10. He is recording an album in Nashville and has performed at many music venues in North Carolina and Virginia.
Taylon is another successful 16-year-old with experience in Nashville, having shared the stage with Dolly Parton, Tracy Lawrence, Lee Greenwood, Lonestar, Shenandoah and Colin Raye. She moved to Nashville from West Jefferson to pursue her career in country music as a pre-teen and is a signed artist for Dolly Parton’s Dream More Resort, where she performs throughout the year. She has performed at the Grand Ole Opry, on historic WSM Radio, at CMA Music Fest, at MerleFest and at many music venues in North Carolina and Tennessee.
The Nunn Brothers and the Slate Mountain Ramblers have won numerous awards and performed in many festivals and events in North Carolina and Virginia.
Children can enjoy the Dobson Splash Pad, a monster mural, a playground, cornhole boards and Horne Creek Living Historical Farm old-timey games. Historical displays and demonstrations will be provided by Horne Creek, the Wake Forest University Anthropology Department, heritage craftsmen and officials from the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History, who will present a walk-through mobile museum that traces Surry County’s history from the Native Americans to today.
Surry County historical videos and silent films will be played in the Historic Courthouse Board Room on the second floor and a time capsule will be on hand for citizens to add their contents to be opened in 2121.
Those who attend should take a blanket or lawn chair to relax on the Historic Courthouse lawn, where concerts and social events were held for decades. Bands will be available for pictures, autographs and album and merchandise sales.
Atkins and Crutchfield streets will be blocked off for the event; parking will be available at Dobson Elementary School, Dobson First Baptist Church, the Surry County Judicial Center and Surry Community College, where guests can hop on a shuttle for a free ride to downtown.
A lecture series, bus tours, mobile museum school trips and historical articles in regional outlets will follow over the next year to honor the county’s history, which includes a time period in which current land in Forsyth, Stokes and Yadkin counties were part of Surry County. Dates, times and details for those events will be announced later.
For more information about Surry 250, log onto http://facebook.com/surry250 and www.surry250.com.
The Surry 250 event’s rain date is Saturday, August 28. The event is being sponsored by Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com