Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Folk Festival celebrates PRCC's 100-year history

     POPLARVILLE - The sights and sounds of yesteryear return to Pearl River Community College on Saturday, March 28, with the Centennial Folk Festival.
      From the putt-putt of antique tractors to bluegrass pickin', the college will pay tribute to its origins as Pearl River County Agricultural High School.
      The festival is free, including performances by professional bluegrass musicians - The Jason Boone Band, Driskill Mountain Boys, Shallow Creek and The Vernon Brothers.
      "I think of bluegrass as country with a jazz twist," said Bobby Thrash, PRCC instructor and musician. "You'll find something good in bluegrass, and these guys are some of the best musicians in the region."
      Festival events begin with a community acoustic jam session from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, March 27, at the gazebo by the Alumni House.
      The festival itself begins at 8 a.m. on Saturday with exhibits and demonstrations of knife making, antique sewing machines, bees and honey, corn husk dolls, quilting, sewing, canning, spinning, antique farm equipment and antique cars. An information booth will be located in the gazebo at the Alumni House.
      The tractors and farm equipment will be displayed between Crosby Hall and Garvin H. Johnston Library, the antique cars will be next to the Alumni House and other exhibits will be in the center of campus near Crosby Hall.
      Tours of the U.S. Department of Agriculture - Agriculture Research Station and the Mississippi State University Experiment Station begin at 9 a.m. Visitors will ride trailers through the two facilities and see research on blueberries, trail gardens and Echinacea, a native wildflower.
      Tickets for the tours will be available at the gate near the Science Building.
      Experts from the two government agencies and Crosby Arboretum will do presentations in the PRCC Science Building on grafting, native plants and edible plants.
      Additional activities include horse-drawn wagon rides through PRCC's historic campus, story telling, tours of the PRCC Museum, children''s games and a petting zoo. The children's activities will be behind the Science Building.
      A special exhibition, The Flood of 1927, will be on display in the Garvin H. Johnston Library.
      Personnel from Stennis Space Center will also have a display in the library.
      PRCC''s centennial observance began with a parade and ceremonies on Sept. 8, 2008, and has continued throughout the year. The Centennial Folk Festival highlights the college''s history as a boarding school and farm which opened in 1909.
      "We're doing what we did 100 years ago," said Dr. Stephen Black, history instructor and festival chairman. "We're revisiting the past and the way business and industry affected the growth of our college."
      When Pearl River opened a century ago, students relied on themselves for entertainment and some may have brought guitars or fiddles from home. The music they made was similar to the bluegrass at the festival.
      Bands from the Poplarville area will perform in the morning. They include Jordan River Band, Joyful Praise, Lumberton Strings and Cross Ties.
      Free workshops on guitar, fiddle, banjo, mandolin and vocals begin at 10 a.m. in Olivia Bender Cafeteria in Crosby Hall. Clifton Perry will demonstrate the dulcimer at 3 p.m.
      The professional bands, all well-known in bluegrass circles, take the stage in front of the Alumni House at noon and will play until 8 p.m. Festival-goers are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets.
      The Vernon Brothers Bluegrass Band is a four-piece ensemble featuring intricate instrumentals and tight three- and four-part harmonies. The band performs in venues ranging from churches and schools to nightclubs and casinos.
      The Driskill Mountain Boys from Clinton, La., have been crowd pleasers at both the Abita Springs Opry and the Piney Woods Opry.
      Shallow Creek, built around the Moeller brothers from Picayune, brings high energy bluegrass featuring gospel music to the stage.
      The Jason Boone Band is made up of musicians with a combined 100 years of musical experience. Their repertoire moves from traditional bluegrass with a contemporary slant to country ballads and gospel.
      Student organizations at PRCC will have hamburgers, hot dogs and other food items for sale.
      In conjunction with the festival, the PRCC television and film production class will screen black and white films shot by students. The 11 films represent an assignment to tell a story through the art of cinema with no dialogue. The mini film fest will start at 10 a.m. in the Rotary Room of Olivia Bender Cafeteria. Admission is $1. DVDs of student work will be also be available.
      The PRCC baseball team will host Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College at 1 p.m. in Wildcat Stadium. Admission to the game is $5.