( http://ashlandcoffeeandtea.com/ ) down in Ashland, VA and finally yesterday I did it! Lanny Fields ( http://www.sixwatergrog.com/ ) one of the participants in the Blue and Grey (Lee's Retreat)
( http://www.blueandgraybrewingco.com/ ) Wednesday Jam session has been sending out reminders via email, and on Facebook, about the Old Timey and Celtic session held at Ashland Coffee. This Saturday was kind of a rainy day and a perfect day to do chores, but why do that when you can hang out and hear great music, so that is what I did! I was delighted to see perhaps three dozen cyclists, in their funny shorts and shoes, using the cafe as a refreshment and relief station when I arrived. The coffee shop is just perfect, with sofas and a mini library. The back room is quite large with a music stage. Sadly, not many people came just to listen to the jam, but there were plenty of great musicians. Lanny was on banjo, and several fiddlers and guitarists were playing, and to my surprise, two had autoharps. One guy even whipped out the Jaw Harp (or Jew's Harp). I'm glad I was able to make the trip, and I even saw a guy that I'm always bumping into in the Fredericksburg coffee shops http://www.hyperionespresso.com/ , so this place is known outside of my little Mayberry. Very cool.
Later I had a chance to see a benefit concert by AON (http://www.aonband.com/fr_home.cfm ), down in Warrenton, to benefit Sparrow's Nest. http://www.sparrowsrest.org/ AON's banjoist, Jeff, belongs to the Methodist congregation ( http://www.bethelumc.com/ ) out in Warrenton, and his son Nathan Krauss is an Eagle Scout candidate. He is building benches to seat 80 people at the farm Sparrow's Rest is developing. The non-profit organization helps get older kids in the foster system to develop independent living skills and work on their emotions and behaviors, with equine therapy. My cousin Jack out in Kansas City, Missouri volunteer his time with equine therapy. Nathan's monetary goal was very nearly met with the concert, and he has all the permits lined up for the construction. It sounds like a very worthy cause. Anything that contributes to young children breaking out of a cycle of dependence, and becoming employable and productive is a benefit. According to the information given at the concert, too many kids drop out of school and never even achieve a GED. With society having scarce jobs for college graduates, what is the future if you don't even have a GED? Public assistance, living in hotels, depression, drug addiction, not much hope. This organization seems like a real winner.
I took lots of videos and pictures of AON, as one of their members is returning to his home country of Chile, and I want to have something to remember him by. When I get time, I've got to string them into a little concert film and transfer it to a DVD.
After the concert, we had a short pint at a local Irish pub and got home just in time to have some salmon at an El Salvadoran restaurant. After that, I enjoyed part of a Korean film on Netflix about cyborgs. The film was set in 2077 and was very well done technically. Unfortunately couldn't keep my eyes open to watch all the cool action and read the subtitles, so I'll have to finish that film later.
