A Month Filled With Family Events That Will Help Your Family Grow
Bristol, Tenn./Va. (April 30, 2019) – It’s officially festival season and what better way to kick off spring than with the lineup announcement for the Birthplace of Country Music’s (BCM) 19th annual Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion music festival?
Last week BCM held a press conference announcing headliners Wynonna & The Big Noise, St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Patty Griffin, Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives, Sam Bush, Mike Farris, Elizabeth Cook, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Jim Lauderdale, CAAMP, Ruston Kelly, Matt Maeson, Lucy Dacus, the Steep Canyon Rangers, Darrell Scott, and many, many more. Over 120 acts will perform on 20 stages during the festival that draws more than 40,000 attendees. Bristol Rhythm will be held in Historic Downtown Bristol, Virginia – Tennessee September 20-22. For complete lineup and ticket information, visit BristolRhythm.com.
This May, programming surrounding the special exhibit Reading Appalachia: Voices From Children’s Literature at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum continues with weekly Family Story Time where families can explore the special exhibit while taking in some of the exciting “Appalachia-centric” stories included in it. Families with kids five and under are invited to join us in the Special Exhibits Gallery at the museum each Thursday at 10:30 a.m. EST at no cost. Reading Appalachia will be on display through June 30 at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum.
On Thursday, May 2 at 6:30 p.m. the museum will host a screening of the documentary film The Ballad of Shirley Collins, a carefully textured piece about one of the 20th century’s most important singers of English traditional songs. For 40 years the singer who had traveled with Alan Lomax to America’s Deep South on a ground-breaking song-collecting trip was silenced by a rare vocal disorder. The film chronicles her journey and astounding comeback. Tickets to the screening are $5 and available through the Events page at BirthplaceOfCountryMusic.org.
Saturday, May 4 is Family Fun Day at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, where guests are admitted for free between 12:00 noon and 2:00 p.m. EST. The museum will partner with the Bristol Public Library to provide an Instrument Petting Zoo, various crafts and activities, poetry and typewriters with Langley “Casual Word” Shazor, and free entry to the Reading Appalachia special exhibit. May 4 is also Free Comic Book Day on 6th Street in downtown Bristol, giving families the opportunity to experience all-day fun!
Radio Bristol’s popular Farm and Fun Time live variety show featuring Davina & The Vagabonds and Hoot & Holler is sold out, but you don’t have to miss it! The show will stream live on Radio Bristol’s Facebook page and online at ListenRadioBristol.org Thursday, May 9 at 7:00 p.m. EST.
Families with children 2 1/2 to 6 are invited to join educator Christine Mitten at the museum on Saturday, March 9 at 10:30 a.m. for a fun and active literacy program called Literarily Cool! During this free event, families are invited to experience the magic of Appalachian children’s literature through fun, hands-on activities. Participants are asked to RSVP through the Events page at BirthplaceOfCountryMusic.org.
In keeping with the Southern Appalachian tradition of making music, musicians will gather at the museum on Saturday, May 18 at 2:00 p.m. EST for a free Community Jam session. This popular, regularly scheduled program happens the third Saturday of each month and is offered at no cost. All skill levels and ages are welcome, or you can just come along to listen to good music!
Tune in to Radio Bristol on Thursday, May 23 at 11:00 a.m. for the Radio Bristol Book Club, when the group explores the children’s novel Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars. Hosted by Birthplace of Country Music Museum Head Curator Rene Rodgers and Bristol Public Library Executive Director Amy Kimani, the Radio Bristol Book Club is currently discussing selections inspired by the Reading Appalachia special exhibit.
For a complete list of events, visit our Events Pages.