Huntersville’s historic Hugh Torance House and Store presents “Wildflowers and Bluegrass” on Saturday, May 14, 2022 from 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm. Free to the community, the event highlights historic connections to the plants, wildflowers, and homegrown music of our region.
For this event, HTHS is excited to present Charlie Williams performing his one-man play, "Live with Michaux,” a first-person interpretation of 18th-century botanist Andre' Michaux's life and adventures. Dressed in period costume, Williams shares stories from Michaux’s travels throughout our region during the time of Hugh Torance. Williams has presented hundreds of programs on Michaux to audiences of all ages, including at the Smithsonian in Washington.
Following the performance, Williams will be signing copies of his new book, André Michaux in North America: Journals and Letters, 1785–1797, the first annotated English translation of Michaux’s journals from his North American travels.
Wildflower walks are planned throughout the afternoon, led by native plant enthusiast Marion Sekerak, sharing stories and lore of plants on the site with roots to Native American, African American, and colonial history.
For May’s “Cedar Groove” musical feature, old-time fiddler and traditional music history buff Chris Sekerak brings his “Diggin’ the Roots” old-time music show to Cedar Grove. An educational exploration of the music that paved the way for bluegrass, “Diggin’ the Roots” features not only authentic interpretations of our region's traditional music, but also the context to understand where this music came from and how it evolved into popular music styles of today. Joining Chris for this musical journey are Josh Campbell on banjo and Fred Mock on bass and guitar.
Throughout the event, visual art featuring botanical themes by regional artists will be shared in the Cedar Grove front hall. Native plants from Dutch Buffalo Farm and fresh flowers will also be available for purchase.
Wildflowers and Bluegrass is the third monthly HEARTS event at the Huntersville historic site. HEARTS events share place-based experiences and explore local connections through the arts, nature, and history, providing a multi-faceted event for all ages.
This is a free community event with RSVPs requested on the Events page. All guests registering online become eligible for door prizes announced at the event throughout the day.
This event is made possible by dedicated volunteers, HEARTS Circle members, community partners, Lake Norman Realty and community donations. All proceeds benefit HTHS’s efforts to further the HEARTS mission of historic preservation, ecological conservation, and forging community connections in our region.
The historic Hugh Torance House and Store is located at 8231 Gilead Road, Huntersville, NC 28078. Parking is available in the new greenway parking lot on Gilead Road at McDowell Creek.
The Store and HEARTS events are operated by the Hugh Torance House and Store (HTHS), a private 501c3 nonprofit. Group tours and volunteer opportunities for stewardship, preservation, and conservation are available. For more information, visit www.hughtorancehouseandstore.org, email info@hughtorancehouseandstore.org, or call (704) 920-9931.