Wildflowers and Bluegrass - A Beautiful Day for All

Thank you to all those who joined us for our most recent HEARTS’ event “Wildflowers and Bluegrass” on May 14, 2022 at the Hugh Torance House and Store and Cedar Grove.

This was the third installment of the new HEARTS happenings and did not disappoint with the many offerings ranging from wildflower walks sharing historic plant lore and identification, to live old-time bluegrass music, to a visit from the past by the 1700’s botanist explorer Andre Michaux, and much more.

In Cedar Grove’s grand front hall, visitors were greeted with "Nature Through the Artist's Eyes, (click here to take a virtual tour) presenting the bucolic and beautiful landscape oil paintings by Tony Griffin juxtaposed with the whimsical and thought provoking mixed-media assemblages of vintage images and found objects by Nicole Schoepflin.

“Cedar Groove” presented old-time fiddler and traditional music history buff, Chris Sekerak and his bandmates Josh Campbell on banjo and Fred Mock on bass and guitar, performing “Digging the Roots,” an exceptional show on our region’s musical roots and how it evolved into today's popular styles.

Special guest Charlie Williams performed his one-man play, “Live with Michaux,” his re-enactment of 18th-century botanist Andre’ Michaux sharing his travels to our region visiting with locals while on expedition for the king of France.

Afterwards, in the parlor of the Hugh Torance House and Store, there was a book signing for Williams’ book Andre’ Michaux in North America: Journals and Letters, 1785-1797, a massive compilation of the illustrations and translated text of the botanist’s journals and letters. The Store has additional copies for purchase, if you’d like your own copy of this botanical masterpiece.

A new feature this month was the Outpost tent, featuring hard to find native plants from Dutch Buffalo Farm and fresh wildflowers from Hawk and Sparrow Flowers - Raceway Berry Farms, and also the meeting point for the Wildflower Walks with native plant enthusiast Marion Sekerak. Over 25 interesting species were identified and their history, uses and lore were shared on the walk, and Master Gardner intern Mona Morgan shared her knowledge and expertise with guests at the tent. Visit our Resources page for more wildflower and native plant information.

The Outpost also showcased the Reunion Project and HEARTS Circle, the new grassroots membership campaign to support local history, historic preservation, conservation, the arts, and community connections through reuniting descendants of the people of this site and the region through HEARTS. We are grateful to our new members that have recently joined, and if you haven’t joined yet, please consider joining. These important sites and their stories depend on your support to protect, preserve, and share with the community now and in the future. We can't do it without YOU!

The Store and HEARTS events are operated by the Hugh Torance House and Store (HTHS), a private 501c3 nonprofit. All events are made possible by dedicated volunteers, HEARTS Circle members, community partners Lake Norman Realty, Armin’s Catering, Torrance Preserve, Dutch Buffalo Farm, Raceway Berry Farms, our featured guests, artists, and musicians.

We hope you can attend and bring your friends to our next HEARTS event, “Junion,” on June 18th featuring stories from the Reunion Project with more art, music, and nature. Until then, keep in touch, and share your stories.

Thank you to Jim McGuire for being our event photographer. Photos above courtesy of Jim McGuire.