For Immediate Release
Contact: Walter Clark
Blue Ridge Conservancy
828-264-2511
July 1, 2012
Fundraiser benefits land conservation in northwest North Carolina
Boone—The Fifth Annual Blue Ridge Conservancy Blueberry Festival will be held on July 14, 2012, from 12 to 4 p.m. at the Old Orchard Creek Farm in Lansing, N.C, to celebrate land conservation and preservation. The fundraiser offers live bluegrass music, wood-fired pizzas, and of course, homemade blueberry cobbler. Blueberry picking is also available.
“The Annual Blueberry Festival is a celebration of Blue Ridge Conservancy, our friends, supporters, and the work we do together to protect the beautiful mountains of northwest North Carolina,” said Walter Clark, Executive Director of BRC.
The Annual Blueberry Festival benefits the Blue Ridge Conservancy, a land conservation 501(c)3 nonprofit that works with willing landowners and communities in seven counties to permanently protect land and water resources with agricultural, ecological, cultural, recreational and scenic value in northwest North Carolina.
Good Wood Pizza of Hickory will be serving wood-fired pizzas sourced with local ingredients from farmers markets. For dessert, Faith Mountain Farm will dish out some fresh-picked homemade blueberry cobbler. Lenoir-based bluegrass band Backstreet will provide live entertainment while Brushy Mountain Water Company and Pepper’s Restaurant will supply beverages.
Settled in the 1800s, the Historic Old Orchard Creek Farm, located in Ashe County, is protected by a conservation easement. Nestled in a bowl-shaped hollow, the farm is framed by green pastures abundant with apple and pear trees, grape vines, and 3,600 blueberry bushes. For the past five years, Johnny Burleson and Walter Clark have invited people to their u-pick blueberry farm to raise money for BRC. The 90-acre farm is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Rain or shine, the event is open to the public, and suggested ticket donations are $60 each. Children under 12 are free. For more information about sponsorships or the festival, please email walter@blueridgeconservancy.org or visit www.blueridgeconservancy.org.
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Blue Ridge Conservancy is a private, non-profit, non-governmental organization incorporated in North Carolina. Since our founding, we have protected close to 16,000 acres in Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Mitchell, Watauga, Wilkes and Yancey Counties. In addition to protecting working farmland, BRC’s efforts have resulted in the creation of state natural areas like Beech Creek Bog, Bear Paw and Bullhead Mountain. We continue to help Elk Knob State park expand its borders and in 2008 we led the way in establishing a 2,000-acre State Game Land preserve on Pond Mountain in Ashe County.
Click to view the High Country Press article covering the Blueberry Festival.