Diana Wortham Theatre at Pack Place
2 South Pack Square
Asheville, NC 28801
John Ellis, Managing Director
Diana Wortham Theatre at Pack Place
Office Ph#: (828) 257-4512
E-Mail: jellis@dwtheatre com
Who: A Swannanoa Solstice
What: Mainstage Special Attraction Series
When: 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday, December 21
Where: Diana Wortham Theatre at Pack Place
Ticket Prices: Regular: $30; Senior: $28; Student: $25; Child: $10
Info/Tickets: Box Office (828) 257-4530
Web: www.dwtheatre.comArtists’ Websites: www.alandamy.com •
www.robinbullock.comFor Interviews: Al Petteway or Amy White 828-628-6428 •
alandamy@mindspring.comFor Calendar Listings: A Swannanoa Solstice. A warm winter evening of traditional and contemporary Celtic and American holiday music and storytelling with multi-instrumentalists Al Petteway, Amy White, and Robin Bullock, plus storyteller Sheila Kay Adams with guitarist Jim Taylor, Cape Breton-style stepdancers The Twisty Cuffs, fiddler Alex Reidinger, highland bagpipers Steven Agan and E.J. Jones, and host Doug Orr. Mainstage Special Attraction Series. Diana Wortham Theatre at Pack Place. Two performances: 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sun., Dec. 21. Regular $30; Senior $28; Student $25; Children 12 & under $10; Student Rush day-of-the-show $10 (with valid I.D.) Tickets/Info: (828) 257-4530 or online at
www.dwtheatre.com“…sprightly, sensuous, sunny, entrancing and wonderfully evocative.”
- The Washington Post
A SWANNANOA SOLSTICE -- ANNUAL HOLIDAY CONCERT 2 P.M. AND 7 P.M. SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21 AT DIANA WORTHAM THEATRE AT PACK PLACE
Grammy award-winning musicians Al Petteway and Amy White and multi-instrumentalist Robin Bullock headline the sixth anniversary edition of A Swannanoa Solstice, with two performance times: 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday, December 21 at Diana Wortham Theatre at Pack Place in downtown Asheville. In this annual winter holiday celebration, world-renowned musicians Petteway and White along with Bullock and a host of special guests share holiday songs old and new, religious and secular, joyful and poignant, in a warm and intimate winter concert. Presented in association with The Swannanoa Gathering at Warren Wilson College, A Swannanoa Solstice has once again expanded to two performances in order to meet the audience demand for this popular winter gathering and concert, appropriately taking place this year on the day of the winter solstice.
This year’s special guests include:• Sheila Kay Adams, world-renowned Appalachian storyteller and traditional Appalachian ballad singer, with her husband, guitarist Jim Taylor;
• Steve Agan and E.J. Jones, award-winning highland bagpipers;
• The Twisty Cuffs, local Cape Breton-style stepdancers;
• Young virtuosic fiddler, Alex Reidinger; and
• Host Doug Orr, president emeritus of Warren Wilson College, founder of The Swannanoa Gathering, and invaluable supporter of and participant in the musical heritage of western North Carolina.
A Swannanoa Solstice showcases all manner of seasonal sounds and festivities, with well-mastered Celtic and Appalachian songs and music on guitar, mandolin, fiddle, piano, Celtic harp, Irish bouzouki, vocals and world percussion – all against an atmospheric backdrop of Petteway’s and White’s winter photography from National Geographic. Through music and storytelling, Bullock, Petteway and White explore shared winter traditions from the area, the country, and from around the world. The melodies played by Petteway, a virtuosic acoustic guitarist who favors an altered tuning, draw from a broad variety of cultural influences from Middle East tonalities to Scottish jigs. White, on piano, mandolin, guitar, Celtic harp and percussion, draws on her classical background to create harmonic arrangements. Bullock, a multi-instrumentalist who plays the guitar, fiddle and bouzouki is hailed as a master flat picker whose style skillfully embraces Celtic music.
A Swannanoa Solstice is presented annually in partnership with The Swannanoa Gathering at Warren Wilson College, and is made possible by Performance Sponsors Bill & Marilyn Hubbard and Ed & Vicki Jenest, and by Mainstage Special Attraction Series Sponsors Bank of America and Michael & Catty Andry, with additional support from Media Sponsors WNCW 88.7 FM and WNC Magazine.
The Diana Wortham Theatre at Pack Place is located in the center of downtown Asheville on historic Pack Square within walking distance of many shops and restaurants. The
intimate theatre seats just over 500 and boasts exceptional acoustics and sightlines, making it the premier performance space in all of Western North Carolina. The Mainstage Series is supported by a grant from the North Carolina Arts Council, a state agency. The Mainstage Series 2008/2009 season sponsors are Asheville Citizen-Times, Creative Energy, Laurey’s Catering and Gourmet-to-go, and Renaissance Asheville Hotel.
To obtain more information about A Swannanoa Solstice at Diana Wortham Theatre or to purchase tickets (Regular $30; Senior $28; Student $25; Children $10), call the theatre’s box office at (828) 257-4530 or visit
www.dwtheatre.com. Student Rush tickets ($10 for students with valid I.D.) are sold the day of the show, based on availability.
