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Picture of the day - August 7, 2005
The Boohers Pickin' At The Carter Fold
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This weekend, the one and only Janette Carter is hosting the 31st annual Carter
Family Memorial Festival & Craft Show at the Carter Family Fold in
Hiltons, Va. This event is held every year to honor the memory of Carter Family
members and close family friends who have passed on.
The past few months have been difficult ones for Janette. Her brother Joe, with
whom she had always been very close, passed away back in March. Joe had been her
confidant and partner at the Fold from the very start, and for over 30 years they had opened
the weekly Saturday evening shows by singing a few Carter Family
standards together.
Shortly after Joe's passing, Janette fell and suffered a broken leg from which
she is still recovering.
Then, to top it all off, her oldest son Don Jett passed away suddenly last month
from complications of surgery. Although Don and his family had lived
out-of-state for many years, he had remained very close to Janette and the
family and he always planned his summer vacations around the Festival so he could
be at the Fold helping out.
But even as Janette deals with everything that has happened, I can still clearly
see the love of her family, the Carter Family legacy and God in her beautiful
smile. Janette Carter is one special lady, determined to do everything within
her power to fulfill her dying father's request that she keep the Carter
Family's music and legacy alive. For over thirty years she has done just that
and she shows no signs of stopping any time soon!
The Carter Family Memorial Festival is two days of virtually non-stop
pickin' and singin'. Local Bluegrass and Old-Time music performers as well as special
guests grace the
Fold's stage one right after the other, but sometimes what takes place outdoors
is just as special...
 While
wandering around the grounds, I happened to see The Boohers getting ready to pick under a
handy shade tree. Being the huge Boohers fan that I am, I walked over and asked
if I could take a few pictures. Lora said yes and the result is the
"Picture Of The Day".
They started playing, and in no time a crowd had gathered around them, obviously
enjoying the impromptu show.
The Boohers have always been one of the very best Bluegrass bands in the
country, and adding Rachel Johnson's wonderful fiddling into the mix made them
even better.
The first time I saw Rachel perform was at the country music mural on Bristol's
State Street. She was only 13 years old then, but she already knew her way around a
fiddle...and she was a crowd favorite at the Tuesday night pickin's.
Today, Rachel is one of the best fiddle players I have ever heard.
The first day of the Festival was a huge success and I'm sure the second day
will be just as good. And if I'm lucky, perhaps I'll find The Boohers pickin'
under that shade tree again!
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