News

Balsam Range to celebrate ECO's 25th year

By ECO news release, Published: June 13, 2012

Marc Pruett, the Grammy award-winning banjo player for the internationally acclaimed Balsam Range, has had music in his family for at least three generations.But what truly motivates his life is the generational connection to the land. As the head of Haywood County's Erosion Control Department he works to protect local streams through education and through enforcement. According to Pruett, "All the members of Balsam are conservation-minded. We all hunt and fish and work to conserve the land. That's what makes our music special."

When ECO celebrates its 25th anniversary at its celebration concert on June 23, it will be observing these same sympathies, the preservation of the culture and the protection of the land and natural resources of Western North Carolina.

The concert will be ECO's chance to thank the community for stewardship of the land by inviting some of the premier performers around to the party. In addition to Balsam Range, the concert will feature Laura Boosinger and Hendersonville's own The Atomic Sisterhood. The concert will be emceed by Uncle Ted White, leader of the Whitewater Bluegrass Company and a third generation performer. Besides music, old-timey dinner and desserts prepared by area restaurants and chefs will be served available when the doors open.
"Our community has so much to be grateful for being surrounded by beautiful mountains, crystal waters and a vibrant cultural legacy," said ECO Executive Director David Weintraub. "Balsam Range epitomizes this since they were all born and bred here and many of them are working hard to protect our natural resources when they aren't performing or cutting CDs. They along with Laura Boosinger and the green goddesses of environmental song (The Atomic Sisterhood) are a fitting way to celebrate ECO's legacy of environmental stewardship."

ECO's 25th Anniversary concert celebrates a quarter century of work protecting area streams, promoting green energy alternatives and sustainability, working for convenient and accessible recycling and advancing good environmental public policies. The concert will be held on Saturday, June 23rd at 7:30 pm at the Blue Ridge Conference Hall at Blue Ridge Community College. The doors will open at 6:30 for those wanting to enjoy delectable old-timey food. Tickets are $15-$20 online or at the Henderson County Visitor's Center. They will be $20-$25 at the door. For more information, contact ECO at (828) 692-0385.