Danbury, N.C. – The Stokes Stomp Festival on the Dan, scheduled for September 8th and 9th is adding a few new wrinkles on its thirty-eighth birthday, with activities aimed for the young and young at heart. The longest running arts council sponsored event in North Carolina, the Stokes Stomp is held annually along the banks of the beautiful Dan River at Moratock Park, 1077 Sheppard Mill Road in Danbury, North Carolina. In addition to the usual main stage and children’s area entertainment, river activities, the Stokes Stomp parade, and over one hundred art/craft/food vendors, the 2012 Stomp will include Heritage Village historical demonstrations, Community Dance by the Dan, and a Tribute Jam in memory of Stokes County musical treasure Joe “Snuffy” Smith, who passed away earlier this year.
“We are very excited about the new additions to this year’s Stokes Stomp” said Chairperson Nancy Markle. “Our Visual Arts Committee came up with the idea for the Heritage Village to include historical demonstrations, and we think it fits perfectly into what the event and park stand for.” The Community Dance by the Dan, scheduled for Saturday from 2:30 to 3:30pm in the Children’s Area, will invite children from 2 to 102 to move to the “Electric Slide”, “Cupid Shuffle”, “Cha Cha Slide”, “Wobble”, and “Chicken Dance” with the goal of having one hundred or more participate under the direction of DJ Dane Joyce. The Snuffy Smith Tribute Jam, scheduled on the main stage on Saturday from 6:30 to 7:30pm, came out of public response in wanting to honor one of Stokes County’s most well-known traditional music treasures. “We received several phone calls and emails from musicians who thought that honoring Snuffy at the Stomp would be a great tribute to him” commented Stokes Arts Director Eddy McGee. “Stokes has a very connected music community and it was their wish to see that Snuffy be remembered. We are honored just to be the avenue for it to happen, as there was no finer a person than Snuffy Smith” he added.
“We are very excited about the new additions to this year’s Stokes Stomp” said Chairperson Nancy Markle. “Our Visual Arts Committee came up with the idea for the Heritage Village to include historical demonstrations, and we think it fits perfectly into what the event and park stand for.” The Community Dance by the Dan, scheduled for Saturday from 2:30 to 3:30pm in the Children’s Area, will invite children from 2 to 102 to move to the “Electric Slide”, “Cupid Shuffle”, “Cha Cha Slide”, “Wobble”, and “Chicken Dance” with the goal of having one hundred or more participate under the direction of DJ Dane Joyce. The Snuffy Smith Tribute Jam, scheduled on the main stage on Saturday from 6:30 to 7:30pm, came out of public response in wanting to honor one of Stokes County’s most well-known traditional music treasures. “We received several phone calls and emails from musicians who thought that honoring Snuffy at the Stomp would be a great tribute to him” commented Stokes Arts Director Eddy McGee. “Stokes has a very connected music community and it was their wish to see that Snuffy be remembered. We are honored just to be the avenue for it to happen, as there was no finer a person than Snuffy Smith” he added.
