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Voices of the Shenandoah: Swover Creek Farms and Brewery Edition ft. Katie and Kelly

For our final ‘Voices of the Shenandoah: In Story and Song’ event this season, Friends of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River partnered with Swover Creek Farms and Brewery in putting on a concluding storytelling and live music event from 6 to 9pm on Friday, September 17th. The night featured stories from river-loving community members, and live music from Americana folk band: Katie and Kelly.

When event coordinators, Daisy and Mariama, showed up to the venue that Friday afternoon, they immediately started glowing–and not just because it was a scorcher of a day! The venue was perfect for the event. Swover Creek’s open air seating in a newly-constructed pavilion warmly lit with twinkle lights is complemented by sprawling lawn seating nearby, and magnificent wood-fired pizzas and brews. The space and stories elicited a feeling of closeness and connection, a wonderful thing when considering that it was the river that ultimately brought folks in attendance together–which it does, also, for the broader community. 

After stories with highlights including a cow calving in the river and then charging at the paddlers who saved it, and a river guide describing a grandson who almost let his struggling grandmother get lost down the river on a tube after a float (disclaimer: the grandmother got out with the help of the guide and other on-lookers), and a pub quiz focused on algae blooms, Katie and Kelly graced the night with their incredible covers of Americana river and mountain songs. 

In summary, the evening was a blast! This event, and others in the series, would not have been possible without the storytellers to share their experiences, the musicians to share their gifts, the community members who came to support and connect around the river, the venues to host us, and our sponsors who helped make these events happen with their financial support. So thank you ALL! Thanks especially to our event sponsors: the Bowman-Shannon Group with the Shenandoah Community Foundation, Regulus Group, Team Abby Walters, and Rappahannock Electric. 

We hope to see you next year!