Museum of Appalachia to host Christmas concert by Grammy Award-winning bluegrass Gospel group

The Museum of Appalachia will host a Christmas concert by Grammy Award-winning bluegrass Gospel group, The Whites, on Sunday, December 12. The Whites will present a Christmas concert of traditional songs and hymns. After the concert, The Whites will remain on stage for a conversation with the audience on the group's history and their music.

This family group is known for striking family harmonies, top-notch instrumental work, and traditionally rooted yet dynamic sound. They offer Gospel, traditional country, and bluegrass music.

The Whites—lead singer Sharon White Skaggs, sister Cheryl White Warren, and father Buck White—appear regularly on Nashville's Grand Ole Opry. Buck White, a masterful bluegrass mandolin player, performed for "Bluegrass Mandolin Extravaganza."

Their collaborative album with Ricky Skaggs, "Salt of the Earth," won the 2008 Grammy for Best Southern, Country, or Bluegrass Album. Sharon White is married to bluegrass music's official ambassador, Ricky Skaggs.

The Whites' appearance is funded in part through a Performing Arts Touring grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission, created by the General Assembly to stimulate and encourage the presentation of performing, visual and literary arts throughout the state and to encourage public interest in the cultural heritage of Tennessee.

The afternoon concert will be held in the Museum's Heritage Hall. Tickets are $50, VIP seating; $25, general seating. Museum members will receive an additional discount.

VIP tickets also include a pre-concert reception, offering a chance to meet The Whites personally and receive a complimentary CD, photo opportunity, and refreshments.

For tickets, visit the Museum Box Office page or call the Museum at 865-494-7680; or come by the Museum.

The concert will be held in the Museum's Heritage Hall; parking is free. Handicap access, parking, and restrooms are available. Doors will open for seating and additional music of the season at 2:00 p.m.

Concert admission includes a tour of the Museum's historic log buildings and exhibit halls, decorated for "Christmas in Old Appalachia" in simple pioneer style with cedar Christmas trees, homemade ornaments, and early American- made toys. Visitors can join in as porch musicians play traditional carols.

Special holiday exhibits include the Children's Display in the Hall of Fame, with toys and furniture made by loving parents and grandparents; and Granny Irwin's traditional Christmas Crazy Quilt. "Christmas in Old Appalachia" runs from December 1 to December 24.

The Museum is a non-profit organization. Its mission is to preserve the artifacts and culture of an earlier time for the benefit of future generations; and to instill in the community—regionally, nationally, and internationally—a greater knowledge of and appreciation for the Appalachian heritage.

Christmas shoppers may browse the gift shop for unique regionally hand-crafted items—or simply rest by the fireside in wooden rockers. Hot, country-style lunches are served daily from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Museum restaurant; home-made holiday desserts are available all day.

For those seeking a unique gift, Museum memberships are available, providing a year of Museum visits and other benefits. As an official affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum also offers Smithsonian memberships in conjunction with its own memberships.

The Museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day in December except for Christmas Day. It is located 16 miles north of Knoxville, one mile east of I-75, exit 122.

Published November December 2, 2010