For the love of Hank - A New Year's celebration

December 26, 2002|by KATE COLEMAN

What's happening New Year's Eve at Cacapon State Park in Berkeley Springs, W.Va.?

"It's Hank Fest, man," says David "Spike" Moore.

"Hank Fest" is a celebration of the life and music of country music legend Hank Williams, who died nearly 50 years ago in West Virginia (Jan. 1, 1953).

The songs of the 20-year-old Alabama-born Williams - "Cold, Cold Heart," "Your Cheatin' Heart," "Hey, Good-Looking" and "Jambalaya" - live on.

Moore and his Saddle Pals - Thommy Burns and Maynard Sheppard - will open the show.

By day, Moore has a "real job" as manager of the Sideling Hill Exhibit Center a few miles west of Hancock, but he's been playing music since he was 9 and owns a Berkeley Springs recording studio.

"My first love is roots music," he says. He is passionate about preserving it.

But the old music is not the stuff of museum archives.

Moore has put together a show that features Joe Penny, a member of Williams' Drifting Cowboys band. The 74-year-old Florida resident recorded his rockabilly single "Bip A Little, Bop Alot" in the late '50s.

Also on the program are Wendy LeBeau and Her Beaus.

DJ Frank Paparozzi will be there, too.

There will be an assortment of 1950s items for sale, and an 80-by-100-inch Hank Williams handmade quilt by Sandra Humberson will be on display.

Rockabilly and the music of Hank Williams will live as 2002 comes to an end.

It's Hank Fest, man.

If you go..

"Hank Fest"

The 50th anniversary celebration of Hank Williams' life and music

8:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 31

Cacapon State Park Resort

Berkeley Springs, W.Va.

Tickets for Hank Fest cost $22 per person, $40 per couple in advance; $25 per person at the door.

Cacapon State Park Lodge is offering Hank Fest packages: Tickets to the show, dinner buffet, champagne toast, lodging and continental breakfast costs $134.50 per couple or $94. 50 per person.

Directions: Take Interstate 70 west to U.S. 522 south, exit 1B. Cross the Potomac River, go through Berkeley Springs. Cacapon State Park is about 25 minutes away on the right.

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