Music Festival

Captive Free, a music ministry team sponsored by Youth Encounter, will present an evening of music, skits and puppets Saturday, July 7, at 5 p.m. at Haven Lutheran Church in Hagerstown. The faith-encouraging program will be a night of music and personal sharing. The program will be held in conjunction with the Haven Lutheran Youth Mission trip and activities fundraiser.  It will include basket raffles and a silent auction.  Tickets can be purchased in advance only. No tickets will be sold at the door.

This weekend, a whirlwind of toe-tapping music will descend upon the Springfield Farm Barn. Country, bluegrass and indie-folk artists will take the stage during the first River City BarnFest. There will even be some “quirky, Southern boy-type of music,” said Tearza Knode, event organizer. The River City BarnFest will be held Friday, July 1, through Sunday, July 3, at the Springfield Farm Barn in Williamsport. The event kicks off Friday evening at 5 p.m. with the Davisson Brothers band, a group that played at last year’s Fourth of July celebration in Williamsport, said Knode.

Washington County Public Schools will present the 2012 Solo and Ensemble Festival for wind, brass, percussion and string instruments Saturday, March 3, at North Hagerstown High School. Students who have already registered will be adjudicated on their overall performance and musicianship. Instrumentalists performing level-two music or higher who receive a superior rating will qualify for the State Solo and Ensemble.  Parents are welcome to attend but cannot be in the room while the adjudication is taking place.  The event will start at 9 a.m. and conclude around 3 p.m. This is not a competition, but rather a chance for soloists and ensembles to get feedback and helpful ideas about their performances.

HAGERSTOWN - A downtown Hagerstown developer wants to close off a city block and hold a music festival in October. Mike Deming, president of Demcore Development, has asked the city to close the first block of South Potomac Street. The festival would have music, food and other entertainment on Oct. 21 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., according to a letter Deming wrote to the city. He told the city council on Tuesday that the idea is "to expose people to the momentum that's occurring in the downtown area.

bobp@herald-mail.com The best chili usually is made up of a wide array of ingredients. The Community Free Clinic and the Hagerstown Suns say the same could be said for chili cook-offs. The two organizations joined forces Tuesday to announce the first-ever Chili Cook-off and Music Festival to benefit the clinic on Sept. 25 at Municipal Stadium. "What is more American than eating chili and coming to baseball games?" said Christina Rudden, executive director of the Community Free Clinic.

katec@herald-mail.com The Mountain Stage NewSong Festival at the historic 350-acre Claymont Court estate near Charles Town, W.Va., is a three-day celebration of song and songwriting. Beginning Friday, Sept. 26, for the second year in a row, the festival will showcase songwriters in a variety of genres - including folk, country, pop, blues, alternative and roots music. The performance lineup includes the Grammy-winning folk trio Nickel Creek; Grammy winner Jesse Harris and his band The Ferdinandos; Tim O'Brien; roots and blues-inspired performer Corey Harris and 5X5; and multiple Grammy winner Kathy Mattea.

WASHINGTON COUNTY - At the core of a daylong music festival near Hagerstown on Saturday was Matt Bellon's push to help his partially paralyzed brother, Cole, get a van. Matt's band, Van Lear, was the last on stage in the parking lot of Beef 'O' Brady's, where he works. It capped a day of band performances, silent auctions and good wishes for Cole and his family. About 7 p.m., as Cole, 22, waited near a van that would take him home, friends hugged him and offered kind words.

HAGERSTOWN - Chili - think of it as the race car of food. It looks harmless on the outside, but under the hood, it's a whole different story. Just ask Rachel Myers, who attended the Hagerstown Suns Chili Cook-Off and Music Festival on Saturday at Municipal Stadium. Myers scooped up a spoonful of vegetarian chili only to be hit with a mouthful of heat. "I wasn't expecting that," she said, trying to douse the fire with a glass of water. "It looked mild. Boy, was I wrong.

andrear@herald-mail.com Hagerstown's Municipal Stadium will sizzle with hot chili and live music on Saturday at the Hagerstown Suns Chili Cook-off & Music Festival. The Suns and the Community Free Clinic have partnered to host the event from noon to 8 p.m. Sept. 25. All proceeds will benefit the downtown Hagerstown clinic, which serves Washington County residents without medical insurance, said the clinic's interim executive director, Robin Roberson. "We're really, really excited," she said.

Seven men who said they were on their way to a popular music festival in Tennessee were arrested Wednesday night by Maryland State Police in Hagerstown after police found drugs and a handgun during traffic stops, according to a press release. Police made four traffic stops in which they found a handgun, marijuana and LSD and "several hundred items" of paraphernalia, the release states. The seven men ranged in age from 20 to 30 and said they were on their way to the Bonnaroo music festival, police said.

Captive Free, a music ministry team sponsored by Youth Encounter, will present an evening of music, skits and puppets Saturday, July 7, at 5 p.m. at Haven Lutheran Church in Hagerstown. The faith-encouraging program will be a night of music and personal sharing. The program will be held in conjunction with the Haven Lutheran Youth Mission trip and activities fundraiser.  It will include basket raffles and a silent auction.  Tickets can be purchased in advance only. No tickets will be sold at the door.

Antietam Church of God , Sharpsburg, The Reunion Trio will perform at 9:30 a.m. Sunday. Maranatha Brethren Church , the Easter Choir wll present the cantata Hallelujah, Praise the Lamb at 6:45 p.m. Saturday, April 7, at the Trinity Center; and 7 p.m. Sunday, April 8, at Maranatha Brethren Church. Marlowe Assembly of God , Falling Waters, W.Va., Marlowe Assembly of God Praise Choir will present the Easter cantata O What a Savior at 6 p.m. Sunday. Call 304-274-2474.

Washington County Public Schools will hold the Western Maryland Large Ensemble Assessment Festival at North Hagerstown High School on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and at South Hagerstown High School on Wednesday.  The festival will feature and adjudicate music ensembles from every secondary school and a few elementary schools. The schedule is as follows:  • Tuesday - Middle and high school orchestra assessment at North High • Wednesday - Middle school chorus assessment at South High • Thursday - High school band assessment at North High  • Friday - Middle school band assessment at North High Specific times can be found at the board of education website at www.wcps.k12.md.us/depts_programs/fine_arts/index.html .

Washington County Public Schools will present the 2012 Solo and Ensemble Festival for wind, brass, percussion and string instruments Saturday, March 3, at North Hagerstown High School. Students who have already registered will be adjudicated on their overall performance and musicianship. Instrumentalists performing level-two music or higher who receive a superior rating will qualify for the State Solo and Ensemble.  Parents are welcome to attend but cannot be in the room while the adjudication is taking place.  The event will start at 9 a.m. and conclude around 3 p.m. This is not a competition, but rather a chance for soloists and ensembles to get feedback and helpful ideas about their performances.

The second annual Winestock Music Festival originally scheduled for Saturday, Sep. 10, is postponed because of the ongoing inclement weather, according to organizers. The new date for Winestock is Saturday, Oct. 8, and Sunday, Oct. 9. Winestock is a benefit event for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, fighting breast cancer. Tickets that have already been sold for Winestock will be honored at October event. For more information, go to www.knobhallwinery.com

Christian music mingled with the normal weekend-afternoon sounds of cracking bats and squealing children at Fairgrounds Park Saturday as Valor Ministries hosted its first Festival at Fairgrounds open-air music festival. The free-admission event ran from 1 to 8 p.m. at the south end of the park, nearest to Cannon Avenue, and featured Christian bands and speakers along with vendors, concession stands, and children's games and activities. Organizer Lori Wriston said Valor Ministries put on the event because its members "wanted to bless the community and just bring a message of hope and healing, and let people know about Jesus Christ.

Acres of cornfields surround the farmhouse of Winston and Susan Herbst on Old Forge Road. But for the past seven years, the Hagerstown couple has been trying to plant a more meaningful seed - a place where young people can feel loved and inspired. They have taken their country property and turned it into a social and spiritual retreat for area youths called Right Choice Ministries. Each week, Susan Herbst said, they provide opportunities for Christian fellowship through games, life-skills programs, discussion groups and counseling activities.

This Saturday afternoon, Fairgrounds Park in Hagerstown will come alive with family-friendly activities, the music of local Christian bands and a message of hope and healing. The first-ever Fairgrounds Festival will take place from 1 to 8 p.m. Saturday, July 16, at the South Pavilion at Fairgrounds Park in Hagerstown. The event is free. “It’s a message of hope and healing through both word and song,” said event organizer Lori Wriston. The event is hosted by Valor Ministries Inc., a branch of the Hagerstown-based non-profit Women of Valor Ministries Inc. The festival will showcase four local Christian bands, as well as Christian rapper Shaddai Sons, and three local Christian speakers.

When Joan Knode decided to bring a music festival to the Springfield Farm Barn, it was a lofty undertaking. After all, nothing like it had ever been held. But Knode saw the centuries-old structure as much more than a building with exposed timber and plank floors. Situated in the middle of an idyllic historic farmstead, she thought it would be the perfect setting for entertainment. After seven months of planning, Knode's dream became a reality this weekend with performers taking to the stage for the first River City BarnFest.

This weekend, a whirlwind of toe-tapping music will descend upon the Springfield Farm Barn. Country, bluegrass and indie-folk artists will take the stage during the first River City BarnFest. There will even be some “quirky, Southern boy-type of music,” said Tearza Knode, event organizer. The River City BarnFest will be held Friday, July 1, through Sunday, July 3, at the Springfield Farm Barn in Williamsport. The event kicks off Friday evening at 5 p.m. with the Davisson Brothers band, a group that played at last year’s Fourth of July celebration in Williamsport, said Knode.