Music Festival

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va.- Do we have a future international opera star among us? Area music lovers will get the chance to hear for themselves when Morgan Harmison performs Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Presbyterian Church. An Evening of Song, which features a vocal recital of arias, art songs and musical theatre compositions, will be presented by Harmison, who has just completed her sophomore year at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. She will be assisted by pianist Patricia Springer.

KEARNEYSVILLE, W.VA. - Folk music - the art form that reflects the daily life of people and gained momentum in the 1960s as singers spoke out against issues like war - gets its own celebration in the Eastern Panhandle every year. It comes in the form of the Country Roads Folk Festival, where folk music fans can take in a day's worth of performances in a picturesque country backdrop that encourages one to slow down and enjoy some time with friends, organizers say. Festival founder Maureen Harrigan - who was putting on her seventh installment of the event Sunday - hopes the music still holds, for some, solutions to modern-day issues.

The response is nearly instantaneous: "un-un. " Julie Donat has spent the majority of her life in Washington County and before the Western Maryland Blues Fest burst upon the scene in 1996, she can't remember anything like it galvanizing the community. "I'm 38 years old and I can't think of anything," says Donat, senior vice president of mortgage operations, Home Federal Bank, a division of Farmers and Mechanics Bank. "And I don't remember there being a music festival of any sort.

He came to Hagerstown armed with a baton, a tuxedo and a briefcase filled with important papers. His mission: music. They call him "Maestro. " Conductor Paul Phillips waited in the wings at the Maryland Theatre in Hagerstown on Wednesday, as fourth-graders from Washington County schools poured into the downtown theater for the 14th annual Maryland Symphony Orchestra performance of the Citibank Youth Concerts. Some of the children rolled their programs into spyglasses.

Sometimes doing what's best for the band means saying goodbye to your record label, explained Jason Peltzer, frontman for rock band Of Broken. After nearly two years of making music with Rapture Records, a small indie label, Of Broken decided to leave. The Baltimore-area band has been unattached since May. "We don't really care what people think, good or bad," said Peltzer, 27, in a recent phone interview. "If we can do it on our own, let's do it. " Of Broken will headline the Hagerstown Suns Annual Chili Cook-off & Music Festival on Saturday and will perform at Duffy's on Potomac later that night.

It was a warm spring day with the sun's rays reaching down between the large trees scattered across Hagerstown's City Park. The aroma of food being cooked in the distance mixed with the laid-back sound of the Ernie Hawkins Band. It was practically everything that Claude Varron needed. "This is so comfortable. I can't do this downtown," said Varron, who had his spot on the park's grounds set up with blankets and a folding chair. Varron, of Keedysville, was among an estimated crowd of at least 4,000 people who gathered at City Park Sunday afternoon for the final day of the Western Maryland Blues Fest.

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.

Arts and crafts festival West Virginia's Mountain Heritage Arts and Crafts Festival will feature quality arts and crafts, and entertainment. Today, Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sam Michaels Park, Job Corps Road, Jefferson County, W.Va. $6, adults; $3, ages 6 to 17; free for children 5 and younger. No pets or alcohol. Call 1-800-624-0577 or go to www.jeffersoncounty.com/festival . Halloween Kruz-N Car Show The car show will feature music by The Shades at 4 and 8 p.m., a costume contest for infants through adults at 5 p.m., games and 50/50 raffle.

gregs@herald-mail.com Guitar licks and harmonica riffs pierced the cool air Friday night in downtown Hagerstown, but no one appeared to have the blues; they just listened to them. By music's end, the first night of the eighth annual Western Maryland Blues Fest had drawn a crowd that event staff estimated at nearly 1,250, Many of them twisted, boogied and howled to the music while enjoying cold drinks in the city parking lot between Franklin and Washington streets. "Whooooooo!"

Ballroom dance party MAUGANSVILLE -- Ballroom dance party accompanied by Jim Powers at the Yamaha organ. 7 to 10 p.m. today. Maugansville Ruritan Building. $4 per person. Call 301-791-1551. Farmer's market fall festival City Farmer's Market will host its fall festival Saturdays throughout October. Storytelling and special giveaways for kids. 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday. City Farmer's Market, 25 W. Church St., Hagerstown. Call 301-739-8577, ext. 190, or go to www.hagerstownmarket.