It wouldn’t be a German festival without some German music, and it wouldn’t be a Haywood County celebration without some excellent regional talent! In order of appearance:
The Jacktown Ramblers – an eclectic acoustic ensemble from Morganton, NC, performing bluegrass, string band, swing, and gypsy jazz, the Ramblers deliver driving instrumentals and powerful vocals. Their material reflects a wide array of styles, arrangements, and selections from various artists. The Ramblers offer a unique brand of entertainment that fuses solid improvisational instrument leads and traditional bluegrass harmonies.
The Steubenville Tootlers – A traditional Oom-pah style German band, the Tootlers will add a festive and authentic sound and look to PLOTT-TOBER FEST! Band members dress in genuine Tyrolean lederhosen and play clarinet, tenor saxophone, trumpet, flugelhorn, tuba, drums, and sings. We dare you to sit still when they launch into a German polka!
Beth Lee – An award winning songwriter who lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina, Beth’s writing is heavily influenced by bluegrass and traditional country music. She has performed songwriter showcases at the Cactus Cafe in Austin, the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, and at the IBMA Songwriter Showcase in Raleigh. Beth placed first in the 2018 MerleFest Chris Austin Songwriting Contest in the Gospel Category and won first place in three categories in the 2020 Walnut Valley Festival Newsong Showcase.
Nick Dauphanais – beginning at a young age, Nick began his musical journey both in the bluegrass and classical worlds. First picking up the mandolin, and then the guitar, he joined his father’s bluegrass band by the age of seven. Nick moved to Asheville, NC where he has performed and recorded with the Larry Stephenson Band, Roland White, and Grammy winners Jim Lauderdale and Bobby HIcks. He has had a hand in writing many charting songs in bluegrass and Americana, including several number ones.
Brew Davis – Brew Davis is a songwriter raised in Nashville, Tennessee. He worked at the seminal bluegrass/Americana label Sugar Hill Records and now lives in Asheville, NC where he writes and performs his own unique blend of “Brewgrass” music. His songs have been used on PBS shows, Amazon Prime and various documentary films.
Will Ritter – Bakersville, NC native Will Ritter is a renowned ballad singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, and expert in traditional southern mountain folkways. A WCU grad, with a Master’s Degree from ASU in Appalachian Studies, Will received a prestigious grant to document the life and work of his friend and mentor, the late, great Bobby McMillon.
Tim McWilliams – Tim McWilliams is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and singer, dedicated to the diverse roots music traditions of Western North Carolina. In 2021, Tim received an “In The Mountains” Apprenticeship grant from the NC Arts Council to study under the renowned Madison County musician, Josh Goforth.
J Creek Cloggers – Founded in 2010 on the ideals of education, community, and inclusiveness to bring joy to the masses through freestyle group clogging. Zeb Ross went viral in March 2022, capturing the joy of millions of people across the world with his dance moves. Today, they are working together to preserve the art of clogging through a community of young and old that will draw the dancer out of everyone.
Richard Hurley – Hailing from Canton, NC, Richard was mentored by the late legendary folk singer, Jimmy Haynie, a Canton fixture as a radio personality and MC. Privileged to work alongside Haynie at the popular radio station, WPTL, Richard gained a great appreciation for country and bluegrass music. Richard has performed throughout Western North Carolina, and often serves as an MC for the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival, Shindig on the Green, the Lunsford Festival, Folkmoot, and Canton’s Labor Day celebration.
Bluegrass All-Stars, Darren Nicholson, Audie Blaylock, Marc Pruett, and Reed Jones – Hold onto your hats and buckle up, because it’s going to be a wild ride when four notable bluegrass icons join forces to blow their audiences away with precision-tooled instrumentals, tight harmonies, and intricate arrangements. Just what you would expect from nominees and winners of awards from the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America, the International Bluegrass Music Association, and the Grammy Awards.
Competitions and Trials – You will have no problems finding Sorrells Park Saturday morning. The Plott hounds will be in full voice as they compete in one, two, and three dog mechanical bear baying and coon treeing events! Known for their three distinctive sounds (open trailing, bawl, and chop), it’s sure to be music to the ears of not only Plott hound lovers, but anyone who appreciates a disciplined and courageous hunting dog.
Plotts hounds will also travel great distances to attend PLOTT-TOBER FEST to compete in a sanctioned UKC Bench Show where dogs are judged for their conformation to breed standards. Among the many characteristics of the perfect Plott hound, judges will also be looking for coats in any shade of brindle, brindle with a black saddle, black with brindle trim, solid buckskin and solid black. Males must be 22-27 inches in height at the withers, and females 21-25 inches. Males must weigh in between 50-75 pounds and females between 40-65 pounds.
Presentations – Hear Bob Plott, great-great-great grandson of Johannes Plott, from the mainstage on Friday at noon as he shares the history of the North Carolina State Dog, the Plott hound. Johannes was the man who brought the ancestors of the modern day Plott hound to American shores in 1750, and he would be proud to see the accomplishments of this amazing scenthound on the world stage. Bob is the author of several books about Plott hounds and hunting in the Southern Appalachians and is the modern day champion of the breed.
On Saturday afternoon, join Bob in a roundtable discussion of all things Plott hound at 3:30. Immediately following the Plott Hound Roundtable, award presentations will be made. The awards include the coveted Methven Award. Named for Frank Methven who wrote extensively about the Plott hound, this honor is one of the most prized big game hunting awards. Other awards will include the R. H. Plott Memorial Award, the Person Doing the Most for Plott Breed Award, and the Plott Patriot Award.
Exhibit – PLOTT-TOBER FEST is pleased to have the beautiful exhibit, Our State Dog: North Carolina’s Plott Hound on loan from the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University, and displayed on the mainstage. This exhibit is one of many traveling exhibits from the Center and has been beautifully designed to tell the fascinating story of how the Plott hound became a distinct breed in Haywood County, and eventually given the official title of North Carolina State Dog! Make sure to take a look at the exhibit when the mainstage is not in use. You can also read more about Plott hounds at Western Carolina University’s Digital Heritage website.
PLOTT-TOBER FEST features living history demonstrations that showcase essential skills used by Haywood County’s earliest pioneers. Local experts in blacksmithing, hide tanning, and flintlock rifle building are happy to share their knowledge and answer questions from festival goers.
Blacksmithing: David Burnette grew up in Burnette Cove, just south of Canton, and learned the “old ways” from tradition keepers in his community. He built his first log cabin at the ripe old age of 12, learned to play the banjo as a young teen, and eventually became a faculty member of Haywood Community College where he taught hand wrought metals. He’s a favorite at festivals and living history demonstrations and will be firing up his blacksmith forge Saturday afternoon at PLOTT-TOBER FEST.
Hide Tanning: Charles Brown has been featured in a national magazine as well as the History Channel for his expertise in traditional methods of hide tanning. Charles is well known for tanning deer hides and making 18th century period correct hunting bags from leather. He also makes powder horns and hand forged knives and tomahawks.
Flintlock Rifles – Dana Ballinger from Mountain Home, NC, is known for his expertise on southern mountain flintlocks. Originally developed in the early 17th century, and becoming more popular in the early 18th century, flintlocks were relied upon to put meat on the tables of early pioneers. Dana is also well versed on the makers of these firearms and will have many on display.
Morning Star United Methodist Church, located south of Canton in Dutch Cove, will be hosting a shaped-note singing Sunday at 1:30 p.m. led by June Smathers Jolley, daughter of the legendary shaped-note singer from Dutch Cove, the late Quay Smathers.
This singing style, first used in 1801, makes use of geometric shapes to represent the notes of a scale. Shaped-note singing has been practiced at this historic church for 133 years, and singers still sing using the syllables do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti before singing the words.
Morning Star was founded as a German Lutheran church in 1825 and pastored by Nehemiah Bonham until the mid-1840s. When the aged Bonham was no longer able to fulfill his duties, he urged the church to affiliate with the Methodist movement gaining traction at the home of German immigrant, Jacob Shook in Clyde.
The singing will begin at 1:30 p.m. and close at 4:00 pm. The public is invited to attend, and can stay for as much of the singing as they desire. Loaner books of the 1873 reprint edition of The Christian Harmony will be available for anyone wishing to read or sing along.
The church’s address is 2535 Dutch Cove Rd, Canton, NC 28716.
Shuttles run all day Friday and Saturday from Sorrells Park to the Museum of Haywood County History, just a few miles away in Clyde. Museum docents share about the historic Shook-Smathers House where the Museum is housed and give presentations about Bishop Francis Asbury and other circuit riding preachers who held services in the house’s third floor chapel. Museum exhibits highlight various time periods of Haywood County’s rich history.
Books about Western North Carolina history and the Plott Hound, PLOTT-TOBER FEST tee shirts, dog bandannas, and more will be for sale at both the Museum of Haywood County History and at the Haywood County Historical & Genealogical Society’s booth at PLOTT-TOBER FEST.
Have you ever tried a Schnitzel Sandwich?
How about Goulash Soup with a side of Hot Bavarian Potato Salad?
These are just some of the German specialties you will find at the Haus Heidelberg food truck parked Friday and Saturday at Sorrells Park. Joining them with an American twist will be Woof Street Bistro serving up their famous hotdog called The Dachshund of course, along with specialty burgers and tacos. And, announcing our own PLOTT-TOBER FEST specialty brew from Bearwaters Brewery, Dutch Cove Hefeweizen for sale inside the festival grounds. Come hungry and thirsty!
BearWise – Do you know what to do if you see a bear in your neighborhood? Or on your deck! BearWise, a program of the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, is on the scene to educate festival goers about safely cohabitating with bears. The increasing number of bears in Western North Carolina towns and communities makes becoming bear aware a good idea!
K-9 Curriculum will have a booth to share tips on dog obedience and safety. Their popular programs are in high demand and they are happy to present kid-friendly canine activities at the KidsFest tent.
Local Organizations will be set up sharing information and other events from around Haywood County.
- Haywood County Historical and Genealogical Society
- Canton Area Historical Museum
- Bethal Rural Organization
- Shelton House