Mountain Aid Festival in NC, June 19-20

Kathy Mattea, a self- described "recovering country music star," will be the host and feature performer at the Mountain Aid festival June 19th and 20th. Others appearing include Donna the Buffalo, the Slim Redmond Band, and Ben Sollee. This year's proceeds will go to the Pennies of Promise campaign, to build a school for the children of Marsh Fork Elementary. Their current school, in Raleigh County, West Virginia, is threatened by a coal sludge impoundment in the hills above them.

Mountain Aid 2009 will be held at the Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival farm, near Pittsboro, North Carolina. Tickets are $22.50 in advance and $30 on the concert day; kids are free. Gates will open at noon on June 19th. Tent camping is $10, vehicle camping, $4.

Got to Be NC

The first "Got to be NC Festival," celebrating local farm products, will be held June 5th through the 8th at the State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. The Food Expo will feature tasty foods to sample and buy. The official NC Barbecue Cooking Championship will begin there on Friday.

The festival will present a display of antique tractors, draft horse and antique tractor pulls, carnival rides, live music, a petting zoo, pig races, and nightly fireworks. The scheduled flea market, boat show, cattle show, horse show, and a roller derby match will be held as usual.

Gates open Thursday and Friday, 3 p.m. to midnight; Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to midnight. General admission is free, and grandstand events are $5. The Festival is produced by the Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services. Other sponsors include the NC Pork Council and Kids Green Earth. For more information, see Got to Be NC Festival.