Dozens descend on vineyard for music festival
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Apr. 15—HENDERSON — Around a hundred people drove out to Seven Springs Vineyard in Norlina, just a stone's throw away from Soul City, for the first International Roots Music Festival.
They sipped wine on or between two pavilions and enjoyed the musical stylings of Drea D'nur, who treated them with covers of the late Nina Simone's single "Wild is the Wind," an appropriate choice, given the high-speed winds that day.
When she hit the song's high notes, the audience looked downright enchanted, drawing tears from some.
Jasme' Kelly, a Durham-based artist and Sona Jobarteh out of Gambia performed as well. Simone's brother, Dr. Sam Waymon, performed a duet alongside the former and took to the stage himself.
Before all that, Dr. Charmaine McKissick, daughter of the late founder of Soul City Floyd McKissick introduced a few guests — the old-timers, those who lived in Soul City before everyone else, or those who took part in the PCB protests.
Rev. Bill Kearney, director of the Warren County Environmental Action Team, said the PCB protests and Soul City were interconnected. Floyd himself was arrested during those protests.
The event was a way for people to understand the necessity of coalition, he said.
The Soul City Community Development Center partnered with the homeowners' association in Soul City to put on the festival for the benefit of the former. Charmaine is the president of the latter — she commented that Soul City is a good location for future development, what with the existing, unused infrastructure and proximity to Kerr and Gaston lakes.
And now's the time, what with the growth from Raleigh reaching as far as Kittrell nowadays, she said.
The vision of Soul City was a place for Black economic development in a time where Black people had little opportunity.
The vision now is a bit different, said McKissick. She feels a sort of parental responsibility for the community.
Sponsors for the event were Black and White Coffee Roasters, the Nina Simone Project and the North Carolina Rastafari Union.
