Mansion music
GrahamFest coming soon
By Wayne Quesenberry/Staff
August 30, 2007
Wytheville Enterprise HomeFront

The historic Major Graham mansion has spent months preparing for guests. Its gates will open Labor Day for a bash unlike anything the grand old Southern property has ever hosted.
   GrahamFestUSA will be an all-day music event with a variety of performers including the Major Graham property owner, J.C. "Josiah" Weaver, a songwriter and singer. The festival will showcase Weaver, his Mountain Rock Music Band and the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, 1964 Beatles Tribute Band, Frank Emerson, Wayne Henderson, No Speed Limit, Midnight Ramblers and many other performers.
   GrahamFest 2007 will begin at 11 a.m. Monday, Sept. 3, and continue until 8 p.m. Gates will open at 10 a.m. to the public.
   Admission is $20 per person with advanced tickets being sold until Friday, Aug. 31. Tickets at the gate on the day of the event will cost $25.
   Advanced tickets are on sale at all BB&T banks and the Wytheville-Wythe-Bland Chamber of Commerce office in the Wytheville Municipal Building. They also are available at the GrahamFestUSA website www.grahamfestusa.com or by calling (276) 284-0006.
   "Ticket sales are slow" noted Mary Lin Brewer, festival director. "We expect 90 percent of our ticket sales to be on the day of the concert."
   According to her, the festival grew from Weaver's love of music and his desire to share the Major Graham mansion with the public. It also had its roots in Weaver's private July 4 get-togethers at the mansion built in the 1830s.
   Weaver's conversion of a carriage house on the property into a stage was the final factor. Three other performance areas at the site have been built.
   "Josiah decided to have a music festival," Brewer stated. "We developed the idea in March."
   A parking lot was made in a field across Major Grahams Road from the mansion. It will have attendants and security on the day of the festival.
   Festival organizers decided to keep the first GrahamFestUSA small this year. They concentrated on a 50- to 60-mile radius hoping to draw locally and from Bland, Bristol, Tazewell, Christiansburg, and Blacksburg.
   Weaver obtained permission from the Virginia Department of Transportation to re-route traffic on Major Grahams Road during certain hours Monday.
   One-way traffic on the gravel section of Major Grahams Road will begin at its intersection with Red Hollow Road and end at Carter's Ferry Road. The traffic pattern will be effective from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 7:30 to 10 p.m. Off-duty deputies will direct traffic at key intersections.
       Interstate 77 and Route 52 arriving and departing traffic will be directed to Red Hollow Road. Exiting I-81 traffic will be routed down Route 619 (Major Grahams Road) to Topaz Drive during peak traffic times.
   Approximately 12 food vendors will sell food and drinks throughout the festival. No alcoholic beverages will be allowed.
   A vintage car display including the GrahamFest NASCAR Nextel No. 58 racecar, a children's playground and tours of the mansion will be included in the events of the day.
   Asked about the amount of money it took to sponsor GrahamFestUSA, Brewer replied, "It will be like something out of Branson, Mo. Josiah thinks it's a very good investment."