1st Annual Ola Belle Reed Homecoming Festival

1st Annual Ola Belle Reed Homecoming Festival, August 18 - 20, Lansing, NC

The First Annual Ola Belle Reed Homecoming Festival is an opportunity to celebrate the life and music of this remarkable woman in the locale where her life's journey began, the small community of Lansing in the mountains of North Carolina.

Ola Belle Reed, 1916-2002

Ola Belle Reed (Aug 17, 1916- August 16, 2002) learned to pick the banjo at an early age and began writing songs about her life in the mountains. During the Depression, she moved to Baltimore with her brother Alex, where she performed on radio stations across the state and began performing with the North Carolina Ridge Runners. In 1949 she joined The New River boys as a singer, banjo and guitar player.

In 1951, together with her husband Bud and brother Alex, along with his wife Lucy, founded the popular music venue, "The New River Ranch".

Ola Belle Reed, best know for her songwriting, wrote over two hundred songs including, "High on a Mountain", “I’ve Endured” and "The Leading Role".

She is the recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Award, was honored by the Smithsonian Institute, received an honorary doctorate from the University of Maryland, and was recently inducted into the Washington Area Musicians Hall of Fame for her contributions to Appalachian Traditional Music.

Visit www.olabellefest.com for details and ticket information.

Tickets- Friday $5, Saturday $15, Sunday $5
Advanced tickets (Three Day passes only) available on-line at www.olabellefest.com or at Participating Lowe’s Food Stores (see Website)

The Venue

American Legion Ball Field and Old Lansing School
9710 N. Highway 194
Lansing, NC 28643

Mike Seeger will be among those on hand to conduct workshops on Saturday, August 19.

Friday, August 18th - 6pm-until

The group Ollabelle, who takes their name from Ola Belle Reed, will perform.

Visiting