Chautauqua kicks off in downtown Wytheville on Friday, June 16, with a balloon glow at Wytheville Community College. The next day, the full festival roars to a return with a full day of events, starting with a kids fun run at 9:30 a.m. and a parade at 10 a.m. Both events will go down Main Street from Open Door Café to the Wytheville Town Office.
Exhibits also open at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 17.
Up first, the music is guaranteed to get you moving and feeling like, totally rad.
Starting things off on the Main Stage is Brews and Bands Winner Behind the Sun. The rock/alternative band takes the stage at 5 p.m.
The music rolls on at 6:30 p.m. with Star City Pianos performing a two-hour set on the Main Stage in Elizabeth Brown Memorial Park. Said to be “like Spotify, but with live musicians,” Adam Mitchell has been playing solo and dueling pianos shows on cruise ships and around the East Coast for the past decade. The Star City Pianos show is almost 100 percent request driving and comes with a ton of improvisation, promising a roller coaster ride that may run from Sinatra to “Gangsta’s Paradise.”
Closing out the entertainment on Saturday is 80s cover band The Breakfast Club at 8:30 p.m.
Based out of Georgia, The Breakfast Club was formed in 1993 with a goal of creating a group to embody the original MTV generation. The group prides itself on its musicianship, eschewing tracks, and leaning on its 75 years of combined experience, including three lead vocalists. Songs range from classics by AC/DC and Bryan Adams to the Beastie Boys, The Cars and the Cure.
The artisan of the day for Saturday will be Forge Appalachia, beginning at 10 a.m.
