Celebrate 30 Years of Bluegrass at Oolenoy this Saturday

Regulars at the Friday night jam sessions at Oolenoy Community House in Pickens County say it’s “finger pickin’ good.”

This Saturday, June 22, BlueGrass at Oolenoy will host 30 Years of Bluegrass at Oolenoy with a daylong event that features food, giveaways, a fish fry and of course, lots of pickin’ and grinnin’.

Built as an elementary school in 1918, the historic Oolenoy Community House in the heart of Pumpkintown, SC is a center of activity in Pickens County and the site of Pumpkintown’s annual Pumpkin Festival. Every Friday night, the community center serves up bluegrass music on its outdoor bandstand.

Saturday’s event will commemorate 30 years of the Friday jam with bluegrass bands performing on the outside stage throughout the day, and an all-day jam going on inside the old schoolhouse. The lineup includes the Oolenoy Jammers, Blue Sierra with Jeff Barnett and Ceci Rosser, The Bruce Family Band, Fifth String Band, West End String Band, Heart Strings and the Sweet Potato Pie Kids.

If you’ve never heard or heard of the Sweet Potato Pie Kids, you’re in for a treat! This group of young musicians is made up of the top students in the Young Appalachian Musicians (YAM) program which introduces children to the music of the Appalachian heritage, including guitar, mandolin, fiddle and banjo.

30 Years of Bluegrass at Oolenoy is a free event. Food, t-shirts, hats and mugs will be for sale, with proceeds benefiting two small churches in the community and supporting efforts to keep the jam going. Want to go?

What: 30 years of Bluegrass at Oolenoy

Where: Oolenoy Community House, 5301 Dacusville Highway, Pickens, South Carolina 29671

When: Saturday, June 22, 11 a.m. until 7 p.m.

For more information, visit BlueGrass at Oolenoy on Facebook.