Second Annual
Ed Harrison Memorial Celtic Christmas
Yuletide tradition continues with memorial concert of seasonal music with old
world flair
Saturday, December 21
at the
Hagood Mill Historic Site & Folklife Center
Come join the friends of the Pickens County Museum as “Music in the
Mountains 2013” winds up the year with the Hagood Mill continuing a multi-year
tradition of a Celtic Music oriented Yuletide Celebration on Saturday, December 21.
This year’s event will be in memory of Mr. Ed Harrison, who made this Celtic
Christmas Concert the popular event that it is today. Music will be featured from Noon
until 3:00 pm. There will be fiddles, uilleann pipes, penny whistles, guitars, mandolins
and more, all playing different types of Celtic music, songs from around the world, jigs
and reels as well as ol’ time music, all to celebrate the season with the folks at Hagood
Mill and remember our friend, Ed Harrison. The old gristmill and other demonstrations
will be running from 10:00 until 4:00.
In 2004, the Hagood Mill staff approached well-known local Uilleann Pipe player Ed
Harrison to host a Celtic Christmas
show in December. The event has become an annual event and has
featured many fine local and even international musicians sharing songs
of the season.
Ed Harrison was a remarkably versatile musician, with a passion for
playing multiple styles of roots music on a wide variety of instruments. He
was an accomplished dobro player and clawhammer banjo player, as well
as playing Cajun accordion and the aforementioned Uilleann pipes. His
warmth, good humor, and ready laugh were a comfort to his family and
many friends in the area. Sadly, after over 20 years of battling cancer, Ed
passed away this past year. This year's show is dedicated to his memory.
Also to be remembered this year is Bill Landrum, whose storytelling has
graced the Celtic Christmas show over the past several years.
This years' event features three local musical acts: Daniel Hendrix and Friends, Lucy Allen and Marshall Goers
and the always popular Nick & Kathy Hallman.
Lucy Allen and Marshall Goers are an acoustic duo whose passion for roots music combines elements of various
musical genres. For the past seven years, Allen and Goers have shared the stage, creating memorable musical
performances. They have made two recordings together: Just Passing Through and their recently released, Won't See
Tadpoles Covered in Fur, an album dedicated to kids of all ages. Allen and Goers have been regulars at the Celtic
Christmas show the last few years, hosting a sing-along portion of the event.
Daniel Hendrix is a fine local Uilleann Pipe player, who was mentored and befriended by Ed Harrison. He has been a
regular performer at the Celtic Christmas show over the past several years. The Uilleann pipes are generally thought to
have evolved from the old Irish war-pipes about the beginning of the 18th century. Their distinguishing characteristics are
a bag filled by a bellows, a melody pipe (chanter) which gives a two-octave range, and the addition of regulators which
can be used for accompanying the melody. Though the correct name for the instrument is held by some authorities to be
'union' pipes - referring to the union of chanter and regulators - the term 'uilleann pipes' (meaning elbow pipes) has now
come into standard usage.
South Carolina Folk Heritage Award-winning multi-instrumentalist and master fiddler, Nick Hallman and his multitalented partner in life, Kathy Hallman will be entertaining the audience with traditional tunes and tales of the season.
Regular friends of the Hagood Mill we are very excited to see them return as part of this year’s Ed Harrison Memorial.
The water-powered 1845 gristmill is one of the finest examples of nineteenth century technology in the Upcountry
and operates just as it has for the last century-and-a-half. The mill will be running throughout the day and inside you’ll
find fresh stone-ground corn meal, grits and wheat flour, as well as Hagood Mill cookbooks and a variety of other mill
related items sure to fill those last minute shopping needs.
The Hagood Mill hosts a variety of folklife and traditional arts demonstrations each month, including blacksmithing,
bowl-digging, flintknapping, chair-caning, moonshining, broom-making, quilting, spinning, knitting, weaving,
woodcarving, open-hearth cooking, metal-smithing, pioneer toys and games and more! Jolly old Saint Nicholas will
also be joining us for some photo opportunities with the youngsters.
While there, be sure to visit the Hagood Mill Gift Shop where you can find unique gifts for everyone on your list. This year, keep it American - remember to Shop Local and support your local
businesses and artisans.
So do be sure to join us, Saturday, December 21, for a wonderful Yuletide Celebration at the Mill.
Enjoy some good old southern cooking prepared by vendors from GateHouse Restaurant, and
show your support for the Mill and the Pickens County Museum by joining them at this monthly
Third Saturday event. The Hagood Mill operates, rain or shine, the third Saturday of every month
and is located just 3 miles north of Pickens or 5 ½ miles south of Cherokee Foothills Scenic Hwy 11 off SC Hwy
178 at 138 Hagood Mill Road. Hagood Mill is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 until 4:00, to tour the
buildings and grounds and to visit the Mill Site Gift Shop.
The Hagood Mill operates, rain or shine, the third Saturday of every month and is located just 3 miles north of
Pickens or 5 ½ miles south of Cherokee Foothills Scenic Hwy 11 off SC Hwy 178 at 138 Hagood Mill
Road. Hagood Mill is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 until 4:00, to
tour the buildings and grounds and to visit the Mill Site Gift Shop.
“Music in the Mountains 2013” is sponsored by a private benefactor. The
Pickens County Museum of Art & History is funded in part by Pickens
County, members and friends of the museum and a grant from the South
Carolina Arts Commission, which receives support from the National
Endowment for the Arts. Thanks also to the GateHouse Restaurant for
their generous gift of feeding our mill site volunteers.
For additional information please contact the Hagood Mill at
(864) 898-2936 or the Pickens County Museum at (864) 898-5963.