An upcoming event gives brew pub and nonprofit chance to shine.
Mark your calendar for a big old shin dig at Twin Creeks Brewing at Explore Park. (You’ll want to circle November 1, 6:30 p.m.)
The event is a Night on the Parkway — a fundraiser for Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway, a nonprofit that supports the maintenance and programming of one of the most visited properties in the National Park Service system. (More than 14 million people stopped by in 2018.)
There’ll be dinner and a cash bar; a display of 1940s cars; folks dressed up in ’40s attire and a swing band from North Carolina. (You can even book an Explore Park cabin to stay in after the party.)
But the night’s not only about collecting cash. It’s also an early look at Twin Creeks’ second location, inside the historic Brugh Tavern space. Once it’s up and running, the brew pub expects to have a basement wine and cider bar, a main floor restaurant and a second story event space. It’ll be one more star in the ever-growing constellation of outdoor opportunities offered at Explore Park.
There’s one other note that’ll be sounding this night that you might miss if you don’t listen closely. That would be a changing of the guard that’s taken place at Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway over the last year-and-a-half. A new executive director began in June 2018; in October 2018 the nonprofit added a development director. There are now three full-time and three part-time employees all focused on seeing their organization thrive. There’s a slight change of momentum for the group, too. A little less this-is-how-we’ve-always-done-things and a little more how-can-we-serve-our-community?
One example is the National Park Service’s cultural concerts programs that Friends helps fund — free music staged during the summer and fall at four different stops along the parkway. To raise the profile of these events and drum up a little funding, development director April Corbett scheduled mini fundraisers last May where regular musicians from each of the sites performed at nearby local breweries and the brewery donated a portion of the evening’s take. Look for a new slate of beer and Blue Ridge music events in spring 2020.
“It just made so much sense,” says Corbett. “That’s what the Parkway is, an extension of these communities.”
Another example: Corbett’s expansion of benefits for becoming a Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway member. Join the nonprofit and get 10 percent off Roanoke Mountain Adventure rentals or 15% off items purchased at the Peaks of Otter Visitors Center, reduced tickets to the Biltmore House in Asheville or discounts at B&Bs near the parkway.
“We looked at ways to grow our membership and saw gaps in our 30 and 40 year olds,” Corbett explains. “We want to make visits to the Parkway something you do as an individual as well as with your family.”
Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway has a network of nine community chapters with more than 600 volunteers. They work closely with the National Park Service to help with programs, maintenance tasks and funding needs.
Head to https://www.anightontheparkway.com/tickets to purchase tickets or https://friendsbrp.org for more information.
About the Writer:
Christina Nifong is a writer with a decades-long career profiling interesting people, places and ideas. She’s also a committed locavore and mother to three kids, four chickens and one very sweet kitty. Find more of her work at christinanifong.com.
