Published: July 03, 2008 12:57 pm            

Culture in the country | Music and Art on Big Oaks Farm scheduled Saturday on Ridge Road

BY TED POTTS

TPOTTS@TRIBDEM.COM

Music and Art on Big Oaks Farm will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday.

The music will be provided by Tim Dabbs, Dr. Gary Stoner and the husband-wife team of Richard and Allison Rupert.

The art will be provided by Dan Eash, an artist and potter.

Big Oaks Farm is on Ridge Road in Paint Township, in the Windber area. It is home to Eash and his wife, Geeg, who is involved in the planning for Music and Art.

The event will take place in a large barn on Big Oaks Farm, Geeg Eash said.

A Music and Art sign marks the entrance to Big Oaks, she noted.

Admission is free.

Dabbs of suburban Johnstown will perform at 1:15 p.m. and again at 4 p.m.

Stoner, a Johnstown native who now lives in Northumberland, Northumberland County, and the Ruperts, of Hughesville, Lycoming County, will take the stage at 3.

Eash will conduct a pottery demonstration at 2:15.

Dabbs has been a performing artist for more than 25 years. He is well-known in the Greater Johnstown area for his original songs about life in the region.

He also has written songs about other areas of the country, including the watermen of Chesapeake Bay.

While in the military, he was stationed throughout the country, and he continued honing his talents as a singer and songwriter.

His wife, Amy, is a member of the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra.

Stoner is an obstetrician/gynecologist.

His passion is music, Geeg Eash said.

He is a singer and songwriter and has recorded some of his original songs in Nashville, Tenn. One of his songs, “Johnstown Pride,” was written in the aftermath of the 1977 Johnstown Flood.

When the flood hit, Stoner was completing his residency at Johnstown’s Memorial Medical Center.

Stoner’s father, Donald, clung to the roof of the family home in the Tanneryville section of Johnstown as the floodwater ravaged that community.

Donald Stoner and his wife, Mary, continue to reside in Tanneryville.

Stoner’s band, “The Midlife Cowboys,” plays classic country music and performs primarily in the Northumberland area.

The Ruperts have performed throughout the East Coast and have recorded five albums. They have opened for numerous national artists, including Ernest Tubbs, Pam Tillis, Richard Marks and Neal McCoy.

They met Stoner at their recording studio in Hughesville.

Eash is a retired educator, serving as an art teacher for more than 21 years in Ferndale Area School District and then as a principal for eight years in Conemaugh Township Area School District.

He retired in 1999 to devote his full attention to creating pottery, his wife said.

Eash has been doing pottery and sculpturing since 1969, his wife noted.

She said the purpose of the event is to promote the arts and provide attendees with a relaxing afternoon in the country. Those attending should bring lawn chairs, she said.

Some of Eash’s pottery and sculptures will be available for sale, his wife added.

Information: 479-7034.



Event

What: Music and Art on Big Oaks Farm featuring the music of Tim Dabbs, Dr. Gary Stoner and Richard and Allison Rupert and the art of Dan Eash.

Where: Big Oaks Farm, Ridge Road in Paint Township.

When: 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Cost: Free.

Information: 479-7034.

        

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