Carolina Road Homecoming Festival - Review

Lorraine Jordan

Wow! What a weekend of music, jamming, getting together with old friends, and making new ones. Usually, we prefer to take our bluegrass music outdoors, come rain or shine. The festival scene works great when RVers pull in from all parts of the country to congregate for a few days before returning home or moving on to the next event. On this, the last weekend in March, however, North Carolina is an unlikely place for an outdoor festival. While it was quite warm on Friday, Saturday turned chilly and wet; even a pretty tough and committed festival goer would have been challenged to stay outdoors for the music. Inside the Burlington, NC Ramada Inn, however, it was warm and toasty, the bands ran from quite good to outstanding, the jamming reached heights I hadn’t heard at many other festivals, and Lorraine Jordan, one of the hardest working people in bluegrass, aided by her very competent staff and a herd of committed volunteers, kept things running smoothly and people involved and having fun.

Deeper Shade of Blue

Jim Fraley (Deeper Shade of Blue)

Troy Polk (Deeper Shade of Blue)

This event served a number of purposes. It provided Lorraine with an opportunity to bring together a lot of bands from her home state of North Carolina as well as others from neighboring Virginia, and Tennessee which were mostly bands well-known regionally, but without broad national reputations. She had invited festival promoters from the region to come to hear these bands, and you could see them meeting with band leaders to arrange future dates. Another goal of the festival was to highlight members of the Carolina Road Fan Club, recognize them for their work to support the band, and give them a chance to spend some time together. Finally, the area is a hotbed of interest in bluegrass music, and this well-organized festival served up plenty of traditional bluegrass for people starved for good music after a long, chilly North Carolina winter.

Remington Ryde

Anita Fisher

Ray Deaton (Anita Fisher Band)

The Carolina Road Homecoming presented seventeen different bands over two days. That’s a very heavy duty program for a festival to carry. Eight of these bands played at least two sets, while some played three sets over two days, a crowded and busy schedule. Music ran from 11:30 AM until after 11:00 PM with a supper hour abbreviated by bands running over. (One North Carolina band once considered calling itself Supper Hour so it could be on the bill at every festival in the country. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed.) The lineup in Burlington was quite strong, but I’ll try to highlight bands that made special impressions during the two day period. Deeper Shade of Blue, a mixed content band heavy in gospel, continues to improve as Troy Pope becomes increasingly comfortable on stage. Jim Fraley, the senior member of this band plays fine banjo. After their performance he could be found in the merchandise room contributing to the jams for hour after hour. His son, Jason, has also continued to grow on mandolin. Remington Ryde, travelling down from Pennsylvania, offered two enjoyable sets with lively music worth hearing. Look for them at festivals in New York and New England this summer. The Anita Fisher Band featuring Ray Deaton has come a long way since we saw them in October. They’ve become tighter, more comfortable, and livelier. Shane Blackwell on guitar is a standout as a flat picker.

Al Batten and the Bluegrass Reunion

David Turnage

Johnny Ridge

Could This be Dr. Tommy Bibey?

Al Batten and the Bluegrass Reunion mixes the entertaining byplay that five men who’ve played together for over thirty-five years can generate along with a strong, driving sound. Batten is a funny and warm tale spinner and a first rate picker. Johnny Ridge, a classic fiddler whose style is based on the first generation bluegrass fiddlers like Jimmie Hicks, is a huge man who curls himself around his fiddle, stomps his foot to provide a beat, and shows an audience what Drive means. He’s truly one of the best and performed with both Batten and James King this weekend.

For me the highlight performance on Friday came from David Davis and the Warrior River Boys. Davis has a remarkable voice, seemingly simple and straightforward, but communicating deep and authentic emotion using vocal dynamics and shadings in many of his songs. He chooses songs that highlight the plight of the poor and the simple in the face of power. His Civil War ballads, particularly Chancellorsville, are powerful and filled with conviction while not raising the specter of the Lost Cause too rabidly. He plays a clear and strong Monroe-style mandolin, using the microphone with particular skill. Glenn Harrell substituted for Owen Saunders on fiddle this weekend and did a creditable job. He’s forming his own band, and it will be worth looking for. Paul Priest, is a fine flat picker and contributed good harmony work as well as a couple of solos. Marty Hayes on bass offers strong tenor work. Robert Montgomery on banjo has worked into the band, which he had just joined when we saw them a couple of months ago, and makes significant musical and personality contributions. This band is always reliable and often rises to real heights.

David Davis and the Warrior River Boys

David Davis

Marty Hayes, Robert Montgomery, Paul Priest

Jammers

Carolina Sonshine is primarily a bluegrass gospel group with a twist. The versatile Danny Stanley leaves the stage in each set an returns as Hobo Joe or newly created Ferd the Nerd. These characters continue an old bluegrass tradition of having a clown as comic relief and a foil in the band. Stanley’s characters scratch, snort, speak in silly falsetto voices, and then join the rest of the band for a series of vocal impersonations of country and bluegrass greats like Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Mac Wiseman, and Elvis Presley. Stanley has a remarkable baritone voice and his impersonations are usually spot on. When he’s singing straight, his voice sounds much like the young Charley Waller, and their version of Matterhorn is startling. Their gospel music reflects deep faith and is lovingly and rousingly presented.

Carolina Sonshine

Danny Stanley as Hobo Joe (Carolina Sonshine)

Junior Sisk and Ramblers Choice

Junior Sisk

We’ve been fans of Junior Sisk since we first heard him singing lead with Blueridge six years ago. His high lonesome tenor voice is flexible and responsive in both ballads and fast bluegrass songs. His “Rounder at 21” shows both the dissolute nature of the character and the tragedy of his early death. We were, therefore, disappointed when we first heard his new band at Roxboro in the fall. I should have waited to hear him this weekend before writing anything. Singing with his cousin Tim Massey on bass, and the very talented Chris Harris on mando and singing tenor harmony, Junior Sisk and Ramblers Choice have come into their own and are a band to keep a close eye on. Massey, whose songwriting skills are well-known, has a voice that fits closely with Sisk’s and approximates the genetic combination of brother duos. Chris Harris on mandolin sings high tenor harmonies and just plain wails on the mandolin. His playing is clear, fast, accurate and sharp. This weekend he could be seen jamming all over the hotel as well as on stage, always distinguishing himself. The real revelation, however, was the emergence of Junior Sisk as the spokesman for his band. He showed humor and poise. We’ve never before seen him enjoy himself on the stage with such verve, and in doing so he lifts his band to new heights. The Saturday evening crowd was ready for some excitement, and Junior Sisk led the way. The newest edition of Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice is a band worth looking for.

Could this be Ms. Marfar and Dr. Tommy Bibey?

Chris Harris

Tim Massey

Grass Cats

The Grass Cats had the misfortune to be sandwiched between two high energy, highly entertaining bands on Saturday evening during their single set of the weekend. Unfortunate, because this very fine band deserves to be heard on its own terms and not in comparison to those on either side of it. The band features first rate instrumentalists and strong vocals. The three members of their vocal trio have fairly high voices, so, for instance, their version of “Fox on the Run” was played in C, a key much higher than usual. Their repertoire includes bluegrass classics as well as more contemporary sounds and their own compositions.

Jammers

Lorraine Gets a Rest with Ruth Bruno

James King Band

James King

The James King Band played one long set on Saturday night to everyone’s satisfaction. King can be uneven in his performances, but this time out he was at the top of his game, playing in front of an audience that knew and liked him. He played a number of his fan’s favorites and was clearly enjoying himself. There was one poignant moment when he bade farewell to bassist John Wade, who is at least temporarily leaving the road to care for his ailing parents. No sad moment, however, could long suppress the exuberant King, and his set was joyfully rewarded by the crowd.

John Wade (James King)

Kevin Prater (James King)

Glenda Sandy, Ruth Bruno, Janice Jordan

Jerry Butler and Paul Priest

Lorrain Jordan and the Carolina Road Band

The Carolina Road Homecoming is Lorraine Jordan’s festival played in her own backyard, so it’s no surprise that this talented singer and band dominated the event. On stage and off Lorraine and members of her band, her family, and her fan club were ever present, facilitating the festival. Lorraine was everywhere, meeting and greeting, organizing, and making herself available. Her father, Royce, at 78 a slender, attractive, and energetic man, functioned as co-promoter and helped keep everything smooth and moving along. Janice Jordan, Lorraine’s mother, was everywhere in evidence, her friendly smile always welcoming. Tami Butler, Jerry’s spouse, worked the merchandise table while bustling about taking care of the necessary details of operating a festival. Josh Goforth, a roots music force in his own right, jammed and gave informal lessons while playing in several bands needing a fiddler or guitar backup. Jerry Butler and Benny Greene were constantly in evidence. Along with bassist Todd Meade, all members of the band conducted workshops on Saturday morning. Fan Club members and volunteers staffed the hospitality room, the doors, the gate, and were in ever helpful. Fan Club President Glenda Sandy and Vice President Ruth Bruno were busy and helpful as were their husbands, the two Pauls. Another feature of this festival was the enthusiastic and skillful jamming. Perhaps because this event was held in a rather small convention center in the Burlington Ramada Inn, musicians and fans were even more closely thrown together than usual. There was no back stage area. Jam sessions contained lots of professional musicians and talented amateurs picking together, and the sounds coming from these groups were exciting and entertaining.

Josh Goforth Gives Wayne Murphy a Lesson

Sheila and Joan (The Nurses) with Benny Greene

Carolina Road State Preferences

Lorraine Jordan and Carolina Road on stage were their usual mix of good music and interesting traditional diversity. The easy camaraderie that has developed between Lorraine and Jerry Butler is a delight to see. Furthermore, their voices blend wonderfully and, depending on the song, either Josh Goforth or Benny Greene mix very well with them. When the four together sing gospel quartets, they sound just fine. Similarly, while being a traditional bluegrass band, they demonstrate a variety of styles and sounds ranging from mountain to Monroe, Scruggs and Crowe styles. Carolina Road is there to present a rousing good show and that’s what they reliably achieve. The appreciation of their fans is clear and loud.

Todd Meade

Benny Greene

Josh Goforth

Jerry Butler

The Carolina Road Homecoming was a good festival. Many people there acted as if they hadn’t been off the reservation since fall shut down festivals in the mid-south. They were glad to see each other and enthusiastic in their response to the music. Burlington is located in north-central North Carolina, making it easily reachable for people from a wide radius. While not luxurious, the Ramada Inn is comfortable and welcoming. It’s breakfast buffet is excellent, and the staff helpful and accommodating. Think about attending this festival to open your 2009 spring season.

Lorraine Jordan

Special Thanks to the Dripolator Coffeehouse in Black Mountain, NC for their patience in letting us sit for nearly four hours to post this.

Great Southern Bluegrass Festival - Review

Promoter Ernie Evans and park owner Pat Tillman courageously took on the task of creating, promoting, and presenting a bluegrass festival in only six weeks after the unfortunate demise of the Spirit of Suwannee Bluegrass festival. While too few people came, this festival bodes well for the future if they decide to continue to build the lineups offered here as well as to develop the site.

Ernie Evans and Pat Tillman

Picker’s Paradise Park in Ochlocknee, GA (a few miles north of the lovely town of Thomasville) provides a good base to develop into a first rate music park. Located on a flat, large piece of land beside a picturesque pond, the park has a tin roof shed with plenty of space underneath and good site lines from the side. The stage is well-sized. The back of the shed contains an adequate kitchen which offered a limited but tasty menu of hamburgers, and barbecued pork or chicken. An excellent hot dog vendor was there for part of the festival as well as a well-supplied instrument vendor. Porta- johns were adequate and were kept very clean. The 125 water and electric sites at Picker’s Paradise Park are adequate for a small festival, but will need to be upgraded should Pat Tillman wish to attract a larger crowd. He expressed a desire to build both a shower/flush toilet facility and a dump station. These provisions would make his park more attractive to both RVers and tent campers. Pat and his staff were extremely pleasant and eager to please. On the whole, this park shows great promise to develop into a venue for medium sized, quality bluegrass festival. The grounds are certainly large enough to allow significant growth.

Brian Gandy (Gandy Brothers)

Skylar Gandy (Gandy Brothers)

Ernie Evans is, in many ways, a visionary promoter who, because of his experience as a performer, is well acquainted with the ins and outs of promoting a bluegrass festival. His festivals at Craig’s RV in Arcadia, Waldo, and Perry show that he knows how to offer a range of performers sufficient to satisfy a variety of bluegrass tastes. He is committed to providing a forum for local and regional bluegrass bands to perform and gain recognition. He has been particularly strong in booking and presenting small, little-known, young bands, some of which may grow into much more professional and recognized groups. Ernie comes from Jacksonville, FL and is well aware of the bands performing in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama who don’t have to travel too far to perform at one of his festivals. His knowledge of the national scene is broad, allowing him to book bands from traditional to somewhat progressive and balance them effectively. He is a hearty, enthusiastic, and optimistic man, essential qualities for any bluegrass promoter.

Brendan Andrews (Andrews Family)

Michael Andrews (Andrews Family)

Musically, The Great Southern Bluegrass Festival (a somewhat overblown name which will have to earn it) offered a limited, but enjoyable schedule. The Showcase, beginning at 4:00 PM on Friday, offered the Gandy Brothers, two kids (one 18 and one 10) who show promise. Ten year old Skylar on fiddle picks pretty well. His older brother Brandon a developing voice with a good baritone bottom. His banjo picking is adequate and will improve. The entire band did not perform, so they were supported by Ernie Evans on guitar and Clint Wilson on bass. The Andrews Family Band has improved significantly since we saw them at Live Oak a year ago. Brian Andrews on guitar shows real signs of becoming a first rate flat picker. His voice is still uncertain, but will improve with experience. Michael Andrews (13) is on his way to becoming a very good banjo picker and bears an eerie resemblance to Cory Walker. They were backed by their father on bass and Nick Ball (Southern Lite’s new banjo player) on mandolin. Both bands will continue to develop. The Kenny Hill Band features three more experienced pickers as well as a unique and interesting sound. Featuring Brian Hill on guitar, his wife Jennifer on lead vocals and bass, and Ken Baldauf on banjo, they offer a mélange of bluegrass, folk, country, and funk that comes together as an interesting and enjoyable Saturday afternoon sound. Brian is a very good flat picker. They step on ground where many a bluegrasser fears to tread by even using an accordion for one song, along with the comment that Bill Monroe also experimented with the cordeen. Their sound is tight and they were fun for me to hear.

Kenny Hill Band

Nick Ball (Ernie Evans & Southern Lite)

Ernie Evans & Southern Lite

More familiar bands appearing at Great Southern were led off by Ernie Evans and Southern Lite. Ernie’s added a new banjo player, Nick Ball from Tennessee, who picks well and has a terrific bass kicker in his voice that’s particularly effective on country songs, is too new to the band for me to have much to say about his contribution. Deb Evans plays bass and has a good bluegrass voice for singing lead or harmony. Ernie plays a lively mandolin and a good voice to his performances, and Brian Andres played guitar for him. The band offers a solid assortment of bluegrass standards, Ernie schedules them in appropriate places on the bill, and they provide good fill and pleasant sounds.

Deb and Ernie Evans

Pure and Simple Bluegrass

Greg Whigham (Pure and Simple)

Pure and Simple Bluegrass (MySpace) stands out as the surprise band for this festival. (Parenthetical question: would readers prefer that I link to a band’s web site or its MySpace page when I have a choice? Leave a comment or e-mail me.) This six piece band offers both high quality work on traditional bluegrass; some interesting grass takes on songs from other genres (Lynard Skynard, Alabama, Grateful Dead, Steve Goodman, and the Eagles). Add to this some delightful on-stage banter, a bunch of corny jokes at each other’s expense, and genuine delight in each other’s company, and you have a band worth watching and listening to. Dobro player Travis Perry promotes a festival in their home town of Dothan, Alabama which looks like a sure winner. Check out the Great American Bluegrass Festival. Pure and Simple’s trio is tight and sounds good. Their picking is enjoyable, and their enthusiasm infectious. They were a real presence at The Great Southern Bluegrass Festival and a delight to meet and be around.

Travis Perry (Pure and Simple)

Ronnie Rutherford (Pure and Simple)

The Wilson Family Band

Robert Wilson

The Wilson Family Band continues to improve almost from week to week. From Robert Wilson’s time with The River Grass Review two decades ago, he has been involved in bluegrass music in some way or another. His wife Melissa grew up in Jacksonville in a family that played and sang bluegrass, also. Together, from their home in Folkston, Georgia they have forged a family that is held together and strengthened through their commitment to their religious background and making music. In the case of this band, it’s pretty hard to beat. Robert’s gravelly lead singing and very solid rhythm guitar provide a solid base for this group’s presentations. While acting as spokesman for their group, he has ceded a good deal of this job to their son Clint, who at nearly eighteen has emerged not only as a fine banjo picker, but shows an improving voice and a very pleasant stage presence. Robert portrays himself as something of a rube, but don’t let this wise man fool you for a second. He has forged a group that shows poise, musicality, and personality in such a way they are sure winners. The acknowledged star of the band is twelve year old Katie. When we first saw her a little over a year ago, she was something of a novelty, it’s clear a year later that she’s the real thing. Her fiddle playing continues to improve, showing increasingly mature and intricate licks and growing power. Her singing, as she gains in age and strength, is becoming more melodious while losing its somewhat childlike edge. She’s becoming a real bluegrass singer.

Clint Wilson

Katie Wilson

Phil Leadbetter Workshop

Phil Leadbetter and Alan Bibey of Grasstowne led off Saturday with successive hour long workshops. Even for someone not playing either instrument, they constituted the beginnings of an advanced degree in picking. Their sessions were well-attended by interested participants with a range of skills. Both men skillfully responded to questions at the appropriate level, challenging each participant to learn and improve without moving beyond their capabilities. The workshops served as good lessons in teaching as well as musicianship.

Alan Bibey Workshop

Alan Bibey

Grasstowne is always a pleasure to watch. Even at this rather small, sparsely attended event, the band gave its all, or perhaps even a little more. The three veteran pickers each stand at the top of their profession. During his workshop, Alan Bibey was asked who he listens to. He mentioned Bill Monroe as well as several others, but if truth be known, Bibey has developed such a distinctive style, that while it reflects those who came before him, still stands on its own as Bibey style mandolin. Alan was awarded the SPBGMA award as Mandolin Player of the Year in 2007. Phil Leadbetter has already been recognized by becoming one of only three people ever to win IBMA’s Dobro Player of the Year award. Steve Gulley is a standout vocalist in a crowded field. The more I listen to his soulful singing and watch the depth of commitment evident in his face and the sweat dripping from it as he sings, the more I realize how much he gives to his singing and how much he rewards his audience. His clear tenor voice, capable of lows into the baritone range, reflects a range of emotion unusual in any singer and almost non-existent in most bluegrass performers. As an ensemble, Grasstowne sets standards of musicality hard to match in any other group. Jason Davis on banjo is quickly moving towards this sort of height. Though barely twenty years of age, Jason has toured with four top bands and now graced the cover of Banjo Newsletter, the youngest picker ever so honored. Having Grasstowne at the festival turned it into a success, even if the other bands hadn’t already done so.

Steve Gulley

Phil Leadbetter

Jason Davis

Pat Tillman and Ernie Evans have some work to do to build the audience for this festival in South Georgia. They have the expertise and the location. With good luck and persistence, they’ll also be able to create and cultivate both the local audience and the drive-in day group to make The Great Southern Bluegrass Festival at Picker’s Paradise Park into a financial as well as an artistic success.

Pat Tillman and Ernie Davis with Grasstowne

Silver River State Park, The Big Green Egg Fest & Ocala

Along the Sinkhole Trail

Silver River State Park lies tucked in between the City of Ocala and the old Florida resort of Silver Springs. It is one of the newest parks in the Florida system and shows how it has learned enough from other parks so that now it’s teaching them how to bring themselves up to date. The park’s spacious campground features four loops in two separate sections, each one featuring sites large enough for even the largest RVs while maintaining enough separation to give plenty of privacy. Sites are graded and leveled using gravel and rock fines in such proportion as to give a very solid base, almost appearing like paving while accepting spikes for awnings or tents. All sites have water and electric service, and there are some sites with 50 amp service. Each section has a large rest room complex with a washer and drier. These facilities are kept spotlessly clean by the very pleasant and welcoming staff of work campers. The park lies along the Silver River, the largest artesian fed river in the world and the site of the famous 1930’s resort Silver Springs, where Lloyd Bridges filmed many of his SeaHunt episodes for television.

Our Campsite

Rest Room Facility

The park has about fifteen miles of trails open to hikers and off-road bicyclists. We hike two of these trails and found them to be interesting and enjoyable. The Sinkhole trail leads through a north Florida hammock with mixed vegetation around a sink hole which is difficult to see because of the heavy growth down in it. Interpretive signs introduce hikers to the wildlife and give some understanding of the ecology. There are two River Trails. We took the swamp trail leading down toward the Silver River through a predominantly pine and live oak forest through a cypress swamp where the trail turns into an elevated walkway. Eventually, the walkway leads to an outlook on the Silver River, a beautiful clear water stream fed by artesian water bubbling from the ground. We saw a huge bass and a bowfish, although no alligators. One of the rangers, who regularly comes down to this spot for his lunch, walked us back up the boardwalk to show us a cotton mouth moccasin curled quietly in the notch of a tree. The park claims 5000 acres of viewable habitat and many animals. All this lies within a couple of miles of the bustling city of Ocala.

Silver River Museum Display

The Marion County Board of Education, in close cooperation with Silver River State Park, operates an Environmental Education Center featuring the Silver River Museum and the Cracker Village. The museum is open to the public on weekends for a nominal charge. The buildings of the Cracker Village, demonstrating life in north Florida in the late nineteenth century, are only rarely open to the public, but it’s worth checking to park’s schedule to take the opportunity to view these old and primitive buildings. The museum has a fine collection showing the development of this part of Florida from an environmental and scientific viewpoint for its early development and then tracking the social history of the region from the days of the Seminole Wars through the development of tourist Florida in the 1920’s and 30’s until the present day. The artifacts are very useful. The descriptions are sufficiently detailed to give a good overview of the regions natural and human history without becoming boring or pedantic. This small museum is a special gem.

Sweetwater Bluegrass Band

After we’d been at Silver River a day or so, we put up our Bluegrass Music banner on our awning. Early in the evening there was a knock on the door and one of the rangers stood there asking if we were pickers. As we chatted with Mickey Summers, it developed he had just returned from the ETA Bluegrass Cruise we had enjoyed so much. After much enjoyable reminiscing, Mickey invited us to attend the Big Green Egg Fest on Saturday to hear his band Sweetwater Bluegrass and enjoy the festivities. Around eleven on Saturday morning we wandered over to the pavilion. We could hear the big bass pounding and the banjo leading the way as Sweetwater Bluegrass kept the music coming. Perhaps a couple hundred people milled around as dozens of green, egg-shaped cookers belched smoke and the aroma of cooking meat filled the air. Ostensibly a public event, the hefty$30.00 admission fee made it pretty expensive to attend, so the largest portion of people attending appeared to be Egg enthusiasts appreciating each other’s work. We sat at a picnic table to enjoy the music of Mickey’s band, but soon succumbed to the temptation to sample the productions of the Eggers.

Jeff Houck Live Blogging

Egg Culture

Big Green Eggs are a beautifully designed smoker. cooker, grill shaped like an egg and lined with a heavy ceramic coating that concentrates the heat of natural charcoal and various flavoring additives to allow users to cook either fast or slow and to control cooking time and temperature quite accurately. The results were a variety of smoked and grilled meats as well as quick breads, and even pizza that looked and tasted wonderful. A large regional distributer was very much in evidence as well as several other vendors. People cooked, people ate and milled and chatted and compared recipes and enjoyed themselves. Sweetwater Bluegrass contributed to the generally jovial atmosphere. Tampa Tribune food writer and blogger Jeff Houck had set up his computer at a nearby picnic table and was live-blogging the event, posting commentary and pictures to his blog. Check his work out here, here, here, here, and here. I’ll leave it to his very professional work to portray the event. For us, the food was tasty, the concept of the Big Green Egg intriguing, and the music enjoyable, making a real contribution to the entire event. Silver River State park hosts a variety of events, and it’s worth checking the schedule there if you live close enough to get there easily. There’ll be a bluegrass event there on May 16^th.

Vendor Diplay

Rayne Summers Displays Egg

Ocala proved to be a delightful place to visit. We’ve driven around the circumference several times in recent years, but not stopped to spend any time before. A short drive from the quiet and seemingly remote Park, the city offers all the shopping and eating conveniences of a regional center which for years has attracted wealthy horse lovers. We found a delightful Thai restaurant across the street from the Paddock Mall that more than satisfied our taste for this delightful food. Ocala’s real draw is horses. Large horse farms of almost every kind from jumping to racing through cattle herding surround the city. Many of these can be visited. There are also frequent horse shows and other equine events. Driving out of Ocala in almost any direction will yield views of horses and training facilities. Since most of these are working farms, it may be difficult, but worthwhile, to arrange visits. All told, Ocala is worth a visit and Silver River State Park provides a great base for making a grand tour of the region or for enjoying a quiet spot to get away for a weekend or a couple of weeks.

River Trail Cypress Swamp

Silver River

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