The Refried Beans are doing it again! This ensemble with their passion for music and appreciation of the environs of eastern North Carolina are hitching up their boats and setting off for another Intracoastal Waterway Tour (ICWT) August 6-8.
The beneficiary of this year’s tour is the Partnership for the Sounds, in recognition of our efforts to promote environmental education and sustainable development in the Albemarle-Pamlico area.
“Well that’s appropriate,” says tour organizer and Refried Beans member Winston Lea. “The Beans feel a strong connection to the inland waterways with their beautiful and natural surroundings and we support the Partnership for the Sounds and its efforts to provide educational opportunities throughout the region.”
The Beans, who play a wide and eclectic range of folk, rock and acoustic music, will play in Elizabeth City on Thursday, Aug. 6; in Bath on Friday, Aug. 7; and in Morehead City on Saturday, Aug. 8.
This year’s ICWT will kick off at Groupers on the beautiful Pasquotank River in Elizabeth City at 8 p.m. on the 6th.
All interested sailors are then invited to have their boats in the water ready to go the next morning (Aug. 7) by 10 a.m. to head for the next concert venue in Bath. The flotilla will travel the Pasquotank into the Albemarle Sound, then head down the Alligator River, where they may see evidence of the forest fire that burned over 44,000 acres in the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in 2008. That event prompted the Beans’ inaugural ICWT last summer, which raised funds for area fire departments involved in fighting the blaze.
The flotilla will come out of the ditch into the Pungo River and run up the Pamlico River to Bath, where the Beans will perform at Blackbeard’s on Bath Creek around dusk on the 7th. Lead singer Fred Frohbose mused, “This is one of the most beautiful stretches of water in North Carolina. Hopefully we want run into any pirates; I’m not sure how helpful a six string would be against an unfriendly attack.”
On Saturday the 8th, the boats will motor back down the Pamlico before heading south into the Neuse River. After passing though Adams Creek they will make their way to Jack’s in Morehead City, where they will play an afternoon concert beginning at 4 p.m.
So how can you participate? (1) get a boat and join the tour and instantly become an honorary member of the Refried Beans; (2) come by land and enjoy any or all the shows that are most convenient for you; or finally, (3) if you can’t make it to any of the shows send a check for the cause. There is no price of admission to the concerts but donations are encouraged.
To recap the time and dates of the Refried Beans 2009 ICWT:
August 6 – Grouper’s in Elizabeth City, 8 p.m.
August 7 -- Blackbeard’s in Bath, 6 p.m.
August 8 -- Jack’s in Morehead City, 4 p.m.
The Beans and the Partnership appreciate all those interested in the 2009 ICWT. Anyone who can’t make a concert but wishes to support the Partnership can send donations to: The Partnership for the Sounds, 812 Joshua Clay Drive, Rocky Mount, NC 27803