Martin Luther King Day Celebration

Location: R.A. Fountain

Fountain Mayor Shirley Mitchell hosted Town of Fountain’s annual Martin Luther King Day Celebration, once again at RAF, with performances by Odelphis Davis, the Vines Sisters, Mr. and Mrs. Woody Bynum, Sophia Mix, and Roland Suggs.

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Vines Sisters Headline Free Black History Month Celebration Saturday 

[Fountain, NC] The Vines Sisters highlight a big gospel celebration of Black History Month at Fountain General Store on Saturday. This free event, hosted by Fountain Mayor Shirley Mitchell, kicks off at 4 p.m. and will also include speakers and a screening of a documentary about local legend Emma Dupree.

Other performers include Odelphis Davis, Roland Suggs, Sophia Mix, Terrel & Vanishia Brown, and James Dildy.

“That Little Medicine Thing” is a 30-minute documentary made in 1979 by ECU medical students about the herbalist Emma Dupree, who was known to many as “Aunt Emma.” She lived in Falkland before settling in Fountain, where she grew many of the herbs she used in her yard.

The Vines Sisters, from Farmville, have been performing their original style of high-energy gospel music for over 40 years. The four sisters–Dorothy, Alice, Mattie, and Audrey–are backed up by a powerhouse band led by Johnny Ray Daniels on lead guitar. Last year, Music Maker Relief Organization booked them on their first European tour.

Roland Suggs grew up on a Greene County farm and began singing when he was 12 years old as one of the Suggs Brothers. They were featured regularly on Sunday morning radio shows broadcast on WVOT in Wilson and WFAG in Farmville, and they opened for such legendary gospel groups as the Soul Stirrers and Clarence Fountain and the FIve Blind Boys of Alabama. After graduating from South Greene County High School, Suggs attended Lenoir Community College and NY University before enlisting in the Air Force. He began writing gospel songs in 2006 and released his first CD of original songs, “Jesus is Patiently Waiting,” in 2008. He lives in Greenville.

Free refreshments will also be served at this event.

Tags: gospel, History