Picks and Pans – Abingdon, VA & Bristol, TN

We stopped in to pick up some supplies for Sean’s heart wristband, but we stayed for the conversation. Jeannine, a lifelong Abingdon resident (for all of 76 years!) was so incredibly welcoming and so very proud of all that her town had to offer, I kept wondering if this little fabric store doubled as the Visitor’s Center. As it turns out, Jeannine was just one of many Abingdon residents who took some time out of their day to make us feel right at home and tell us all about their great hometown.

As per Jeannine’s recommendation, we headed up the hill to the William King Art Center. What used to be the town’s high school is now a great place to learn about Appalachia folk craft, see some great paintings and talk to some very knowledgeable and friendly Abingdon residents.

We stopped in to get some recommendations on where to see live music and met James Meadows, a local musician and employee of the store. James gave us the lowdown on where to hear some live music and what sights we should check out in town. Check out James’ website and buy some of his music!

Reportedly the oldest building in Abingdon, the old carriage house/tavern/inn now serves up a decent selection of beer and was a great place to dry out in front of their fireplace. The place gave off such a feeling of history, I halfway expected a redcoat to come walking in the door. Damn British.

James told us we would have a good chance of hearing some live music if we headed to Bristol (just over the Virginia border in Tennessee). We had our doubts since it was a Wednesday night, but O’Mainnin’s had food, music and cheap beer…hooray, it’s the Trifecta!! We enjoyed the scene and the music (Annie Robinette), though the good ol’ boys from Tennessee at the table next to us cranked up their twangy Southern volume with each empty beer cup on their table (by the end of the night they had a veritable pyramid). But any town with live music until 2am on a Wednesday night has something going right for it.

Another Jeannine recommendation, Zazzy’Z was a coffee shop reminiscent of Portland….located in an old house, local art hanging on the wall, laid back staff and a great wireless connection. Needless to say, we spent several quality hours there (sorry, Ian) and got a little more caught up on our website.

When we stepped out of the rain and into this gallery, we met up with some really quality art and a quality Southern lady. Gallery Main Street had some incredible bronzes by David Spence and a couple of watercolors by Carol Blevins that Sean and I really liked. Polly, the gallery manager, imparted knowledge, not just about art, but about travel as well. Thanks for a lovely reason to stay out of the rain, Polly.

Honestly, I had never seen anything like this place in my life and I certainly didn’t expect to find it in a small town in southwest Virginia. The Arts Depot is a train station that was converted to studio and exhibition space by an art cooperative in Abingdon. It has several resident artists and every Thursday-Sunday they are in their studios creating art and teaching those that wander through about the art. Now, when I say teaching, I mean it’s something these artists take very seriously. As I walked past each of the studios, politely hovering in the doorway (being the Northerner, that I am) they would say “Come on in! Let me show you what I’m doing!”, at which point they answered cheerfully and thoroughly all of our questions. I learned about weaving tapestry on a loom, painting with acrylics and teaching art to disabled adults. It was an amazing afternoon, to say the least.