In a joint effort to raise money for the Harlan Rotary Club Scholarship Fund and the newly designed Harlan County High School Scholarship Fund, a bluegrass concert will be held at the HCHS gymnasium on Feb. 20.

“This is a new effort we at HCHS are trying to do beginning this year,” said Bob Howard HCHS principal. “The Rotary Club will organize the event every year and we will provide the setting and services. The proceeds from this event will go into a general scholarship fund to provide opportunities for HCHS students to attend college. We’re hoping to make this a yearly event. We have a 500-seat auditorium and we hope to fill it up.”

\Howard said the HCHS National Society and Beta Club members are selling reserve tickets for the concert. He said the reason these clubs were involved in selling tickets was because members of these clubs would mainly benefit from the HCHS scholarship fund.Harlan Rotary Club member Jerry Haynes said each year the Rotary Club gives three scholarships to city and county-wide high school students which allow them to attend Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College.

“If you are a bluegrass fan or not, you still need to support the school and Rotary Club scholarship funds,” said Haynes. “If you are a bluegrass lover, you’re really going to enjoy the concert. It’ll be a night of great bluegrass music.”

Haynes, a member of the bluegrass band Mountain Drive which will be performing, said basically all the bands scheduled to play are local bands.

“I’m just a bass player for Mountain Drive,” said Haynes. “We’ve got Darlene Brock, from Bledsoe, as lead singer. She’s also the principal at Green Hill Elementary School. Two other members of our band are Carl Vanover on banjo from Corbin and Kenny O’Quinn on mandolin from Elkhorn City.”

Other bands scheduled to perform are Pine Mountain Grass, New Ridge, Cumberland River and Wolf Creek Grass.

“We’re really excited to do this fund raiser for the Rotary Club and HCHS,” said Terri Kelly, bass player for Wolf Creek Grass. “I’m a guidance counselor at Rosspoint Elementary School, and I just love playing bluegrass music. My husband, Mike, is also in the band. He’s the banjo player. He’s been a musician all his life. He is the one who taught me to play bass. We’ve also got Gary Joseph on mandolin from Leslie County and Robert Cornett as lead singer and guitar player also from Leslie County.”

Kelly said Harlan County has deep bluegrass roots. Anything they could do to promote bluegrass in Harlan County they wanted to do it.

“An older friend of me and my husband from Leslie County once told me I just had a bluegrass soul,” said Kelly. “I believe he was right.”

Tickets for the concert are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. Children under the age of 12 will be admitted free. The concert will begin at 6 p.m. on Feb. 20 at the HCHS Gymnasium.