Debra Holmes-Young, Chairperson, Stone Soul Picnic Scholarship event.

Leave the picnic baskets at home, and join in on what is dubbed “The Mother of ALL Picnics” at the Fourth Annual Stone Soul Picnic!

Staff Reports

It’s a fun-filled evening of food, dancing, and entertainment provided by “The Troupers,” a six-piece dance band from Durham, North Carolina. They are seasoned professional entertainers with stellar voices, musicianship, and entertainment energy.

The Stone Soul Picnic was started in 2006 by the members of St. Matthias Episcopal Church in collaboration with an established endowed scholarship through the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina. The funds raised from the picnic help provide scholarships for higher education to students and recent graduates who are members of the congregation.

St. Matthias was proud to award its first scholarship in 2006 to Bryan Jones, who graduated from Johnson C. Smith University, Charlotte in the spring of 2008. The second scholarship was awarded to Peter McDowell in August, 2008. Peter currently attends Asheville-Buncombe Community Technical College, where he is majoring in the performing arts.

The 2010 Stone Soul Picnic will be held August 14, 2010, at the sprawling Cove Lake Farm grounds in Chunns Cove, just east of downtown Asheville off Tunnel Road.
St. Matthias is Asheville’s oldest historically African American church. Originally known as the Freemen’s Church, it was formed at the close of the Civil War by Trinity Church as a mission for newly freed slaves. The present building, known for its rich wood interior and excellent accoustics, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Stone Soul Picnic, Saturday, August 14. Admission: $60 per person includes dinner, wine, and $40 tax deductible charitable contribution. For ticket information contact Debora Holmes-Young at (828) 274-2860, or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Contributors to the scholarship fund enjoy dinner during the 2009 Stone Soul Picnic.