You’re Invited to HEARTS Irish Connections ‘25: Jane’s Famous Ride

We hope you can join us for “HEARTS Irish Connections: Jane's Famous Ride for a vibrant mix of local revolutionary history, nature, and art. All ages are welcome, and best of all, it’s free! Bring your friends and family for a memorable day of exploration at historic Cedar Grove. Donations are welcome to support our ongoing community activities. It all takes place on Saturday, March 22, 2025, from 2:00 to 5:00 PM at Cedar Grove, 8229 Gilead Road in Huntersville. Due to limited seating, tickets are required:

HEARTS (history, ecology, arts, reunion, trails, store) weaves the threads of local people, places, and pieces into a vibrant and interconnected tapestry of our region. HEARTS happenings are free, dynamic gatherings featuring music, visual arts, and lectures exploring local history, nature, and our shared sense of place.

During HEARTS happenings, the first floor of Cedar Grove is available for exploring, as well as the historic site next door, the Hugh Torance House and Store, one of Mecklenburg County’s few surviving 18th-century structures. The Store will be open during the HEARTS event until 5:00 PM, offering an assortment of artisanal and local goods.

All proceeds from this program benefit the Hugh Torance House and Store and HEARTS. These events are made possible by dedicated volunteers, HEARTS Circle members, community partners, presenting sponsor Lake Norman Realty, and donations.

Featured History

The oldest standing store in North Carolina, the Hugh Torance House and Store, was named after an Irish immigrant, Hugh Torance, who settled here in 1779. Torance first arrived in Philadelphia in 1763, and like thousands of other Scots-Irish, traveled down the Great Wagon Road to settle in the Catawba Valley region, arriving in what is now known as Huntersville, NC.

Jane Parks McDowell

This year’s HEARTS Irish Connection: Jane’s Famous Ride honors Jane Parks McDowell, a Scots-Irish descendant of Steele Creek of Mecklenburg County. The story of Mrs. McDowell’s famous ride has largely faded from memory, but we look forward to bringing her revolutionary contributions back to light through a narrative of courage. Join us for a presentation by noted historian Dr. Hugh Dussek, who will recount her tale alongside other significant events from Mecklenburg County’s revolutionary history.

Note: This image is not Jane Parks McDowell due to the absence of known likenesses of Jane, despite her remarkable acts of heroism. This young woman is from an unknown 18th-century painting.

March with Moss

March in the garden highlights moss, nature’s ideal ground cover. Discover more about these intriguing plants and how to incorporate them into your garden.

Award-winning Dancers

The Connick School of Irish Dance, founded in 1994 by Sandra Connick, is returning to Irish Connections '25! The Connick School was founded in 1994 by Sandra Connick to pass on the rich cultural foundation of Irish dance in the greater Charlotte area. Since then the Connick School has grown from a small local studio to a renowned institution known for its exceptional training programs and vibrant community. Be sure to catch these award-winning dancers before they head off to the world championships in Dublin this April!

Celtic, Appalachin, Spiritual

The musical guests for the afternoon are Tom Eure and Amelia Osborne, a Carolina folk duo offering up a heartfelt fusion of Celtic, Appalachian, and spiritual influences. In concert, Eure and Osborne seamlessly change from one instrument to the next, swirling together fiddles, banjos, bodhrán, mandolins, guitars, and rousing vocal harmonies. No Depression Magazine said of Tom and Amelia’s first album together, “The Coin The Prayer and The Crow comes off as the result of a genuine artist pouring old wine into new bottles and making listeners believe.” As artists, multi-instrumentalists, songwriters, and activists, Tom and Amelia strive to paint a fresh picture, uplifting and always starting from a place of love. www.tomeure.com

In addition to their music, they will also present a Crankie. Crankies are an enchanting form of Folk Art storytelling with roots back to the 1800s. Crankies use long scrolls of art wound on two spools. As the spools are "cranked" the story comes to life, often with the help of shadow puppets. Amelia creates the art and shadow puppets, Tom builds the Crankie boxes and spools. Combine that with their music, precision timing, and a bit of whimsey, audiences are treated to a journey that offers a magical escape from the real world.

Unspoken Poetry

The visual art exhibit “Unspoken Poetry” is on display in the Center Hall of Cedar Grove. In partnership with Nine Eighteen Nine Gallery, HEARTS presents the works of John R. Miles, III and Sloane Siobhan. Both artists present large-scale diptychs that silently share poetry in visual terms. The artworks are conduits of the artists’ feelings and expressions, offering thoughtful unspoken dialogue to the viewer. Surrounding the large paintings, is a selection of mixed-media black and white collages from Trey's "America Gentrified" series which won an award for "Best Exhibit" in Charlotte in 2023.

About HEARTS

The HEARTS Collaborative (aka HEARTS) is a comprehensive nonprofit regional source of collaboration and connectivity for the community of historic sites and buildings, trails and nature, churches and burial grounds, visual and performing arts, research, archives, and artifacts.

HEARTS provides unique place-based nonprofit programming at no cost to the public that shares the intricately woven stories of our region and the people who’ve lived here throughout time. The first HEARTS connection was sparked between the Hugh Torance House and Store and Cedar Grove, the National Register 1831 Greek Revival home of Hugh’s son, James Torrance. Since then, many connections have been explored through multi-faceted HEARTS Happenings. In 2025, HEARTS is bringing its happenings to Iredell and Lincoln counties too.

For more information, visit our HEARTS’ Membership page.