Get your albino on

Posted on by Melanie M. Bianchi

This post is for any lover of coincidences. I was intrigued to realize that revered albino bluesman Johnny Winter is going to play the Orange Peel (May 25) just one day before Brevard, N.C., hosts the first day of its 4th annual White Squirrel Festival (May 26-27), an event that honors the mysteriously pigment-free critters who habituate that town.

Any fan of Winter’s fiery guitar playing will confirm the old-school belief that albinos possess supernatural abilities. As for Brevard’s albino squirrels, they’ve yet to display any great talent … but (is it just me?) they do seem to exude considerable personality for ground-dwelling rodents. (Just their being there is otherworldly: Check the local legend that has them scattering hellbent to Brevard after a circus-train crash in the early 1900s.)

— Melanie McGee Bianchi, arts and entertainment editor

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