William Harrison ‘‘Bill’’ Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was born into a miner’s family of 13 children in Slab Fork, Raleigh County, West Virginia. His mother moved the family to Beckley when Withers was 3, but he continued to spend weekends in Slab Fork. By the time he was 15, Withers…
Author: West Virginia Folklife Program
Dedicated to the documentation, preservation, presentation, and support of West Virginia’s vibrant cultural heritage and living traditions. West Virginia Folklife is a project of the West Virginia Humanities Council and is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Folk & Traditional Arts Program.
Announcing Our 2020-2021 Master Artists & Apprentices!
We are excited to announce our 20202-2021 class of master artist and apprentice pairs in the West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program. In this second year of the Program, seven apprentice pairs from across the Mountain State will study traditions including old-time banjo of central West Virginia, seedsaving, and midwifery. The Apprenticeship Program offers up to…
Weirton’s Serbian Heritage is a Chicken Blast
We worked with West Virginia Public Broadcasting to produce radio & video mini-documentaries about Weirton’s Serbian Heritage and the Serbian Eastern Orthodox Church Men’s Club Chicken Blasts held weekly in the summertime at the Serbian Picnic Grounds. Every summer Wednesday since 1969, members of the Holy Resurrection Serbian Eastern Orthodox Church Men’s Club have gathered…
Out of the Blocks Podcast Highlights Charleston’s West Side; West Virginia Folklife Hosts Listening Party February 12
This winter, West Virginia Folklife partnered with WYPR producers Aaron Henkin & Wendel Patrick to field produce two Charleston West Side episodes of the Baltimore-based neighborhood podcast, Out of the Blocks. The audio collage will feature Charleston West Side locals in their own words, mixed with an original musical score, and will be presented in…
West Virginia Folklife Seeks Applications for 2020-2021 Statewide Folklife Apprenticeship Program
The West Virginia Folklife Program is now accepting applications for its 2020-2021 statewide Folklife Apprenticeship Program. The West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program offers up to a $3,000 award to West Virginia master traditional artists or tradition bearers working with qualified apprentices on a year-long in-depth apprenticeship in their cultural expression or traditional art form. These…
The Food We Eat, The Stories We Tell: Contemporary Appalachian Tables Editors & Contributors to Read at Taylor Books, December 5
On Thursday, December 5, at 6pm, editors Elizabeth Engelhardt and Lora Smith of the new anthology The Food We Eat, The Stories We Tell: Contemporary Appalachian Tables (Ohio University Press, Nov. 2019) will be joined by book contributors Courtney Balestier, Danille Christensen, and Emily Hilliard for a reading and book signing at Taylor Books…
A Tribute to Ballad Singer Phyllis Marks (June 5,1927-June 22, 2019)
A tribute to Gilmer County ballad singer Phyllis Marks, who passed away June 22, 2019, at the age of 92.
The State Folklorist’s Notebook: “If You want to be a part of Huntington, you need to eat at Jim’s!”
The State Folklorist’s Notebook is a regular column written by state folklorist Emily Hilliard for Goldenseal magazine. This article appears in the Summer 2019 issue.
Announcing the West Virginia Folklife Legends & Lore Roadside Marker Program
West Virginia Folklife Legends & Lore Roadside Marker Program Apply Here First Round of Applications due May 1, 2019 What is the Legends & LoreR Roadside Marker Grant Program? The West Virginia Folklife Program at the West Virginia Humanities Council is excited to be partnering with The William G. Pomeroy Foundation to bring the Legends &…
The State Folklorist’s Notebook: “People need to know about plants”: Herbarist Marion Harless
The State Folklorist’s Notebook is a regular column written by state folklorist Emily Hilliard for Goldenseal magazine. This article appears in the Spring 2019 issue. Some people speak in complete sentences. Marion Harless speaks in entire paragraphs, punctuated by laughter. The first time I went to interview her at her home in Kerens in Randolph County, she…
West Virginia Folklife 2018 Activities Report
What has the West Virginia Folklife Program done lately? Learn about our 2018 fieldwork, programs, and activities.
2018 Master Artist & Apprentice Feature: Doug Van Gundy & Annie Stroud, Old-Time Fiddling of the Greenbrier Valley
Doug Van Gundy, of Elkins led an appenticeship in old-time fiddle of the Greenbrier Valley with Annie Stroud, of Charleston.
