In November, we celebrated the participants of the 2024-25 West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program with two public showcases! In case you missed them, you can watch highlights from these events now on the West Virginia Folklife YouTube channel. Thank you to the participants for sharing performances, demonstrations, and stories about their traditional art forms and…
Category: Documentary
Watch Homegrown Foodways in West Virginia: “Turkish Cuisine and Seedsaving” & “Ravioli and Sauce”
On Wednesday, September 15th at noon EST on the American Folklife Center’s Facebook page, we will premiere the third and fourth films in the Homegrown Foodways in West Virginia series, featuring Lou Maiuri on ravioli and sauce and Mehmet Öztan on Turkish cuisine and seed keeping.
Watch Homegrown Foodways in West Virginia: “Korean Heritage and Kimchi”
On Wednesday, September 1 at noon EST on the AFC’s Facebook page, we will premiere the second film in the Homegrown Foodways in West Virginia series, featuring Marlyn McClendon on Korean heritage and kimchi.
Watch Homegrown Foodways in West Virginia: “Foraging and Relations”
On Wednesday, August 18 at noon EST on the American Folklife Center’s Facebook page, we will premiere our first film in the Homegrown Foodways in West Virginia series, featuring Dr. Jonathan Hall on foraging and relations.
New Film Series with the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress Explores Food Traditions in West Virginia
In partnership with the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, West Virginia Folklife is excited to launch the new Homegrown Foodways in West Virginia film series, presenting four short films that explore a range of food traditions in the state. The series will be produced by West Virginia farmers, chefs, and foodways storytellers Mike Costello and Amy Dawson of Lost Creek Farm in Harrison County.
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…
St. Albans Artisan Has Been Making Neon Signs By Hand For Five Decades: A Profile of James L. Day
James L. Day of Day Sign Company in St. Albans has been making neon signs for five decades and is one of the last hand tube benders in West Virginia’s Kanawha Valley. We worked with West Virginia Public Broadcasting to produce a radio & video mini-documentary about Day for Inside Appalachia’s Road Trip episode.
Building a Broom by Feel: An Interview with James Shaffer
At 87, James Shaffer of Charleston Broom & Mop Co. in Loudendale is the last handmade commercial broom maker in West Virginia. We worked with West Virginia Public Broadcasting to produce a radio & video mini-documentary about Shaffer and the changes he’s seen in his 70 years in the broom industry.
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