We are pleased to announce our 2022-2023 cohort of apprenticeship participants in the third round of the West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program. Seven apprenticeship pairs from across the Mountain State will study and practice traditions including soul food cooking, fiddle repair, and mushroom foraging. The Folklife Apprenticeship Program offers $3,000 to recognize and honor West…
Tag: folklife
West Virginia Folklife Collection at West Virginia University Libraries Receives American Folklore Society’s Brenda McCallum Prize
The West Virginia Folklife Program, a project of the West Virginia Humanities Council, is honored to announce that the West Virginia Folklife Collection housed at the West Virginia University Libraries has received the Brenda McCallum Prize, an award sponsored by the Archives and Libraries Section of the American Folklore Society. The West Virginia Folklife Collection…
Mollett Family featured in Black By God
The anniversary issue of Black By God – WV Pride: From Juneteenth to Father’s Day and West Virginia Day is now available! This latest issue features a photo of the Mollett Family taken on Memorial Day 2022. Multiple generations of the family gathered to clean and decorate gravesites, tell stories, and honor their ancestors and…
2022-2023 Folklife Apprenticeship Applications and Guidelines Now Available
The West Virginia Folklife Program, a project of the West Virginia Humanities Council, is now accepting applications for its statewide Folklife Apprenticeship Program. The program supports 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 apprenticeships of traditional music, dance, craft, foodways, storytelling, and more—in any cultural community in the Mountain State—facilitate the transmission of techniques and artistry of the forms as well as their histories and traditions.
Partnership with Central Appalachia Living Traditions
For the past year we have been partnering with Mid Atlantic Arts on their Central Appalachia Living Traditions project, or CALT. CALT promotes the understanding and recognition of folk arts and culture in Appalachian counties of Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia through a 3-part program that invests in folk arts communities while seeding new folk…
Introducing Jennie Williams, the State Folklorist of West Virginia
A version of this piece will be published in the Summer 2022 issue of Goldenseal, a print magazine produced by the WV Department of Arts, Culture and History. My name is Jennie Williams, and I’m thrilled to join the West Virginia Humanities Council and direct the West Virginia Folklife Program as the new state folklorist….
West Virginia Folklife Collection Now Online Via WVU Libraries
West Virginia Folklife is thrilled to announce that its digital archives collection, The West Virginia Folklife Collection, is now accessible online through the West Virginia and Regional History Center at West Virginia University Libraries. The collection may be viewed at https://wvfolklife.lib.wvu.edu/
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.
The State Folklorist’s Notebook: Ode to the Union, Former UFCW Local 347 President Sterling Ball
The State Folklorist’s Notebook is a regular column written by state folklorist Emily Hilliard for Goldenseal magazine. This article appears in the Summer 2021 issue.
West Virginia Folklife Presents Virtual Apprenticeship Showcase: Old-Time Fiddle & Banjo
Please join us on Thursday, September 23 at noon for a virtual showcase featuring apprenticeship pair in old-time banjo of Central West Virginia, Kim Johnson & Cody Jordan of Kanawha County, and old-time fiddle apprenticeship pair Joe Herrmann & Dakota Karper of Hampshire County. The pairs will perform a concert and host a Q&A. The event is free and open to the public, but attendees should register here.
West Virginia Folklife Presents Virtual Apprenticeship Showcase: Forest Farming
Please join us on Wednesday, September 22 at noon for a virtual apprenticeship showcase featuring forest farmers Ed & Carole Daniels of Randolph County and apprentice Clara Haizlett of Brooke County. The team, who recently completed their 2020-2021 West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship year, will present on their apprenticeship cultivating American ginseng and other forest botanicals, and hold a Q&A.
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.
wvfolklife.org 