A tribute to Gilmer County ballad singer Phyllis Marks, who passed away June 22, 2019, at the age of 92.
Tag: folklore
West Virginia Folklife 2017 Activities Report
What has the West Virginia Folklife Program done lately? Learn about our 2017 media, activities, and programs.
The State Folklorist’s Notebook: “Only limited by the size of the tree and your imagination”: Charles Steven Adams of Martinsburg
The State Folklorist’s Notebook is a regular column written by state folklorist Emily Hilliard for Goldenseal Magazine. This article appears in the Winter 2017 issue. Charles Steven (“Steve”) Adams spent almost 40 years as a social worker dealing, as he says, “with people and their problems.” When he was in his mid-50s and nearing retirement, Steve started carving…
West Virginia Folklife Awarded NEA Grant to Support Statewide Folklife Apprenticeship Program
We are thrilled to announce that we have been awarded a $35,000 grant by the National Endowment for the Arts to support the new West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program. This Art Works grant is among the $82 million that NEA Chairman Jane Chu has approved to fund local arts projects across the country in the…
Field Notes: Doris Fields aka “Lady D”
Doris A. Fields, aka Lady D, known as “West Virginia’s First Lady of Soul” is an R&B, soul, and blues musician and songwriter living in Beckley. She is the founder and organizer of West Virginia’s Simply Jazz and Blues Festival and previously hosted the weekly Simply Jazz and Blues radio show on Groovy94 in Beckley. In 2008, Fields’ original song “Go Higher” won an online contest sponsored by the Obama Music Arts and Entertainment Group. She performed the song as a headliner at the Obama for Change Inauguration Ball with President Obama and the First Lady Michelle Obama in attendance.
“You can’t have hurt anything, it can always be repaired!”: Jim Costa in Concert
On January 25, we hosted our second West Virginia Folklife Program concert at the West Virginia Humanities Council, with a performance by old-time musician and collector Jim Costa, and a presentation by folklorist Zoe van Buren, who worked with Costa to document his collection.
The State Folklorist’s Notebook: Talking Turkey Calls with Aaron Parsons of Jackson County
State folklorist Emily Hilliard visits turkey call maker Aaron Parsons of Jackson County in her regular column for Goldenseal Magazine.
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.
Field Notes: Sam Rizzetta
Sam Rizzetta is a dulcimer designer, builder, and musician who moved to West Virginia in the early 1970s. He was a member of the string band Trapezoid and founded the hammer dulcimer playing classes at the Augusta Heritage Center at Davis & Elkins College. He has built dulcimers for musicians including John McCutcheon, Guy Carawan, and Sam Herrmann (read our Field Notes with her). Rizzetta now collaborates with the Dusty Strings Company who build hammer dulcimers based on his designs. He lives with his wife Carrie Rizzetta in Berkeley County, WV.
West Virginia Folklife 2016 Activities Report
Summary of programs, fieldwork, and other activities of the West Virginia Folklife Program in fiscal year 2016
Ken Sullivan Remembers Alan Jabbour
A tribute to pioneering folklorist, scholar, and fiddler Alan Jabbour (1942-2017), from West Virginia Humanities Council Executive Director Ken Sullivan
“I Think That the Women Made the Folk Songs”: Phyllis Marks in Concert
On September 8, 2016 we hosted our first West Virginia Folklife Program concert on the patio of the West Virginia Humanities Council, with a performance by 89 year-old Gilmer County ballad singer Phyllis Marks.
