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: folklore
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…
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.
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.
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.
2021 Folklife Apprenticeship Feature: Angelita Nixon and Christine Weirick, Home Birth Midwifery
Angelita Nixon of Scott Depot in Putnam County is leading an apprenticeship in home birth midwifery with Christine Weirick of Fayetteville.
Field Notes: An Interview with the Mothman Museum & Festival’s Ashley Wamsley Morrison
Ashley Wamsley Morrison’s father Jeff Wamsley founded the Mothman Museum in Point Pleasant and Ashley manages the museum’s marketing and is one of the organizers of the Mothman Festival. In this interview she speaks about the legend of Mothman, and how the narrative and town’s promotion of the creature has evolved in Point Pleasant.
2020 Folklife Apprenticeship Feature: Kim Johnson & Cody Jordan, Banjo Traditions of Central West Virginia
Kim Johnson of South Charleston is leading an apprenticeship in banjo traditions of central West Virginia with apprentice Cody Jordan of Charleston.
A Tribute to West Virginia Labor Singer-Songwriter Elaine Purkey (1949-2020)
West Virginia Folklife deeply mourns the great loss of labor songwriter, musician, activist, radio host, teacher, and devoted mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother Elaine Purkey.
wvfolklife.org 