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August 2018
Appalachian Evenings: Music & Food (Susi Gott Seguret)
Music & Food: The Double Essence of Appalachia with Susi Gott Seguret Food and music in Appalachia have always been intertwined, as illustrated in the titles of a multitude of fiddle tunes and ballads: “Bile ’em Cabbage Down”, “Groundhog”, “Old Joe Clark”, “Mountain Dew”, “Cornbread, Molasses & Sassafras Tea”, “Shortenin’ Bread”, “Walkin’ in My Sleep”, “Leather Britches”, “The Crawdad Song”, and endless others. Music and food are two elements we will always need for survival, whether we live in Appalachia…
Find out more »September 2018
Reel Appalachia: Look & See: Wendell Berry
Look & See: A Portrait of Wendell Berry, dir. Laura Dunn, 80 mins, 2016. Look & See revolves around the divergent stories of several residents of Henry County, Kentucky, who each face difficult choices that will dramatically reshape their relationship with the land and their community. In 1965, Wendell Berry returned home to Henry County, where he bought a small farm house and began a life of farming, writing and teaching. This lifelong relationship with the land and community would…
Find out more »Around Here: Biodiversity of the Southern Blue Ridge
Around Here: Biodiversity of the Southern Blue Ridge with Josh Kelly from MountainTrue This talk will focus on the plants, animals, ecosystems, and geography of the Southern Blue Ridge Mountains. Through narratives, pictures, and a question and answer session, the presenter and audience will explore the life found in our beautiful mountains. Josh was born in Madison County, N.C., and went to school at UNC Asheville, earning a degree in biology. He then worked for the Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition, where…
Find out more »Appalachian Evenings: The Holy Ghost Speakeasy and Revival
The Holy Ghost Speakeasy and Revival: A reading and talk with author Terry Roberts Jedidiah Robbins is a man on a crusade. From town to town, his Gospel train rides the rails of 1920s Appalachia, spreading the Good News with his daughter and a loyal group of roustabouts in tow. But Jedidiah’s traveling revival company has a secret: in addition to offering the gifts of the Holy Spirit, it also delivers spirits of another kind. Prohibition is in full swing,…
Find out more »October 2018
Bascom Lamar Lunsford “Minstrel of Appalachia” Festival
The Lunsford Festival is an all-day festival celebrating regional music and dance traditions. The event is the second oldest folk festival in Western North Carolina and was named in honor of cofounder Bascom Lamar Lunsford. Lunsford was a musician and folklorist who dedicated his life to collecting and promoting the music of the Southern Appalachians. Through his work he became known as the “Minstrel of the Appalachians.” The festival, which is now in its 51st year, brings out the region’s…
Find out more »Madison Heritage Arts Festival
For over twenty years the Town of Mars Hill has sponsored the annual Madison Heritage Arts Festival, an event Madison County Residents and folks from surrounding counties look forward to coming to College Street every year. Vendors marketing an array of arts and crafts, along with many other locally produced products will be ready to greet customers from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM Saturday, October 6,” says Rod Bowling, Festival Coordinator. “Local musicians will perform all day on the Mars…
Find out more »Appalachian Evenings: Bats
The Seen and Unseen Benefits of Bats to Humans with Gary McCracken Locally and globally bats provide enormous benefits to human welfare. Many of these benefits are provided out of view, high in the night sky, and the values of the services that bats provide to humans are largely unappreciated. At the same time, bats face new threats from humans that are putting bats and the benefits they provide at risk. I will talk about the diversity of bats and…
Find out more »Fright Night: Appalachian Ghost Stories
Join storyteller and musician Jim Lloyd for a campfire, s'mores, and some spine-tingling mountain tales! A multi-instrumentalist best known for his banjo and guitar work, Jim Lloyd’s musical roots extend back through at least four generations of fiddlers, guitar players, dancers and singers from the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia. Lloyd is a barber, musician, and storyteller, who lives, works, and plays in Rural Retreat, Virginia. His performance credits include IBMA’s World of Bluegrass, Mountain Stage, the John C.…
Find out more »Reel Appalachia: Night of the Hunter
Night of the Hunter, dir. Charles Laughton, 1955 In the spirit of October, the Ramsey Center is excited to bring you an appropriately scary thriller! Based on a 1953 Southern Gothic novel by Davis Grubb and with a screenplay co-written by James Agee (A Death in the Family), Night of the Hunter (dir. Charles Laughton, 1955) tells the story of the Reverend Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum). Rev. Powell is a religious fanatic and serial killer who is serving time in…
Find out more »November 2018
Appalachian Evenings: Tobacco in Southern Appalachia
Mixed Harvest: Tobacco in Southern Appalachia, 1870-1950 with Tom Lee The 2004 tobacco buyout program and the end of the auction marketing system transformed agriculture in Southern Appalachia. Once a standard feature of the Mountain South's rural landscape, the ubiquitous tobacco patches have largely vanished. Memories of tobacco linger among those who grew, harvested, and sold the golden weed, but over time the memories have grown sparser, disappearing like the barns, warehouses, and other physical reminders of a time when…
Find out more »January 2019
Appalachian Evenings: After Coal
After Coal Screening and Book Talk with Tom Hansell Join us for an evening with Tom Hansell, director of After Coal (2016) and author of the brand new book After Coal: Stories of Survival in Appalachia and Wales (West Virginia University Press, 2018). The documentary will be screened and will be followed by a discussion and talk with Hansell. Film and Book Synopsis: What happens when fossil fuels run out? After Coal profiles inspiring individuals who are building a new…
Find out more »Around Here: G.B. Grayson and Henry Whitter
A Dark Road is a Hard Road to Travel: The Lives and Careers of G.B. Grayson and Henry Whitter G.B. Grayson and Henry Whitter were one of the most influential musical duos in the history of traditional music, popularizing songs like "Little Maggie," "Handsome Molly," "Train 45," and many others. Although their lives were both cut tragically short, their enduring legacy continues to resonate today. Their lives and music provide a fascinating insight into life in the Appalachian Mountains at…
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