Sights & SoundsChris Prillaman and Tanner Talley
Franklin County is famous for its long history of producing and selling moonshine, or homemade liquor. Virginia colonists were distilling corn whiskey—boiling a fermented mash of milled grain and then …
Sights & SoundsTina Ingram-Murphy and Cheryl Maroney Yancey
Christina “Tina” Ingram-Murphy is the youngest daughter of the late Richmond gospel legend Elder Maggie Ingram. Born July 4, 1930, on Mulholland’s Plantation in Coffee County, Georgia, Maggie began playing …
Sights & SoundsGrayson Chesser and P.G. Ross, Mark Ross, Drew Sturgis, and Andy Dunton
The Eastern Shore of Virginia, a narrow peninsula stretching roughly seventy-five miles between the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay, has long nourished the artistry of waterfowl decoy carving. The …
Sights & SoundsNader Majd and Ali Reza Analouei
Dr. Nader Majd was born in Sari, Iran, and began studying and playing the santur, or Persian hammered dulcimer, and violin at the age of six. He later learned to …
Sights & SoundsNate Leath and Aila and Eli Wildman
A long-time resident of Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, Nate Leath grew up in Hickory, North Carolina, a town in the heart of bluegrass and old-time music country. Nate picked up his …
Sights & SoundsGary Horton and Tommy Horton
Gary Horton learned traditional logsmithing and historic home restoration from the late Don Chapman, widely considered the trade’s greatest master in Southwest Virginia. During his lifetime, Don disassembled, restored, and …
Sights & SoundsSusan Gaeta and Gina Sobel
When the Sephardic Jews were forced into exile from Spain and Portugal in the late fifteenth century, many settled in other Mediterranean countries but preserved their native language, Ladino, and …
Sights & SoundsJulia Garcia and Gloria Encinas
In Northern Virginia, a large Bolivian community from the Valle Alto (High Valley) of Cochabamba is maintaining the spirit and customs of their native Quechua culture and language. Through the …
Sights & SoundsGene Williams and Lee Bagley
The early 1900s saw a surge of independent candy makers in Virginia, with dozens of confectioners operating statewide, from Bristol to Norfolk. In 1917, a young candy enthusiast named Shafter …
Sights & SoundsEvelyn Lahman and Dr. T. Michael Gilley
Sadly, Evelyn Lahman passed away on June 13, 2017, shortly after receiving her apprenticeship. A craft originally born of necessity, the fiber arts continue to thrive throughout southern Appalachia. In …
Sights & SoundsGreg Galbreath and Peter Keller
Just as old-time mountain music has risen in popularity across America and the world, so has the art of banjo making. Unlike the three-finger-picking style for bluegrass banjo popularized by …
Sights & SoundsEllen and Eugene Ratcliffe and Hannah Johnson
The square dance is the “official dance” of Virginia, as it is in a majority of states throughout the country. First introduced by European settlers, the square dance developed over …
