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“Textile Origin Stories” at the Richmond Folk Festival

Omilade Janine Bell, founder of Richmond’s Elegba Folklore Society, believes in the profound role of textile arts in helping people reconnect with their cultural heritage.

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Partnership Power: Elegba Folklore Society & Virginia Folklife

While annual funding may limit the number of Apprenticeship Program awards we can offer, there is one tactic with near-boundless potential: partnerships.

Fundacion Socio Cultural Diablada Boliviana performed the Diablaa dance to open the Reston Multicultural Festival held in Reston Town Center on Saturday, 9/21/24. FSCDB President Nelly Zapata and her daughter Paloma were participants in the Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program in 2022 and 2023. Pat Jarrett/Virginia HumanitiesSights & Sounds
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‘Get to Know Your Neighbors’: Reston Multicultural Festival Celebrates Bolivian Dance

On the eve of the autumn equinox, festival goers along with municipal and state elected officials gathered at the Reston Town Center to celebrate cultural diversity at the 25th Annual Reston Multicultural Festival. 

Corey Harris, right, is apprenticing Lamont Jack Pearley in exploring the roots of African American music in and around Central Virginia during this cohort of apprenticeships. Harris and Pearley posed for a portrait at Evergreen Baptist Church in Profitt, Virginia on 2/10/24. Profitt was a Black enclave settled after the end of the Civil War. Pat Jarrett/Virginia HumanitiesSights & Sounds
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Corey Harris & Lamont Jack Pearley

Through our 2023–2024 Folklife Apprenticeship Program, self-taught guitarist Lamont Jack Pearley has spent the last year apprenticing the fundamentals of Piedmont-style blues with Corey Harris of Charlottesville.

Danny Knicely is Willie Marschner the tradition of old time fiddling and improvisation.Sights & Sounds
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Danny Knicely & Willie Marschner 

Multi-instrumentalist Danny Knicely of Taylorstown is apprenticing Willie Marschner in the tradition of old time fiddling and improvisation.

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Kily Vializ y Maurice “Tito” Sanabria (Español)

Después de descubrir la música de Kily Vializ, Tito Sanabria de Richmond decidió acercarse al artista para ver si estaría dispuesto a enseñarle más sobre la plena Mayagüezana.

Kily Vializ and Maurice “Tito” Sanabria hold their drumsSights & Sounds
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Kily Vializ & Maurice “Tito” Sanabria

After discovering Kily Vializ’s music, Tito Sanabria of Richmond decided to reach out to the artist to see if he would be open to teaching him more about plena Mayagüezana (Mayagüez-style plena).

Gourd banjo maker Dr. Dena Jennings, right, is teaching Samaria Marley the craft of building gourd instruments. Photos made at DenaÕs farm in Nasons, Virginia on 4/17/24. Pat Jarrett/Virginia HumanitiesSights & Sounds
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Dena Jennings & Samaria Marley 

Dena Jennings and her apprentice Samaria Marley have much more in common than their interest in building gourd banjos.

Storyteller Fred Motley has always had a clear vision of his life, he wanted to be a Griot, or community storyteller. He is apprenticing Karen Williamson of nearby Caswell County, North Carolina in the craft. The pair were photographed at the Danville Museum of Fine Art and History on 5/13/24. Pat Jarrett/Virginia HumanitiesSights & Sounds
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Fred Motley & Karen Williamson

This 2023–2024 Folklife Apprenticeship duo shares a love for collecting stories from people in their community and preserving them for posterity. 

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Documenting a Critical Moment on Virginia’s Eastern Shore

Two years into a multi-institutional collaboration documenting changes in communities, climate, and foodways on the Eastern Shore, our project team recently completed 26 interviews with 30 residents.

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All in the Family: Legends of Grayson Old-Time Weekend

The third Legends of Grayson Old-Time Weekend filled Independence, Virginia’s historic 1908 courthouse with music and memories this past weekend.

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Nelly Zapata & Paloma Zapata

The Beauty of Bolivian Dance A line of dancers wearing gold and red move in step, the tassels and beads of their costumes shaking. Black shields on their chests are …

latina woman harvesting grape vines, partially obscured by leaves and grapesSights & Sounds
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The Work of Virginia Winemaking

Folklorist Kim D. Stryker shares a project documenting the labor behind Virginia’s growing wine industry.

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Remembering Roni Stoneman

Roni Stoneman performs at the Whitetop Mountain Ramp Festival in 2005. Jon Lohman remembers her ability to give joy.