Sights & SoundsLinda Skeens’s ‘Blue Ribbon Kitchen’
This year, Linda Skeens of Russell County returned to the VA-KY Fair with a new book in tow: “Blue Ribbon Kitchen: Recipes and Tips from America’s Favorite County Fair Champion.”
Sights & Soundsgeonovah: Big Stone Rap
Hip-hop artist Geonoah Davis was born and raised in Big Stone Gap, and he is making it his mission to build a supportive community for artists like him—artists that do not fall into stereotypical Appalachian categories.
Sights & SoundsBetty Vornbrock & Sharon Andreucci
Betty Vornbrock of Hillsville has spent the last year teaching Sharon Andreucci of Galax old-time fiddle tunes—particularly repertoire played by Appalachian women.
Sights & SoundsTrapping Black Bears in the Great Dismal Swamp
PhD Candidate Perri Meldon shares her research into the cultural and ecological histories of Virginia’s Great Dismal Swamp.
Sights & SoundsListen: Wytheville Community College Jamboree
Listen to two sets from Wytheville Community College’s Bluegrass and Old-Time Jamboree, and enjoy a tall tale by Thornton Spencer.
Sights & SoundsBernadette “B.J.” Lark and Alanjha Harris
As a mentor artist in our Apprenticeship Program, B.J. Lark of Roanoke, Virginia, has spent the last year teaching 18-year-old Alanjha Harris the soul-stirring power of Gullah Geechee-style gospel singing.
Sights & SoundsKazem Davoudian & Alexander Sabet
Kazem Davoudian of Sterling, VA, is an experienced Ostad (master artist, in Farsi) of Iranian classical music. He is teaching Alexander Sabet of Washington, DC, how to play the tar, a traditional long-necked string instrument.
Sights & SoundsHome Is the Sound of Rivers and Crooked Roads
Elsa Howell, who is learning the art of Appalachian ballad singing through our Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program, reflects on the important role music plays in her culture and community.
Sights & SoundsJoshua Purnell & Tom Norris
For dancer Joshua Purnell and his apprentice Tom Norris, blues dancing is a means to build and maintain community in their hometown of Norfolk.
Sights & SoundsRaceway Ministries Continues Serving Race Fans
Founded in 1992, Bristol Raceway Ministries is a church-led effort to organize services for spectators at the Bristol Motor Speedway. “We get to experience every aspect of life here at the track,” says volunteer Bobby Branch.
Sights & SoundsWhere Our Roots Meet: Concert Release
Earlier this year, following International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a crowd gathered in Fairfax for an evening of Sephardic music from the Balkans, led by Trio Sefardi and the Elias Ladino Ensemble.
Sights & SoundsForging Connections with Bristol’s Tyler Hughes
Old-time musician Tyler Hughes is now co-managing a new funding opportunity for traditional arts in and around Bristol. “People in the Appalachian region deserve to have the fullest life that they can achieve,” he says.
Sights & SoundsSephardic Music Traditions In Virginia — Folklife Fieldnotes Episode 13
Pat Jarrett explores the legacies and changes in Sephardic music traditions by sharing recordings of Flory Jagoda, Susan Gaeta and Gina Sobel on their new work with Minnush, and an interview with Zack Youcha, organizer of the “Where Our Roots Meet” concert.
Sights & SoundsElizabeth LaPrelle & Elsa Howell
Elsa Howell first met Elizabeth LaPrelle, an accomplished ballad singer, banjo player, and crankie maker, as an eight-year-old.
