Explorations & Jam Tent

Explorations Tent

11 AM Species of the Allegheny Front Story Jam

The Nature Conservancy

How well do you know your neighbors? Join this session to meet some of the other-than-human neighbors who live alongside us here in the Appalachians. A brief presentation will leave plenty of time for participants to swap stories of your own experiences with fish, wildlife, insects, plants, birds, and even fungi who share our mountain home.

12 PM Romani in Appalachia, Glenda Bailey-Mershon

Glenda Bailey-Mershon’s work has been described as transcendent. Her latest book, Weaver’s Knot: Poems, includes poems that explore the world of textile workers, the poet’s mixed ancestry community in Appalachia, and even string theory as grounds for connections of kinship, motherhood, romance, and land. A former bobbin threader, bartender, bookseller, small press owner, and university administrator, she grew up at the foot of the Blue Ridge mountains, among a family of mixed Romani, Cherokee, Catawba, Scottish, Welsh, and English heritage.
Bailey-Mershon edits the literary e-newsletter, The Inspiration Shelf, and a popular blog, Weaver’s Knot. Her events are often multimedia. She is known for singing and dancing to exemplify poetic meter and rhyme, and audience members are welcome to join in––They frequently do!

1 PM Brownsville Project Community Updates

Clory Jackson will share updates on the Brownsville Project, a Citizen Research Project launched several years ago to recognize and document the Frostburg’s historic Brownsville/Park Place Community, an African American Community that was displaced by the expansion of Frostburg College (FSU). This talk will discuss the theme of reparations and the public art project being done in tandem with FrostburgFirst.

2 PM Folkways and Traditions of Plant Medicine in Appalachia

Andrea Koutras Lay With the Nettle Patch

The Appalachian region is rich in botanical diversity and resources and has a rich history of using wild plants for food, health and healing. Samples of a variety of local medicinal plants will be shared, as well as identification and growing tips, and the concept of “medicine of place” will be discussed. The session will also include a demonstration of making herbal teas and other extracts.

3 PM At Home with Chautauqua: How a Local Victorian Festival Is Inspiring Western Maryland to Learn and Engage Together, Dr. Elesha Ruminski

This presentation will discuss the historical Chautauqua movement and its recent local revival through the Victorian Chautauqua Festival held in Garrett County each July. The story of Julia Walker Ruhl, a West Virginian suffragist leader and civic organizer who traveled to Mountain Lake Park, Maryland's Chautauqua each summer, will be shared as part of this history. The Chautauqua vision has been recognized as having the potential to mobilize new forms of continuous learning and civic education for adults in rural areas who have less access to or interest in formal higher education. Discussion will be invited.

Dr. Elesha L. Ruminski is a professor of Strategic Communication and coordinator of Leadership Studies at Frostburg State University. She also chairs FSU’s Department of Communication and coordinates the Communication Leadership Lab.

4 PM The Bone Cave

Adam Lewis of Frostburg State University’s geography department will speak about Bone Cave, a treasure trove of fossils from the Pleistocene era, some dating back 200,000 years, located just west of Cumberland.

Jam Tent

Bring your instruments! The Jam Tent will be open throughout the day! Grab a few musicians and sit and jam, or check out a dedicated workshop.

11 AM- 1:30 PM: Open Jam

1:30 pm-2:30 PM: Workshop: The Hammered Dulcimer with Walt Michael

From Appalachia to Scotland and Back Home, this workshop features Walt’s wide hammered dulcimer ensemble repertoire including Appalachian and Celtic tunes and his original compositions, including “Snowblind,” featured in the Closing Ceremonies of the Lake Placid Winter Olympics.

2:40 PM-4:00 PM: Don DePoy & Martha Hills- Bluegrass Jam