FSU Appalachian Festival Symposium
Friday September 20, 2024
Home in Appalachia
FSU’s Upper Quad, Behind Old Main
Free On-Campus Parking in Upper Lots
1 PM Creating Home in Appalachia, Showcasing Native Culture, History and Art
The Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area (AFNHA) is currently hosting a series of “Indigenous Voices in Appalachia” as programming for its 2024 exhibit “Creating Home: Indigenous Roots and Connections in the Appalachian Forest.” This program seeks to engage with citizens of Native Nations whose homelands and connections include the regions where AFNHA now operates, including the Haudenosaunee, the Shawnee, the Lenape, the Cherokee, the Monacans and the Wyandot. The “Indigenous Voices in Appalachia” programming offers opportunities to the public and partner organizations to better understand and share stories that acknowledge and honor the Indigenous Peoples with ties to this region, and to share their culture and experiences today. These events coincide with a museum exhibit, “Creating Home in Appalachia, Indigenous Voices,” housed at the Appalachian Forest Discovery Museum. The events have featured different artisans and presenters every month from various tribal backgrounds and will continue through October. In November, a roundtable discussion of “Ways of Knowing” will be held at Davis and Elkins College in Elkins, W.Va.
Larry Jent is the associate director of the AFNHA, covering 18 counties in the highlands of West Virginia and Maryland. He has worked as a community organizer, teacher, musician, storyteller, pastor and Native American advocate. His work has taken him from the banks of the Mississippi to the Bay of Alaska, Carolina’s red-clay tobacco fields and deep into the Appalachian Highlands. Along the way he has collected a wealth of stories and anecdotes – Appalachian, Native American and more.
2 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!.
3 PM The House on Jonathan Street
Join producers, creators and community researchers who contributed to “The House on Jonathan Street” documentary as they show clips and discuss the significance of this project for Western Maryland. “The House on Jonathan Street” is a one-hour documentary that uses the accidental discovery of the significant history of a modest dwelling on a traditionally African American street in Hagerstown, Md., to trace the roots of Middle America’s racial, economic and social interactions. Through the lens of this house, the rise and fall of the African American community in small rust-belt towns and cities across America are told.
4 PM Leveraging the Outdoor Economy
In Maryland, Allegany and Garrett counties are embracing their outdoor adventure assets to attract entrepreneurs, manufacturers and investment through the Make it! In the Mountains program. Join Ashli Workman, director of Tourism for Allegany County, to learn more about how the area’s mountainous terrain provides outdoor adventure opportunities that can assist in reviving the region’s economy.
5 PM “Wherever Rivers Flow” Revisited
Eleven years ago, the duo Magpie joined forces with filmmaker Mike Snyder of Independent Pictures (interdependentpictures.org) to create a video for the original song, “Wherever Rivers Flow.” The songwriting project was part of a larger regional project, “One Vision/Many Voices,” which encouraged area residents to consider the question, “What do we most value in the region and how can we retain those values while moving toward a more sustainable future?” Outcomes of the project included two large quilts and the song and video featuring young voices from the region. This reunion session invites those students, now grown, to share their experiences of Appalachia.
6 PM FREE Dinner on the Grounds With Magpie Performance
With a career that has spanned more than 40 years, Magpie has traveled the globe, bringing its unique sound and breathtaking versatility to audiences everywhere. From traditional songs to vintage blues, swing and country to folk classics to contemporary and stirring original compositions, they cover a lot of musical ground. With their powerful voices and harmonies and their excellent instrumental arrangements on guitars, mandolin, harmonica, dulcimer and concertina, their sound is much bigger than just two people. Award-winning recording artists, songwriters, musical historians and social activists, Terry Leonino and Greg Artzner always promise a presentation that is highly entertaining as well as provocative and deeply moving.
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