Ferrum College - The Ferrum Newsstand

    For the 33rd time the Ferrum College campus will be transformed into an exciting place of folk traditions, music, food, and fun. From 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 28th, 2006, the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival will be held in Ferrum, VA. The New York Times calls the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival "thoroughly authentic," and the Southeast Tourism Society has twice named the event one of the “Top Twenty Events in the Southeast”.
Festival visitors delight in an unmatched presentation of old-time customs and competitions. The Institute chooses participants for their authenticity, making the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival Virginia's largest showcase of regional traditions.

     Performers on multiple stages entertain listeners with the rich balladry, blues, gospel singing, and string band music for which the Blue Ridge is so well known. This year’s festival will also feature tales of local moonshine production and culture to tie in with the Blue Ridge Institute’s acclaimed White Liquor, Blue Ridge Style exhibit. Dozens of folk artisans demonstrate their hand skills and sell crafts of home and farm, and antique and contemporary quilts are displayed in the Mountain Comforts Quilt Show. Hungry visitors sample dozens of regional old-time foods--no hot dogs or hamburgers here!

     Restored automobiles and farm machines on display tell of the merging of Blue Ridge folk culture and industrial technology through the past century, while the festival horse pull and coon dog competitions highlight the ongoing skills of working animals and their handlers. For three decades the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival has been an entertaining and educational introduction to local folkways and the remarkable people who carry on those traditions.

     “Folkways are a fascinating part of our heritage, and like no other event, we showcase a variety of the old-time traditions that are still a part of Virginia’s rural lifestyle,” said Roddy Moore, Director of Ferrum College’s Blue Ridge Institute & Museum, the official State Center for Blue Ridge Folklore.

     Admission to the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival is $9 for adults and $8 for children and senior citizens. For additional information, contact the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum at (540) 365-4416. Visit the festival website here: http://www.blueridgeinstitute.org/festivals.htm.

     Available again this year is the webcam that will feature a view of the dog races and festivities. The webcam can be accessed here: http://www.ferrum.edu/watershed/webcambod.htm.

     The Blue Ridge Institute and Museum is located on Route 40, 10 miles west of Rocky Mount, Va. Dedicated to preserving the heritage of and educating people about Blue Ridge culture and traditions, it is also The State Center for Blue Ridge Folklore.

    Ferrum College is a four-year, private, co-educational, liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Ferrum offers a choice of nationally recognized bachelor’s degree programs at a cost well below the national average for private colleges. For more information on Ferrum, visit www.ferrum.edu.

Blue Ridge Folklife Festival Set for October 28th, 2006
For immediate release: September 18, 2006	Contact: Dean Browell, (540) 365-4301, dbrowell@ferrum.edu
For the 33rd time the Ferrum College campus will be transformed into an exciting place of folk traditions, music, food, and fun. From 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 28th, 2006, the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival will be held in Ferrum, VA. The New York Times calls the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival "thoroughly authentic," and the Southeast Tourism Society has twice named the event one of the “Top Twenty Events in the Southeast”. Festival visitors delight in an unmatched presentation of old-time customs and competitions. The Institute chooses participants for their authenticity, making the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival Virginia's largest showcase of regional traditions. Performers on multiple stages entertain listeners with the rich balladry, blues, gospel singing, and string band music for which the Blue Ridge is so well known. This year’s festival will also feature tales of local moonshine production and culture to tie in with the Blue Ridge Institute’s acclaimed White Liquor, Blue Ridge Style exhibit. Dozens of folk artisans demonstrate their hand skills and sell crafts of home and farm, and antique and contemporary quilts are displayed in the Mountain Comforts Quilt Show. Hungry visitors sample dozens of regional old-time foods--no hot dogs or hamburgers here! Restored automobiles and farm machines on display tell of the merging of Blue Ridge folk culture and industrial technology through the past century, while the festival horse pull and coon dog competitions highlight the ongoing skills of working animals and their handlers. For three decades the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival has been an entertaining and educational introduction to local folkways and the remarkable people who carry on those traditions. “Folkways are a fascinating part of our heritage, and like no other event, we showcase a variety of the old-time traditions that are still a part of Virginia’s rural lifestyle,” said Roddy Moore, Director of Ferrum College’s Blue Ridge Institute & Museum, the official State Center for Blue Ridge Folklore. Admission to the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival is $9 for adults and $8 for children and senior citizens. For additional information, contact the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum at (540) 365-4416. Visit the festival website here: http://www.blueridgeinstitute.org/festivals.htm. Available again this year is the webcam that will feature a view of the dog races and festivities. The webcam can be accessed here: http://www.ferrum.edu/watershed/webcambod.htm. The Blue Ridge Institute and Museum is located on Route 40, 10 miles west of Rocky Mount, Va. Dedicated to preserving the heritage of and educating people about Blue Ridge culture and traditions, it is also The State Center for Blue Ridge Folklore. Ferrum College is a four-year, private, co-educational, liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Ferrum offers a choice of nationally recognized bachelor’s degree programs at a cost well below the national average for private colleges. For more information on Ferrum, visit www.ferrum.edu.
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