Ferrum College News - Blue Ridge Folklife Festival Set for October 27th, 2007

     The Ferrum College campus will once again come alive with folk artists and artisans from all around the region in a celebration of Blue Ridge heritage during the 34th Blue Ridge Folklife Festival, October 27, 2007. The historic festival is held from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the Ferrum College campus in Ferrum, Virginia. A major venue on the Crooked Road Music Trail, the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival is a family event like no other. It is “Virginia’s largest celebration of authentic regional traditions,” bringing together musicians and moonshiners, craftspeople and cooks, hot rodders and horse handlers – all of whom have kept family, community, and regional traditions as a way of life.

     “This is the premiere showcase of 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. The New York Times has called the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival "thoroughly authentic."

     Nearly 50 artisans will be present to demonstrate traditional hand skills from tatting to blacksmithing and to sell their wares. Other exhibits include the 19th annual Mountain Comforts Quilt Show, where over 100 quilts were entered for judging in last year’s contest. Horse pulls, coon dog contests, sheep herding, oxen driving and the Virginia State Championship Mule Jumping Contest are just a few of the varied and colorful events that will be going on throughout the day.

     One of the highlights this year will be the “Music of the Coal Miners” Workshop, showcasing songs from the coalfields of western Virginia about the mining life. Featured musicians will include a range of musical styles that the Blue Ridge is known for, from Boo Hanks and his old-time Piedmont blues to the Allen Boys with their “sacred steel” style of praise. String bands, bluegrass bands, ballad singers, even a rockabilly piano player will all be performing on three music stages.

     For those who enjoy a good tale, the festival storytelling stage will showcase retired moonshiners and revenuers swapping memories of their cat-and-mouse games, stock car racers telling of the old days on Virginia oval tracks, and Jerry Harmon spinning the Jack Tales from his part of the Blue Ridge. When hunger strikes, visitors can delight in nearly two dozen old-time Blue Ridge foods.

     Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children (ages 6- 16) and senior citizens. The Blue Ridge Folklife Festival is located on Route 40, 10 miles west of Rocky Mount, VA.
For more information contact the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum at (540) 365-4416 or visit www.blueridgeinstitute.org

    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 27th, 2007
For immediate release: September 13, 2007	Contact: Roddy Moore (540) 365-4415 rmooore@ferrum.edu
The Ferrum College campus will once again come alive with folk artists and artisans from all around the region in a celebration of Blue Ridge heritage during the 34th Blue Ridge Folklife Festival, October 27, 2007. The historic festival is held from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the Ferrum College campus in Ferrum, Virginia. A major venue on the Crooked Road Music Trail, the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival is a family event like no other. It is “Virginia’s largest celebration of authentic regional traditions,” bringing together musicians and moonshiners, craftspeople and cooks, hot rodders and horse handlers – all of whom have kept family, community, and regional traditions as a way of life. “This is the premiere showcase of 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. The New York Times has called the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival "thoroughly authentic." Nearly 50 artisans will be present to demonstrate traditional hand skills from tatting to blacksmithing and to sell their wares. Other exhibits include the 19th annual Mountain Comforts Quilt Show, where over 100 quilts were entered for judging in last year’s contest. Horse pulls, coon dog contests, sheep herding, oxen driving and the Virginia State Championship Mule Jumping Contest are just a few of the varied and colorful events that will be going on throughout the day. One of the highlights this year will be the “Music of the Coal Miners” Workshop, showcasing songs from the coalfields of western Virginia about the mining life. Featured musicians will include a range of musical styles that the Blue Ridge is known for, from Boo Hanks and his old-time Piedmont blues to the Allen Boys with their “sacred steel” style of praise. String bands, bluegrass bands, ballad singers, even a rockabilly piano player will all be performing on three music stages. For those who enjoy a good tale, the festival storytelling stage will showcase retired moonshiners and revenuers swapping memories of their cat-and-mouse games, stock car racers telling of the old days on Virginia oval tracks, and Jerry Harmon spinning the Jack Tales from his part of the Blue Ridge. When hunger strikes, visitors can delight in nearly two dozen old-time Blue Ridge foods. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children (ages 6- 16) and senior citizens. The Blue Ridge Folklife Festival is located on Route 40, 10 miles west of Rocky Mount, VA. For more information contact the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum at (540) 365-4416 or visit www.blueridgeinstitute.org 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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