8/11/2021
New to this year’s festival, the BRIM is offering a $5 discount for every festival ticket pre-sold online. Purchase tickets online here. If bought in-person on the day of the festival, tickets are $15 each.
With food, music, and crafts, and events like horse pulls, mule jumps, and coon dog races, the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival has been called “thoroughly authentic” by the New York Times. It’s also a major venue on the Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail. See photos from 2019’s Folklife Festival here.
The BRIM also invites patrons to become “Friends of the BRIM.” Members get exclusive benefits like free tickets to the Folklife Festival, free admission to the Farm Museum, discounts on workshops and gift shop items, and more. Click here to become a member.
7/11/2021
Homeschoolers’ Day Camp, 2017.
The Blue Ridge Institute and Museum (BRIM) of Ferrum College is pleased to announce a new membership initiative, called “Friends of the BRIM.”
“This is our first ever membership campaign,” said BRIM Director Bethany Worley. “These membership opportunities are an exciting part of the BRIM’s future. This is a great way for us to share what we do—which is documenting the rich cultural heritage of the Blue Ridge region and bringing it to life for all generations. We look forward to connecting with our special ‘Friends of the BRIM’ and offering unique opportunities just for them.”
The initiative encompasses four membership packages with various perks:
Moonshiner Membership is $30 per year ($25 for senior citizens) and includes free admission to the Blue Ridge Farm Museum for the year along with two single-use guest passes, discounts on workshops and gift shop items, access to exhibit previews and members-only events, and more.
Homestead Membership may be purchased for $60 per year and includes free admission to the Farm Museum for two adults and two children, four single-use guest passes, discounts on workshops and gift shop items, access to exhibit previews and members-only events, and more.
Folklorist Membership is $150 per year and includes the same perks as the Moonshiner and Homestead tiers, with additional discounts on workshops and gift shop items, an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour, two free tickets to the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival, and more.
Mountaineer Membership is the highest tier and costs $500 per year. These members will receive free admission to the farm museum for four visitors, four single-use guest passes, discounts on workshops and gift shop items, a behind-the-scenes tour for up to eight people, access to exhibit previews and members-only events, four free Folklife Festival tickets, Folklife Festival t-shits, and an exclusive parking pass for the Festival.
“Friends of the BRIM” memberships will become available for purchase on July 13, 2021 and beyond, on the BRIM’s online gift shop site. Click here to visit and become a member.
Additionally, the BRIM is offering a $5 discount to those who purchase tickets for this year’s Folklife Festival, scheduled for October 23, through its online gift shop site. Tickets will go on sale online on July 16, 2021. Click here to buy them. More information about this year’s Festival will be available soon!
Learn more about the BRIM here.
Always the fourth Saturday in October, the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival features authentic regional folk music, craftspeople, draft horse and dog handlers, car builders, tractor restorers, country cooks, moonshine tale tellers and much more! Called “thoroughly authentic” by The New York Times, the festival is coordinated by the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum at Ferrum College and is a major venue on the Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail.
Order advance tickets by calling (540) 365-4412. Visit here to learn more, view a schedule of events and ticket packages, or register a car for the car show.
Learn more about the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum here.
Special this year at the Blue Ridge Folklife are four music showcase workshops exploring the diversity of the region’s musical heritage. “A Buffet of Banjo Styles” will highlight various playing styles heard in central and western Virginia. “Songs I Learned at Home” will follow the family roots of area ballad singers. “The Music of the Legendary Carter Family Lives On” presents the artistry of A. P. Carter’s grandson and his longtime friend. “African American Gospel in the Blue Ridge” presents four distinctive styles of black voices in praise.
Other Blue Ridge Folklife Festival highlights include:
Held rain or shine, the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival is a one-of-a-kind event and a full day of family entertainment.
Priced with the family in mind, admission is: Adults–$10; Youth (6-15)–$5; and Senior Citizens (60 and over)–$5. Advance tickets can be purchased by check or credit card at 540-365-4412. Parking is free.
For more information visit www.blueridgefolklifefestival.org, email bri@ferrum.edu, or call 540-365-4412.
Ferrum, Va. (Oct. 11, 2016) – There is only one place to eat a homemade fried apple pie, watch coon dogs in a cross-pond race, and hear a national guitar flatpicker, all at the same time. On Saturday, October 22nd, the annual Blue Ridge Folklife Festival will bring together on the Ferrum College campus dozens of regional living-heritage treasures—country cooks, craftspeople, musicians, moonshine tale tellers, draft horse and dog handlers, car builders, tractor restorers, and much more. The result is a full day of unforgettable family-friendly entertainment.
The Blue Ridge Folklife Festival is a treat for all the senses. Draft horses pound the ground in log skidding and weight pulling contests. Sheep dogs drive their flocks to whistled commands. Coon hounds bark and bay in treeing contests and water races. The BRFF also features the state championship coon mule jumping contest, harkening back to the days when hunters pursued raccoons on “muleback” at night.
Music pours continuously from three festival music stages offering 21 hours of fiddle-and-banjo tunes, bluegrass, gospel, country blues, ballads, and sentimental mountain songs. Three special workshops highlight Blue Ridge guitar styles, family band traditions, and the songs of Southwest Virginia’s legendary singing school master, L. V. Jones. For foot-tappers, old-time dance string bands and bluegrass pickers abound at the BRFF.
For those whose preferred “music” is the rumble of burning gasoline and the hiss of steam, the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival attracts over 250 custom and restored vehicles and scores of tractors and hit-and-miss engines. With flywheels spinning, antique massive power machinery demonstrates rock crushing, threshing, and hay baling.
The BRFF showcases over 50 regional craftspeople demonstrating the heritage hand skills they learned in their families and communities. Shoppers find a host of traditional craft items not found at craft shows, including hand-split oak baskets, lye soap, and musical instruments. On the moonshine stage old moonshiners and revenuers swap tales of their exploits years ago, while children run and laugh in the folk games area. Then there’s the food—20 old-time country foods to please any taste.
“Our festival presents the living heritage of the Blue Ridge,” said BRFF director Roddy Moore. “These talented people are true regional treasures.”
Held rain or shine, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., on the Ferrum College campus, the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival is a one-of-a-kind experience. Priced with the family in mind, admission is: Adults–$10; Youth (6-15)–$5; and Senior Citizens (60 and over)–$5. Advance tickets can be purchased by check or credit card at 540-365-4412. Parking is free.
For more information, visit www.blueridgefolklifefestival.org, email bri@ferrum.edu, or call 540-365-4412.
