LEWISBURG (WVDN) – Carnegie Hall’s Spring 2023 Spring Classes and Workshops series offers a wide range of learning opportunities that enlighten and inspire students of all ages. These unique learning opportunities are taught primarily in small group settings. The Spring 2023 Classes and Workshops options are now available, and the Appalachian Heritage Series features nationally recognized teaching artists Mike Costello, Amy Dawson, Genevieve Bardwell and Susan Ray Brown.
The Appalachian Heritage Series is designed to introduce new students to old traditions by experiencing a hands-on opportunity to learn about Appalachian arts and crafts. Students learn to keep Appalachian roots alive by learning through the arts.
On Saturday, March 25, from 9-11 a.m., instructors Genevieve Bardwell and Susan Ray Brown, with special guest Eleanor Marshall, teach students the traditions of baking salt rising bread. Class size is limited, and students must be 16 years of age.
Join the class for a taste of nostalgia with master baker Bardwell as she shows how to make salt rising bread, using the same three-step process that has been passed down through West Virginian families for centuries. Bardwell will share historical research that reveals how the Appalachian women were ingenious in their use of natural leavening methods to raise biscuits, gingerbread and salt rising bread. The class includes hands-on instruction of salt rising bread and sourdough bread. Attendees will leave with warm loaves of salt risin’ and an authentic sourdough starter.
After the workshop, Carnegie Hall presents a free lecture by Bardwell and Brown on Saturday, March 25, at 11:30 a.m. Admission is free, but registration is required. Space is limited, so register early.
Lost Creek Farm’s Mike Costello and Amy Dawson will lead a 2-day class of traditional sausage making on Friday, April 14, from 6-9 p.m., and Saturday, April 15, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Automatic scholarships are available for Greenbrier County students over 50 years of age who will pay a reduced amount. Class size is limited, and students must be at least 16 years of age to participate.
Focusing on heritage sausage recipes from the Spanish and Italian communities of north-central West Virginia, as well as recipes and techniques from their own families, the course will include storytelling, recipe instruction and hands-on learning. Students will make at least three types of sausage, which will be sampled and taken home after class. The first day will cover basic butchery, an introduction to the cultural significance of various sausage traditions, portioning, grinding and seasoning. The second day will include stuffing and finishing linked sausages, smoking Spanish sausages and canning Dawson’s family’s traditional sausage.
Named 2022 James Beard Award semifinalists in the category of Best Chef, Southeast! and featured on Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown and in The New York Times, Lost Creek Farm offers a unique take on mountain cuisine, defined by story-rich recipes, time-honored techniques and newly emerging regional traditions. Operated by Costello and Dawson and located in the rolling hills of Harrison County, Lost Creek Farm hosts culinary events and workshops around West Virginia and the eastern United States. The Farm and Forage Supper Club, Lost Creek Farm’s signature dinner series, offers guests an unparalleled on-farm experience, as dozens of Appalachian heirloom crops from the garden make their way to the dinner table, only several feet away.
