Support the West Virginia Folklife Program and get a special edition Mothman pin.
Become a Council GEM by joining the Give Every Month program at a monthly level of $5 or more, and receive a specially-designed Mothman pin touting the Council’s West Virginia Folklife Program. Designed exclusively for Council GEMs by Morgantown artist Liz Pavlovic, this enamel pin measures 2” by 2-1/2”, and features the familiar red-eyed visage of one of the Mountain State’s most infamous visitors embracing the West Virginia Folklife Program’s official logo.
What does a GEM membership support?
• The preservation and documentation of West Virginia’s vibrant cultural heritage and living traditions through the West Virginia Folklife Program Educational projects and programs like the Smithsonian Institution exhibit Crossroads: Change in Rural America, which will travel to seven West Virginia communities from August 2021 to June 2022.
• e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia, available online at www.wvencyclopedia.org
• The popular History Alive! program, featuring scholars from around the state who portray historical figures at local venues including museums, schools, libraries, community centers, and fairs and festivals.
Sign up at wvfolklife.org/mothman/ to get a pin and help support Humanities Council grants and programs, serving tens of thousands of West Virginians in the state, every day of the year.
This month, The West Virginia Folklife Virtual Apprenticeship Showcase will feature Seed Saving and Related Storytelling on Friday, Nov. 5, 1-2 p.m. via Zoom.
Join in for a virtual showcase featuring apprenticeship pair in seed saving and related storytelling with Mehmet Oztan of Reedsville and Lafayette Dexter of Fayetteville. The event is free and open to the public, but attendees should register in advance.
Mehmet Oztan is the founder of the Morgantown Seed Preservation Library and owner of the Preston County-based heirloom seed company Two Seeds in a Pod, which focuses on preserving Turkish, West Virginia, and Appalachian heirloom seeds. He has been invited to speak about his work at local and national seed swaps. Lafayette Dexter facilitates a community garden project at New Roots Community Farm in Fayette County and plans to eventually include seed saving in his market garden educational programming.
The West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program, which is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, offers a stipend to West Virginia master traditional artists or tradition bearers working with qualified apprentices on a year-long in-depth apprenticeship in their cultural expression or traditional art form. These apprenticeships aim to facilitate the transmission of techniques and artistry of the forms, as well as their histories and traditions. This marks the second year of the biennial Folklife Apprenticeship Program.
For more information on the event contact Tricia Stringer at stringer@wvhumanities.org or (304)346-8500 or visit folklife.org.
The West Virginia Humanities Council documents, sustains, and shares West Virginia’s rich history and living cultural traditions through the kindness and generosity of friends and supporters who want to tell the real stories of the beloved Mountain State. Now when you contribute to that good work, you can sport a piece of classic West Virginia folklore.
The West Virginia Folklife Program, a project of the West Virginia Humanities Council, works to document, sustain, present, and support West Virginia’s vibrant cultural heritage and living traditions. West Virginia Folklife is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Folk & Traditional Arts Program. The West Virginia Folklife Program employs West Virginia’s first state folklorist to carry out this work.
Often defined as the “art of everyday life,” folklife refers to art and culture that is based in and reflective of traditional knowledge and connection to community.
West Virginia Folklife projects include:
• Documentation of traditional artists, tradition bearers, and cultural communities for the West Virginia Folklife Program Collection, housed at WVU Libraries.
• The West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program, offering a stipend to West Virginia master traditional artists/practitioners working with newer practitioners to facilitate the transmission of their respective forms and traditions.
• The Legends & Lore Roadside Marker Program, a partnership with The William G. Pomeroy Foundation, commemorating folklore and cultural heritage across the Mountain State.
• Public interest meetings, classes, concerts, and oral history workshops in communities across the state
• Toll-free West Virginia Folklife Hotline 1-844-618-3747 where the public can share tips on community traditions.
• Publication and media about work, including a regular column in Goldenseal magazine and a partnership with West Virginia Public Broadcasting.
Visit the home page or contact state folklorist Emily Hilliard at 304-346-8500 or hilliard@wvhumanities.org for further information.
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