12-26-2007 to
1-1-2008

Christmas Country Dance School, Berea College
Directed by Joe Tarter
Devoted to the practice and enjoyment of authentic folk material, this famous school, which goes back to 1938, helps everyone find usable materials for recreation programs, teaching situations or personal benefit, and has continued to produce fresh generations of young teachers. You can participate in a variety of classes, including folk drama and storytelling, as well as dance itself; newcomers receive special attention. If you’re interested, act now—registration with deposit is due by November 1. To find out more, call (859) 985-3431; e-mail: ccds@berea.edu.

1-3-2007 to
1-5-2008

New Year’s Bluegrass Festival

Jekyll Island, GA; www.aandabluegrass.com; 706/864-7203.

1-6-2008 to
1-25-2008

Folk School
At the John C. Campbell Folk School, they like to say that all weeks are special, but some may be a bit more special than others, and January offers willing learners a remarkable range of special instruction weeks. Designed for persons with advanced skills who wish to advance still further, the classes are taught by eminent instructors and offer such specialties as the making of sensual jewelry, the American forged knife, a Stickley style bookcase, animal sculptures in iron, sgraffito, and various other curious objects and items. For full details about the school, write One Folk School Road, Brasstown, NC 28902, phone 800/folksch, or visit www.folkschool.org.

2-3-2008 to
2-23-2008

Winter session, New Opportunity School for Women
Berea, Ky

Successful applicants (up to 14 per session) to this popular program for low-income women 30-55 spend three weeks learning about jobs and how to get them, and also about themselves and what they can do. The school offers career counseling throughout the year and also puts on a number of workshops that are open to anybody; the school has now produced more than 500 graduates. There’s no tuition fee, and room and meals are provided as well. Note that the deadline for applications is December 14. You may apply if you’re a high school graduate or have a GED certificate or are actively working on a GED.For full information, contact Kim Short, executive director of the school, at 204 Chestnut Street, Berea, Ky. 40403, or phone (859) 985-7200; www.nosw.org.

There’s now an additional New Opportunity School for Women—at Lees-McRae College, Banner Elk, NC. For information, check out www.lmc.edu/NOSW, or phone 828/898-8905.

2-8-2008
7:00pm

Morristown in the Air and Sun
Phelps Stokes Chapel, Berea College, cosponsored by the Center for Excellence in Learning Through Service (CELTS) and the International Center. The film illustrates the global forces that cause factory closures in East Tennessee and migrants from such places as southern Mexico to come to the United States. for economic survival. Filmmaker Anne Lewis and migration attorney and activist Fran Ansley will be on hand for discussion. The program begins at 7:00 p.m. For more information, call 859/985-3257

2-17-2008 to
2-18-2008

5th Annual Appalachian Culture Fest

Cincinnati, co-sponsored by the Appalachian Community Development Association and the Cincinnati Museum Center: crafts, music, storytelling, dance and traditional arts. This event takes place in the Union Terminal, 1301 Western Avenue, an architectural wonder with Art Deco splendors that make it richly worth visiting even when it’s not housing a culture festival. To participate, or to find out more, call 800/733-2077 or 513/251-3378; or write the sponsoring association at P.O. Box 141099, Cincinnati, Ohio 45250.

3-8-2008 to
3-9-2008

Kentucky Crafted: The Market

A wholesale-retail show for the general public and trade buyers (who can come on March 6-7 for their own trade days) with more than 300 exhibitors of traditional, folk, and contemporary crafts, two-dimensional visual art, musical recordings, books, videos, and food products, along with live entertainment and craft activities for children 4-12. The show takes place at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center (still in South Wing B), located just minutes from the Louisville International Airport. Sponsored by the Kentucky Craft Marketing Program, a state agency, the market serves as a major sales outlet for Kentucky businesses, generating $2-3 million in annual sales. Call 888/592-7238 or 502/564-3757, ext. 4801; e-mail: kyarts@ky.gov.

3-28-2008 to
3-30-2008

30th Anniversary Appalachian Studies Conference

Marshall University, Huntington, WV. Taking up the theme “The Road Ahead: The Next Thirty Years of Appalachian Studies,” the conference will look at “how people (citizens, professionals, students, scholars, educators, artists, activists, etc.) are responding to the ‘next generation’ of challenge and change in Appalachia”; novelist Silas House will be the Friday keynoter. The sponsors invite all comers to submit proposals for panels, discussions, workshops and displays. For information, contact Mary K. Thomas at Marshall University: 304/696-2904; mthomas@marshall.edu.

4-15-2008

New Opportunity School for Women

Income tax deadline and also application deadline for the summer session of the New Opportunity School for Women; see contact information for February 3-23.

4-20-2008 to
4-25-2008

Spring Dulcimer Week

Augusta Heritage Center, Davis & Elkins College. Veteran Patty Looman and new faces Anne Lough, Sam Rizzetta, and Linda Thomas will offer instruction (beginning, intermediate, intermediate/advanced) in the hammered dulcimer; Maureen Sellers, Jeff Sebens and Karen Mueller (novice/beginning, advanced beginning, intermediate/advanced) will teach mountain dulcimer. (Instruments will be available for loan or rental.) You can also receive tutelage on the autoharp from Les Gustafson-Zook. Every afternoon, participants can enjoy performances by guest artist Ralph Lee and resident instructors, and on Friday evening there’ll be a big evening concert. For full information, write the Augusta Heritage Center, 100 Campus Drive, Elkins, WV 26241, phone 304/637-1209, visit www.augustaheritage.com, or e-mail: augusta@augustaheritage.com.

4-24-2008 to
4-27-2008

21st Annual MerleFest

Wilkes Community College, Wilkesboro, NC. An acoustic jamboree featuring the Doc Watson guitar championship and the Merle Watson bluegrass banjo and mandolin contests, along with numerous other events. The list of performers includes Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys, the Alberti Flea Circus, Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives, Ricky Skaggs and Bruce Hornsby with Kentucky Thunder, Rhonda Vincent and The Rage, Ryan Shupe & The RubberBand and an array of other notables from far and near, including, of course, Doc Watson himself. For details, phone 800/343-7857, or visit www.merlefest.org.

5-1-2008 to
5-3-2008

18th Annual Boxcar Pinion Memorial Bluegrass Festival

Raccoon Mountain Campground (just off I-24), Chattanooga, TN. Since this is a campground, you might want to bring your sleeping bag and get in the spirit of the occasion. Festival musicians will perform all three days from midday to ten or eleven o’clock; the lineup includes the Country Gentlemen, Bobby Osborne, IIIrd Tyme Out, the Dailey Vincent Band and numerous other notables; the memorable Dismembered Tennesseans will of course reassemble themselves and show up. You can get full details from Cindy Pinion at 706/820-2228, or by visiting www.boxcarforeverbluegrass.com.

5-9-2008 to
5-11-2008

39th Annual Appalachian Festival

Coney Island, Cincinnati (Mother’s Day weekend), sponsored by the Appalachian Community Development Association, with music, dancing, storytelling and crafts galore. For information, phone: 513/251-3378.

5-23-2008 to
5-25-2008

Ole Time Fiddlers and Bluegrass Festival

Fiddler’s Grove Campground, Union Grove, NC. Held every year during Memorial Day weekend, the festival, which dates back to the 1920s, is the oldest event of the kind in North America. It’s also a colossal affair, bringing together some 50 old-time and bluegrass bands. This year will see the usual band competitions, and in the grand finale, artists will vie for the title “Fiddler of the Festival.” We also note that you’ll encounter individual junior and senior competitions not only in fiddle but also in banjo, harmonica and other instruments large and small. If you show up a day early, you’ll find jam sessions already going on. Information: 704/539-4417; www.fiddlersgrove.com; e-mail: info@fiddlersgrove.com