Sights & SoundsPatrick and Aaron Olwell
The flute has long held a prominent place in traditional Irish music, but the practice of making flutes specifically for Irish music is relatively new. For many years, Irish musicians …
Sights & SoundsOfosuwa Abiola-Tamba and Monica James
While there is now a greater understanding and appreciation of the African origins of much of Virginia’s expressive culture, these roots were long ignored, misunderstood, or held in diminished regard …
Sights & SoundsClyde Jenkins and Sam Cave
The traditional skill of making baskets from white oaks is hundreds of years old, involving an in-depth study of the grain structure of the tree. Each white oak tree behaves …
Sights & SoundsNorman Amos and John Buck
The art of snake cane carving is practiced throughout the world, and has a rich history in southern Appalachia. The process begins when a vine wraps itself around a tree …
Sights & SoundsBrenda and Shannon Joyce
Flatfooting, an old-time dance style closely associated with traditional string band music, is quite distinct from its closest cousin, clogging, in that the dancer’s feet barely leave the floor. Distinct …
Sights & SoundsBroto Roy and Sunil Chugh
Broto Roy is a master of the 5,000-year-old tradition of tabla drumming of India. The tabla is composed of two drums, one made of wood and the other of metal. …
Sights & SoundsSpencer Moore and Ben Moore Jr.
When the late folklorist Alan Lomax set out on one of his legendary “Southern Journeys” in 1959, he stopped in Chilhowie, Virginia, to record a tobacco farmer named Spencer Moore …
Sights & SoundsJohn D. Clary, Lonnie Moore, Phil Batchelor, and Chiles Cridlin
What began, according to area legend, as a communal meal prepared for a hunting expedition on the banks of the Nottoway River in 1828, the cooking of Brunswick stew has …
Sights & SoundsBuddy Pendleton and Montana Young
Buddy Pendleton of Patrick County has lived a life in bluegrass music. Buddy is one the most beloved fiddlers in Southwest Virginia, and a common fixture on the leader board …
Sights & SoundsAsha Vattikuti and Janhavi Kirtane
Kathak dance is an ancient story-telling dance form, originally performed by bards to narrate the stories of gods and goddesses in the temples of Northern India. Asha Vattikuti has spent …
Sights & SoundsLarry Counts and Dee Puckett and Thomas Vail
Broom making has enjoyed a long history in Appalachia and throughout Virginia. Initially, brooms were made primarily as a home craft, and then later became a vibrant cottage industry. Broom …
Sights & SoundsMildred Moore and Bonnie Sears
The Pamunkey Indian potters have been creating their distinctive blackware pottery since before the first contact with Europeans in 1607. Born and raised on the Pamunkey Indian Reservation, Mildred Moore …
Sights & SoundsGanell Marshall and Sarah Mullins
A version of corn shuck doll making was likely first introduced to settlers in Southwest Virginia by Native Americans, though it was also a staple craft of early Mission Schools …
Sights & SoundsJoe Ayers and Patrick Hester
Joe Ayers has literally written the history books regarding the development of the banjo in America. Joe, who lives in an eighteenth-century house in the gently rolling hills of rural …
Apply for an Apprenticeship
Virginia Folklife Apprenticeships will begin on May 1, 2020 and run through May 1, 2021. The application deadline for this cycle is January 31, 2020.
