EventA Celebration of Virginia Folklife: Performances, Displays & Activities
Join us on Saturday, July 8 at the Library of Virginia for an afternoon of performances, displays, and activities highlighting old and new Virginia musical traditions including blues, fiddling, shape-note singing, and more.
NewsBernadette “B.J.” Lark and Alanjha Harris
Handpainted symbols hang on the walls of Trinity Missionary Baptist Church in Roanoke, Virginia, where Bernadette “B.J.” Lark hosts CommUNITY ARTS Roanoke, an after-school program for children. A black, green, …
NewsKazem Davoudian & Alexander Sabet
Kazem Davoudian of Sterling, VA, is an experienced ustad (master artist, in Farsi) of Iranian classical music. He is teaching Alexander Sabet of Washington, DC, how to play the tar, a traditional long-necked string instrument.
NewsHome Is the Sound of Rivers and Crooked Roads
Elsa Howell, who is learning the art of Appalachian ballad singing through our Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program, reflects on the important role music plays in her culture and community.
NewsJoshua Purnell & Tom Norris
For dancer Joshua Purnell and his apprentice Tom Norris, blues dancing is a means to build and maintain community in their hometown of Norfolk.
EventFolklife Apprenticeship Celebration at the Library of Virginia
Join us on Friday, July 7 for a reception, film screening, and stage program honoring four teams from the broader Richmond area who completed a Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship in 2022-23!
EventFolklife Apprenticeship Celebration at the Taubman Museum of Art
Join us for a reception and film screening as we celebrate four teams from the broader Roanoke area who completed a Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship in 2022-23!
NewsRaceway Ministries Continues Serving Race Fans
Founded in 1992, Bristol Raceway Ministries is a church-led effort to organize services for spectators at the Bristol Motor Speedway. “We get to experience every aspect of life here at the track,” says volunteer Bobby Branch.
NewsWhere Our Roots Meet: Concert Release
Earlier this year, following International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a crowd gathered in Fairfax for an evening of Sephardic music from the Balkans, led by Trio Sefardi and the Elias Ladino Ensemble.
NewsForging Connections with Bristol’s Tyler Hughes
Old-time musician Tyler Hughes is now co-managing a new funding opportunity for traditional arts in and around Bristol. “People in the Appalachian region deserve to have the fullest life that they can achieve,” he says.
NewsSephardic Music Traditions In Virginia — Folklife Fieldnotes Episode 13
Exploring the folk music of the Sephardim, from the songs of Flory Jagoda and “Shorty” Elias to the new sounds of Minnush and beyond in this episode of Folklife Fieldnotes.
NewsElizabeth LaPrelle & Elsa Howell
Appalachian Ballad Singing On a farm outside of Rural Retreat, tucked into a bend of small, winding White Rock Creek and down the hill from the home she grew up …
