Join us in celebrating the newly restored Echoes mural on the side of the Jettie Baker Center! Enjoy a day of craft, song, and storytelling traditions of Southwest Virginia.
The Virginia Folklife Program of Virginia Humanities supported artist Ellen Elmes (Jewell Ridge) in training apprentices Renée Wienecke (Cedar Bluff) and Jenna Taylor (Clintwood) in how to paint a collaborative community mural. This team repainted Echoes together with 11 other local artists—including 7 who helped paint the original mural in 2001.
This free family-friendly festival in downtown Clintwood begins with morning craft workshops and a walking mural tour, continues with a 1:30PM mural dedication ceremony, and finishes with a mountain traditions performance inside the Jettie Baker Center at 2:30PM, featuring the Ralph Stanley-style sounds of Clinch Mountain Echo (Haysi) and the legendary bluegrass trailblazer Alice Gerrard with fellow vocalists Sophie Moeckel (Floyd) and Kay Justice (Wytheville).
Drop in for part of the festival or stay all day!
Schedule
Free Admission • Multiple Venues Across Downtown Clintwood
10:30AM – 12PM | Craft Workshops
Ralph Stanley Museum (249 Main St)
Appalachian broom and toy making demonstrations by John Alexander (Grayson County) and Erin Simons (Wytheville)
Jonnie B. Deel Memorial Library (198 Chase St)
Enjoy a special display of quilts organized by local quilters including the Crooked Road Quilters Guild
Clintwood Community Center (248 E Main St)
Make your own barn quilt with Kelly Rose (limited to 15 people; sign up here)
11AM | Murals of Clintwood Walking Tour
Meet artist Ellen Elmes in front of the Jettie Baker Center (348 Main St)
1:30PM | Echoes Mural Dedication
Jettie Baker Center (outdoors)
2:30PM – 4:30PM | Mountain Traditions Performance
Jettie Baker Center (theater)
Featuring music by Clinch Mountain Echo and Virginia Folklife apprenticeship artists Alice Gerrard, Sophie Moeckel, Kay Justice and storytelling by Kathy Swanson Coleman (registration recommended; save your seat here)
Plus more!
10AM – 4PM | Free admission to the Ralph Stanley Museum
10:30AM – 1:30PM | Record mountain memories in the Virginia Story Booth outside the Jettie Baker Center
Visiting food trucks will be selling lunch
This program is presented by Virginia Humanities in partnership with the Town of Clintwood. The Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail is a marketing partner for this event. Virginia Humanities is celebrating 50 years of connecting Virginians to history and culture.
