Press Release

Sept. 6, 2006
Contact:
                                    Sheryl Hayes
                                    Phone: (434)924-3296
                                    Fax: (434)296-4714
Sheryl@virginia.edu
www.virginiafoundation.org

High Interest Event with Story, Photo and Sound Opportunities

What: VFH announces its fifth annual Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Showcase, celebrating the fourth “graduating class” of folklife apprentices and introducing the public to the incoming corps of Virginia Folk Masters.  The event will feature musical performances, crafts, and traditional Brunswick Stew.

Where: Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 145 Ednam Drive, Charlottesville, VA  22903, one mile from US 29-250 Bypass just off Ivy Rd/250 West, in the Boar’s Head Inn complex.

When: Sunday, September 17, 2006, 1:00 PM – 5:00 p.m. Free and open to the public.

Who: Master Artists, Apprentices, and Virginia Folklife Program Director, Jon Lohman, will be available for photos and interviews.

Charlottesville, VA--The Virginia Folklife Program (VFP) will present its fifth annual Folklife Apprenticeship Showcase on Sunday, September 17, from 1 -5 pm at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities (VFH) Conference Center.  The one-day festival will include musical performances by flatpick guitar master  Scott Fore, Old Time Fiddle Master Thorton Spencer, and bluegrass songstress Linda Lay; delicious Brunswick Stew made on site by Brunswick Stewmasters; and crafts including hand-made instruments, pioneer crafts, and traditional fiber arts.  The event is free and open to the public.

The Folklife Apprenticeships pair an experienced master artist with an eager apprentice for a one-on-one, nine-month learning experience, in order to help ensure that a particular art form is passed on in ways that are conscious of history and faithful to tradition. 
                                     
“I’m really excited about this year’s apprenticeship teams,” said Jon Lohman, the director of the Virginia Folklife Program at the VFH. “We’re working with incredibly accomplished musicians, dancers and crafts men and women who all wish to pass along these vitally important art forms to their eager apprentices.” Providing a couple of examples, Lohman described the Piedmont blues guitarist, John Cephas as “the greatest living practitioner of the Piedmont Blues style.” Turning to an entirely different part of the state, Lohman cited a master artist of the Northern Neck: “Reedville has a long-standing tradition of boat-building and George Butler is considered the master builder of his generation.  I hope people attend the Showcase to see for themselves these great folk masters and the vibrant folk traditions that thrive in the Commonwealth.”  Lohman is particularly excited this year by the participation of South Boston resident Bob Cage, considered by many to be Virginia’s greatest living tobacco auctioneer.  

These master artists were selected from an open competition for applicants in all forms of Virginia’s traditional, expressive culture – from flatfooting to mandolin making, from basket making to quilt stitching, from curing country hams to old time banjo playing.  The apprenticeships also feature folk traditions more “new” to Virginia, from Mexican folk dancing to Indian Tabla drumming.

Apprenticeships accomplish more than the teaching and learning of a particular craft or skill.  During the duration of the apprenticeship period, the master artist and apprentice enter into a mutually enriching relationship, both cultural and personal, connecting both to lessons and memories from the past, and shared visions for the future. 

Folklife Apprenticeships are awarded for nine months, starting in September and ending in May.  Apprenticeship teams demonstrate their skills at the Apprenticeship Showcase in September, and will share the creative results of the apprenticeship at the Showcase the following year.

The Folklife Apprenticeship Program is an important initiative of the Virginia Folklife Program.  The Virginia Folklife Program documents, presents, and supports Virginia’s living cultures, traditions, and folkways.  The VFP is a program of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, a statewide organization created in 1974 to develop the civic, cultural, and intellectual life of the Commonwealth by creating learning opportunities for all Virginians.

The purpose of the VFH is to bring the humanities fully into Virginia's public life, assisting individuals and communities in their efforts to understand the past, confront important issues in the present, and shape a promising future. The Foundation brings together people from across the Commonwealth with differing backgrounds and viewpoints--interested citizens, scholars, community leaders, and experts from many fields--creating an environment in which new ideas are encouraged and new ways of thinking are possible. For more on the Foundation visit www.virginiafoundation.org.

2006 Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Showcase

Celebrating the completion of 2005-06 Apprenticeships:

Introducing the 2006-07 Master Folk Artists:

For more information, please call the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities at 434-924-3296 or visit www.virginiafolklife.org.


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