The Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center at Fairmont State University announced on March 23 a series of spring events, beginning with a concert by the West Virginia Storytelling Guild on Friday, April 10, at 7 p.m. The event will feature storytellers Ilene Evans, Linda Durrett, Larry Jent, Jo Ann Dadisman, and Francene Kirk. Admission is free and open to all.
Dr. Lydia Warren, Director of the Folklife Center, said, “We’re always thrilled to host the Guild and see what creativity and energy they bring. They do a wonderful job carrying on a community-based tradition, and this concert will be a nice way to say goodbye to winter!”
A Mending Workshop is scheduled for Monday, April 20 at 5 p.m., led by costume expert Sherry Harper-McCombs. Registration is required for this free workshop through the center’s website. Harper-McCombs will present historical mending techniques using archival examples and demonstrate stitches such as sashiko-style mending as part of the Accessing the Archives initiative.
Harper-McCombs said about her experience in the archives: “I think the main thing that has struck me as I have spent time in the archives with both the clothes and the written materials located there is how marketing has shifted around mending and our wardrobes in general. Somewhere post WWII, there was a shift from mending and saving what you had was patriotic and the thing to do to an attitude that new is better. We currently seem to be shifting away from that model to a model where saving our clothes by mending is more sustainable. This focus on sustainability has made mending both more popular and more visible.” She plans to discuss these topics during her workshop.
The Wartz ‘n All Dulcimer Jam returns Saturday, May 16 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., continuing an event brought by musician Rob Lackey before his passing in 2023; it now continues under Bob Snyder and Jim Fawcett in honor of Lackey’s legacy.
The Folklife Center also hosts monthly events open to everyone: an acoustic Old Time music jam on the last Friday of each month at 6:30 p.m., plus a Craft Club meeting for knitting, crochet or coloring enthusiasts every last Wednesday from 12:30 p.m. until 2 p.m.
For further information about these or other activities at Fairmont State’s Folklife Center contact wvfolklife@fairmontstate.edu or call (301)367-4286.
