Gala to Benefit Folklife Center

An evening filled with music, food and traditional fun such as Italian heritage dancers, will mark the seventh annual West Virginia Folklife Center Gala on Saturday, Oct. 13, at Fairmont State University's Colebank Hall gym. The gala will also feature the presentation of the 2007 B.B. Maurer West Virginia Folklife Scholar Award, the 2007 Traditions Salute Award, a West Virginia wine tasting and a silent auction.

Admission is $25 at the door. Advance tickets are $15 and may be purchased by calling (304) 367-4009. The admission fee covers the cost of the gala events, except for the wine tasting. Those who wish to participate in the wine tasting will be asked to show proper ID. Fairmont State students and children younger than 12 will be admitted for free. Parking is available in the FSU parking garage.

"The Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center will pay tribute to the settlers from the wide variety of ethnic and cultural groups who made this region their home," said Dr. Judy P. Byers, Abelina Suarez Senior Professor of English and Folklore and Director of the Folklife Center. "It will additionally benefit the preservation of West Virginia folklore, culture, art and history."

Proceeds will benefit the adaptive reuse of the historic properties, on the west side of campus, formerly known as The Colonial Apartments (circa 1941) and The Kennedy Barn (circa 1903) on the original site of the Michael Kennedy Dairy Farm.

The event will begin at 6 p.m. with the silent auction and music, a buffet of savory and sweet hors d'ouveres, folk art demonstrations and a vintage book sale. Silent auction bidding will close at 7:45 p.m.

The presentation of the 2007 B.B. Maurer WV Folklife Scholar Award and the 2007 Traditions Salute Award is set for 8 p.m. The West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival of Clarksburg will receive the 2007 B.B. Maurer WV Folklife Scholar Award, and Rosalyn Burnett Queen Alonso will receive the 2007 Tradition Salute Award.

The B.B. Maurer West Virginia Folklife Scholar Award annually honors a person or persons who have contributed to the preservation and perpetuation of Appalachian cultural heritage. The award is named for Dr. B.B. Maurer (1920-2003), considered the "Father of Cultural Studies in West Virginia."

The West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival, Inc. was established in 1978 as a non-profit corporation and will celebrate its 30th anniversary in August 2008. A voluntary board of directors manages the affairs of the festival through the establishment of policy that is implemented by a festival staff. The festival is financed by private and public contributions. In its premiere year, the festival was called both "an idea whose time had come" and a "labor of love." The Executive Director is Rachel L. Torchia. Festival co-chairs are Stephen Pishner and Mary "Weege" Vargo.

"The Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center through our academic studies and travel to Italy this summer have declared this academic year as the Year of Italian Culture," Byers said. "This is why we're honoring the West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival with the B.B. Maurer Award. The festival has spent 30 years perpetuating and preserving the Appalachian Italian American heritage. So many people in central Appalachia take their roots from parts of southern Italy."

The Traditions Salute Award is given to a person or group that has demonstrated a passion and commitment towards the enhancement of West Virginia folk culture through education and public resources. The recipient will always be recognized in Traditions: West Virginia Folklore Journal, and the actual honor will be bestowed at a public awards ceremony.

Rosalyn Queen Alonso was born in Clarksburg, the daughter of William Oliverio Burnett, an Italian immigrant from San Giovanni in Fiore and Florence Roberti Burnett. She grew up in Clarksburg and lived there for 60 years, raising two sets of twins.

She is active in promoting Italian culture. She served on the Board of Directors and was the Executive Director of the WV Italian Heritage Festival for over 25 years. U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd nominated her to serve on the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation, and she was then appointed by President George H.W. Bush. In 1995, President Bill Clinton appointed her to serve as chair of the board of the CCFF. President George W. Bush reappointed her to the foundation in 2003. Gov. Gaston Caperton chose her to serve on the Columbus Quincentennery Commission. She is a member of the National Italian American Foundation and has served as a co-chair of the annual Gala. She is a member of the William Marconi Lodge, Sons of Italy, the Audia Caring Heritage Association and is an active member of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. An article she wrote on fund-raising in rural areas for festivals and events was included in a periodical publication edited by Clemson University. For the past 10 years, she has written a weekly column, "The Grapevine," which appears in several North Central West Virginia newspapers.

Alonso has attended and taught many seminars on festivals and event fund-raising, sponsored by colleges and universities throughout the U.S. She has visited Italy several times and has walked the streets where her father played. She received a preservation project grant to record orally the histories of 50 West Virginia Italian families. Her book, titled "Arrivederci: Recipes and Customs Every Italian Girl Takes from Home," stems from her desire to collect and preserve Italian customs and the culture in general.

The Folklore-Folklife Programs, a division of the Department of Language and Literature in the College of Liberal Arts of FSU and the School of Human Services in Pierpont Community & Technical College of FSU, are dedicated to the identification, preservation and perpetuation of our region's rich cultural heritage through academic studies, educational programs, festivals, performances and publications.

For more information on the Folklife Center, call Dr. Judy P. Byers, Director, at (304) 367-4286 or Noel W. Tenney, Cultural Specialist, at (304) 367-4403.

A ceremonial groundbreaking is planned on Thursday, Oct. 11, for The Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center at Fairmont State University. The event will take place at 2 p.m. at the Squibb Wilson Boulevard Entrance of campus at the site of the future home of the center. A light reception of old-fashioned sweets and hot cider will follow the ceremony, along with a sampler of folk music, such as mandolin, banjo, guitar, fiddle, recorder and whistle, featuring Patty Looman and Lynette Swiger on hammered dulcimers. The favor of an RSVP is requested by Friday, Oct. 5, to Judy Biafore, Administrative Assistant, Office of the Provost, at (304) 367-4192 or via e-mail to jbiafore@fairmontstate.edu.

For more information on giving or naming opportunities or to create an endowment in support of The Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center at Fairmont State, contact the Fairmont State Foundation, Inc. at (304) 367-4009 or toll-free at (866) 372-2586.