Storytellers to be Honored at Frank and Jane Gabor WV Folklife Center Gala
The ninth annual Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center Gala will honor a nationally prominent storyteller and the state's storytelling guild.
This year's theme is "The Festival of the Story." The Gala, planned for 5:30 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, in Colebank Hall gym will feature the presentation of the 2009 B.B. Maurer West Virginia Folklife Scholar Award and the 2009 Traditions Salute Award. The award presentations will take place at 8 p.m. After the award presentations, Regan-Blake will present a performance titled "The Ghostly and Ghastly: An Evening with Storyteller Connie Regan-Blake."
General admission is $25 per person and $3 for children ages 12 and younger. Fairmont State University and Pierpont Community & Technical College students are admitted for free. Advance tickets may be purchased by calling Beth Martin at the Fairmont State Foundation, Inc. at (304) 367-4009. Tickets will also be sold at the door. Parking will be available in the parking garage.
"Story is the narrative process that carries the culture of the people," said Dr. Judy P. Byers, Director of the Folklife Center. "This year we're going to take the Gala back to the origins of All Hallows Eve. In rural West Virginia and the Appalachians, it became a very important custom to celebrate the coming of autumn festivities among the Anglo-Celtic Germanic people. Traditional games, food and costumes were used to celebrate the harvest. Storytelling was always at the heart of the celebration. Trick-or-treat as we know it did not originate until the third decade of this century."
Storyteller Connie Regan-Blake will receive the 2009 B.B. Maurer WV Folklife Scholar Award, and the West Virginia Storytelling guild will receive the 2009 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 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.
Connie Regan-Blake is one of the nation's most celebrated storytellers. Both as a solo artist and as a member of the acclaimed Folktellers duo, she has given performances in North America, Europe and Asia. She has been featured on five award-winning audio recordings and two videos produced by PBS. New Age Magazine, School Library Journal and Southern Living have praised her work. She has been a guest on NPR's "All Things Considered," ABC's "Good Morning America" and CNN. Her collaboration with the Kandinsky Trio and Grammy Award-winning composer Mike Reed blends new chamber music and traditional storytelling.
Regan-Blake has performed at the nation's top folk music and storytelling festivals in Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco, as well as the National Storytelling Festival in Nashville and the National Folklife Festival at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. Recognized as a pioneer in bringing storytelling to a national audience, she was a founding member of the National Storytelling Association and one of the first to be inducted into Association's "Circle of Excellence." She and her husband reside in Asheville, N.C. Spencer Christian of ABC's "Good Morning America" said of her: "Storytelling is alive and well, primarily because of Connie Regan-Blake." The Nashville Banner wrote about her: "The images created are so vivid and so powerful that listeners may forget that they are not in the middle of a movie or a play, but rather they are visualizing the events in their minds' eye."
The West Virginia Storytelling Guild has been a part of the state's culture since October 1996, when the very first West Virginia Storytelling Festival was held at Jackson's Mill. Storytelling events are now held throughout the year all over the state. The Guild is composed of people who love storytelling. The membership includes professional storytellers, as well as those just getting started and some enthusiastic listeners. The Guild was formed to create a support group for storytellers across the state. The organization promotes storytelling to introduce people to the ancient art form and to introduce state artisans to the people of the state's communities. For more information about the Guild, visit http://www.wvstorytellers.org/.
The Guild participates in the following events around the state: Patchwork Storytelling Festival in Beckley in October, partnering with Tamarack, the Youth Museum, Raleigh County Library and Black Diamond Girl Scout Council; Moundsville Storytelling Festival, partnering with the Strand Theatre; Fairmont State University Storytelling Institute in March; Vandalia Festival at the West Virginia Culture Center in May; the Jackson's Mill Storytelling Festival in October; and the West Virginia State Folk Festival in Glenville in June.
Proceeds benefit programming for students through the Folklife Center. For more information about the Folklife Center, call Dr. Judy P. Byers, Director, at (304) 367-4286 or Noel W. Tenney, Cultural Specialist, at (304) 367-4403 or visit http://www.fairmontstate.edu/wvfolklife/default.asp.
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 of Pierpont Community & Technical College, are dedicated to the identification, preservation and perpetuation of our region's rich cultural heritage through academic studies, educational programs, festivals, performances and publications.
Connie Regan-Blake
