September Issue 2001
Three Days of Music, Stories and Heritage Crafts at The Folk Art Center in Asheville, NC
Our modern views on transportation make it difficult to imagine how our forefathers lumbered over stony trails in a horse drawn wagon. Even harder to imagine are the journeys of the livestock drovers of the 19th century. Driving herds of cattle, hogs or sheep on foot from the rural mountains of Tennessee to the markets of South Carolina through Western North Carolina may seem truly impossible, yet it was a way of life for many. The lives of these tireless mountain men are dramatized in a one-act play during the Southern Highland Craft Guild's Heritage Weekend September 14 - 16 in Asheville, NC. This annual, three-day celebration is a tribute to our mountain heritage, featuring music, storytelling, craft demonstrations and the Gee Haw Whimmy Diddle World Competition.
Friday September 14, festivities begin at 1pm with traditional mountain music by local band, Buncombe Turnpike, named after the old Drover's Road that traversed Western North Carolina before the Civil War. At 2:30pm on Friday, band leader Tom Godleski (Asheville, NC) becomes the lead of his own one-act play Sundown on the Buncombe Turnpike, portraying the lives of the drovers in the 19th century. Woven with authentic stories and spiced with music of the period, Godleski's play is an entertaining glimpse at mountain life before interstates, before automobiles, and even before rail travel. At 4pm, the Haywood Ramblers come on stage, entertaining with old time fiddle music until 5pm. All entertainment throughout Heritage Weekend is free and open to the public.
On Saturday and Sunday, September 15 and 16, a host of craft demonstrators specializing in historic crafts will be on hand all day (10am-5pm) to share the old time ways using hand-tools, natural materials and historic techniques. Visitors can learn about broom making from Marlow and Diane Gates (Leicester, NC), coopering (barrel making) with Will Hines (Greeneville, TN), traditional weaving from Cassie Dickson (Bryson City, NC) or cornshuck doll making with Anne Freels (Clinton, TN). Over twenty craftspeople will offer free educational demonstrations from soap making and apple butter churning to furniture making and quilting. Two free basket making workshops will also be held on Saturday, from 9:30 -11:30am and again from 1:30 - 3:30pm. Instructor Jan Morris (Black Mountain, NC) assists students in completing a small market basket during each class. To register for this mini-workshop, call 828/298-7928.
At 3pm on Saturday the excitement builds as Joe "Colonel Buncombe" Bly emcees the 21st annual Gee Haw Whimmy Diddle World Competition. Contestants young and old compete for the world championship performing the highly specialized skill of working a small wooden toy. The Whimmy Diddle's exact origins are unknown, but its history as a child's amusement dates back generations in the southern mountains. This toy is simple to operate, easy to make from two twigs, and with a little practice, anyone can gain the skills needed to compete.
Judges scrutinize as contestants make their propellers switch from "gee" to "haw" (left to right) as quickly as possible.
Also lined up on Saturday and Sunday is live mountain music with regional artists and old fashioned storytelling by the imaginative Asheville Storytelling Circle. Sunday's event is from 1-5pm and the music line-up includes bluegrass greats Split Rail at 1pm, the infectiously soulful Delta Billies at 2pm and traditional favorites by the charming and talented Dowden Sisters at 3pm.
The Guild's Heritage Weekend brings back the sights, sounds and sensations of life in the southern mountains during a simpler time. Visitors get a sense of the daily work done by mountain families to provide food, shelter and tools, and the stories and music shared by mountain people for entertainment and insights. By sharing the old traditions, our mountain heritage is not only kept alive, but becomes a way of life for those who practice it.
For further information check our NC Institutional Gallery listings or call the center at 828/298-7928.
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Carolina Arts
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