Rogersville: Appalachian Spring Festival

Rogersville TN, February 27, 2018….The Rogersville Arts Council is presenting
for the 5th year, The Appalachian Spring Festival, May 2-5. A generous grant
from the Tennessee Arts Commission has allowed us to expand our Festival to
include workshops on Thursday and Friday, and to add upgrades to the street
event on Saturday.
Our keynote speaker during the Welcome Dinner at 6pm, on May 2 at Price
Public Community Center, is Dr. Katie Hoffman, Katie’s PhD is in English, with a
specialty in Appalachian Studies. She is a singer and scholar of traditional
Appalachian ballads. Katie was the traditional music producer for a 4-part PBS
series entitled Appalachia: A History of Mountains and People. She and her
husband Brett were married in October of 2012: and on their honeymoon, they
played for a farmer’s market in Hawaii! Around home, under the name “The
Tenneginians”, they play for community groups, bus tours, academic lectures,
radio broadcasts, and now– -Appalachian Spring in Rogersville on Wednesday,
and during the street festival on Saturday! The price of the Welcome Dinner is
$25.
There are workshops on Thursday and Friday which include Katie’s interactive
sessions on Appalachian Culture including, customs, art, foodways (make a
fried pie!), and the character of the new Appalachia. A great introduction to our
culture whether you are a native of this area, or a newcomer. The venue will be
the Hale Springs Inn.
The other workshops are: *Storytelling, with Marjorie Shaefer, who has worked
with Hawkins County senior citizens this winter to recollect and craft family
stories. Join the Story Telling Circle on Thursday to swap and/or craft a new
story. Designed for adults and youth fourteen and up. On Saturday, join the
Story Telling Circle to share a story about your pet, or a friend or neighbors’ pet,
or a pet you wish you had. Find out how to “Puzzle your story together” Hear
Marjorie Shaefer tell the story of the Ghost Horse! *Creating Needle Felted
Critters with internationally known fiber artist, Pat Pawlowicz, who annually
travels to national fiber arts festivals to teach, using her own fiber from sheep
she raises in Hawkins County. *English Folk Dance with Winnie Seals, who
uses dance to give an authentic flavor to her high school English Literature
classes. *Gourd Art class with Melissa Sadek and her home grown gourds. She
has made and taught workshops on decorated gourds, lamp beads, and jewelry
professionally for many years.
Each artist will hold 3- 1 ½ – 2 hour workshops and you can choose to attend as
many as 3 different sessions, if you wish. $15 for one, $25 for 2, 3 for $40.
On Saturday, Downtown Historic Rogersville streets will be filled with acoustic
music, a chalk art contest, kids’ activities and games, folk dancing and clogging,
art demonstrations, vendors from photography to Master Gardeners, sidewalk
sales by our merchants, and food trucks.