The Appalachian Festival
By: Deborah Kelly
The Appalachian Festival was filled with many vendors and entertainers. It had everything from magicians to spinners. There was plenty of live music, food, and activities to keep the crowd full and busy. There were a few attractions that interested me. This was my first year attending the Appalachian Festival and I’m glad to say that I wasn’t disappointed.
Mark Walker, better known by his stage name, Professor Horn, has been practicing the art of being a magician since the age of five. Walker says, “I was truly inspired at the age of ten when I saw the performance of George Horn.” After seeing the show, Walker decided to train under the supervision of Horn. When Horn felt like he was getting too old for the job, he asked Walker to take over. Of course Mark took over with no problem because he would “hate to see such a good show die.” After taking over the show, Walker named himself Professor Horn because, “I feel like this allows George to live vicariously through me and it’s the way I say ‘thanks’ to him for everything.” This was Mark’s first year at the Appalachian Festival and I caught him before his show started and he said, “I’m very excited to see everyone’s reaction and to get some kind of feedback.”
David Powers’ is a long hunter. This just means that he goes on one hunting mission for
a long time. In his attraction, he brought a display of items he would take with him on a hunting expedition. One of the items that interested me the most was the
1750’s money. When I asked him what it was, Powers responded, laughingly, saying, “It’s a shave and haircut two bits.” I didn’t get the joke so he explained by saying, “back in the 1750’s, this one whole coin was enough to get a shave and a haircut; I don’t really get the part about the two bits.” The money was interesting because the whole coin was considered a dollar and in order to get fifty cents, you had to cut the whole coin in half, and so on for smaller amounts of change. That seems like a lot of work for some change. Powers was happy when he was asked to participate in the Appalachian Festival because he genuinely enjoys talking and teaching about survival.
Jessica Mullinax is a fiber artist. She literally makes yarn! This was interesting to me
because I never really thought that yarn had to be made. I guess everything has to come from somewhere. Mullinax has only been spinning for three years and her inspiration came from seeing a man make yarn out of buffalo fur. After seeing that, she began teaching herself the art through videos and websites. Jessica is a Frostburg local who has been attending the festival for three years but has only been spinning there for two. Mullinax says, “When I came the first year I thought it was a cool way to market and network, so I decided to come back and bring my skills with me.”
I really enjoyed my time at the Appalachian Festival. The people were nice enough to allow me to interview them and I received a lot of interesting information. As I said before, this was my first time attending the festival and I’m actually glad that I did!
By: Deborah Kelly
The Appalachian Festival was filled with many vendors and entertainers. It had everything from magicians to spinners. There was plenty of live music, food, and activities to keep the crowd full and busy. There were a few attractions that interested me. This was my first year attending the Appalachian Festival and I’m glad to say that I wasn’t disappointed.
Mark Walker, better known by his stage name, Professor Horn, has been practicing the art of being a magician since the age of five. Walker says, “I was truly inspired at the age of ten when I saw the performance of George Horn.” After seeing the show, Walker decided to train under the supervision of Horn. When Horn felt like he was getting too old for the job, he asked Walker to take over. Of course Mark took over with no problem because he would “hate to see such a good show die.” After taking over the show, Walker named himself Professor Horn because, “I feel like this allows George to live vicariously through me and it’s the way I say ‘thanks’ to him for everything.” This was Mark’s first year at the Appalachian Festival and I caught him before his show started and he said, “I’m very excited to see everyone’s reaction and to get some kind of feedback.”
David Powers’ is a long hunter. This just means that he goes on one hunting mission for
a long time. In his attraction, he brought a display of items he would take with him on a hunting expedition. One of the items that interested me the most was the
1750’s money. When I asked him what it was, Powers responded, laughingly, saying, “It’s a shave and haircut two bits.” I didn’t get the joke so he explained by saying, “back in the 1750’s, this one whole coin was enough to get a shave and a haircut; I don’t really get the part about the two bits.” The money was interesting because the whole coin was considered a dollar and in order to get fifty cents, you had to cut the whole coin in half, and so on for smaller amounts of change. That seems like a lot of work for some change. Powers was happy when he was asked to participate in the Appalachian Festival because he genuinely enjoys talking and teaching about survival.Jessica Mullinax is a fiber artist. She literally makes yarn! This was interesting to me
because I never really thought that yarn had to be made. I guess everything has to come from somewhere. Mullinax has only been spinning for three years and her inspiration came from seeing a man make yarn out of buffalo fur. After seeing that, she began teaching herself the art through videos and websites. Jessica is a Frostburg local who has been attending the festival for three years but has only been spinning there for two. Mullinax says, “When I came the first year I thought it was a cool way to market and network, so I decided to come back and bring my skills with me.”I really enjoyed my time at the Appalachian Festival. The people were nice enough to allow me to interview them and I received a lot of interesting information. As I said before, this was my first time attending the festival and I’m actually glad that I did!
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