Folkways - A Tent Filled With Tradition

Folkways – A Tent Filled With Tradition

On a chilly Saturday afternoon in September, the grounds at Frostburg State University were chockfull with tradition as the Appalachian Festival was in full swing.  This year’s Appalachian Festival was a unique experience due to the events coinciding with the city of Frostburg’s bicentennial celebration.  There were tents filled with displays of traditional arts, ranging from wood carving to basket weaving.  Children sat memorized by puppetry, magic, and storytelling.  Vendors rushed to fill bags of kettle corn.  A community gathered to celebrate local history and tradition. Through the sounds of joyous laughter and discussion, the pleasant tunes of traditional folk music rang loud from one tent in particular.

The folkways tent, residing on the edge of the festival grounds, acted as a barrier between the atmosphere of traditional Appalachian ways and reality. Around 1:30 pm, Appalachian Festival veterans Sparky and Rhonda Rucker took the stage. Their show,“African-American Voices: From Spirituals to Freedom”, took the audience on a trip through African-American history via traditional folk music.  Jake Humm, a junior at Frostburg State University said, “I was bummed when I missed Sparky and Rhonda perform this summer at the Society of Economic Botany Conference here at FSU. I heard it was an amazing show. So when I found out they would be back for the Appalachian Festival, there was no way I was going to miss it.”

Around 2:30 pm Sparky and Rhonda Rucker wrapped up their show and exited the stage, making way for the Barnstormers and the RockCandy Cloggers.  An experienced dance group, the Barnstormers and the RockCandy Cloggers gave the audience a chance to get on their feet and learn traditional Appalachian flat footing.  The tent was filled with laughter as adults, students, and children followed along, many more successful than myself.   

An employee of Mountain City Tradition Arts, Andrew Shadel, was helping coordinate the events in the folkways tent on Saturday. “I know Kara (Rogers Thomas), really wants to show as many traditional artists as she can." Kara Rogers Thomas runs Mountain City Traditional Arts and every year helps to organize the Appalachian Festival. "That’s what the whole Appalachian Festival is about," Andrew continued, "remembering how rich our history is.” The day at the folkways tent continued with performances by Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble and The Mountain Dance Trail Project.

For more information about local traditional arts visit the Mountain City Traditional Arts Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/mountaincitytradarts.