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The State Center for Blue Ridge Folklore
For over 30 years Ferrum College's Blue Ridge Institute & Museum has documented the folkways of the people living in and around the Blue Ridge Mountains. Through gallery exhibits, the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival, the Blue Ridge Farm Museum, the Blue Ridge Heritage Archive, the BRI Recordings series and innovative outreach programming, the BRI promotes a special understanding of regional folklife for all ages and audiences. At the same time the Institute's focus adds a unique element to Ferrum College's modern academic programs.
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FERRUM COLLEGE is a four-year liberal arts, residential college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. For more information visit our web site.
The Virginia Dulcimer:
200 Years of Bowing, Strumming, & Picking
The dulcimer, an icon of mountain folk music, takes center stage in The Virginia Dulcimer: 200 Years of Strumming, Bowing, & Picking. Explore the dulcimer’s multicultural journey from northern Europe, down the Shenandoah Valley, into the Southwest Virginia mountains, and eventually onto the laps of folk revival musicians across the nation.
Virginia instrument makers and players helped give the dulcimer both an American form and an American repertoire. The Virginia Dulcimer features over 50 dulcimers (including early scheitholts) from the 1700s to the present as well as video performances, dozens of vintage photographs, and plenty of history. There’s even a hands-on dulcimer for you to play! Learn more . . .
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By Women’s Hands
Southwest Virginia photographer Earl Palmer watched Appalachia change in dramatic ways during his life (1905-1996). In response Palmer took thousands of pictures of what he saw as the disappearing, self-sufficient lifestyle of the Virginia highlands. Not surprisingly, many of his images featured women working at traditional handcrafts and food preparation. By Women’s Hands presents a selection of Palmer’s distinctive photographs of Blue Ridge craft traditions.
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