Folk School Fall Festival this Weekend

John C. Campbell Folk School will host its 36th annual Fall Festival this weekend in Brasstown with over 200 craft vendors, 40 craft demonstrators, 30 performing music and dance groups, multiple kids’ activities and 20 food booths. Fall Festival is one of the largest and most popular events of its type in the region and will be held on Saturday and Sunday, October 3 & 4, from 10 AM to 5 PM. Folk School Fall Festival organizers expect to entertain thousands of visitors this year.

Folk School Director Jan Davidson said, “The Folk School Fall Festival is the biggest event in these mountains, and a chance for us all to get together and have a weekend of fun. It’s a great tradition for many local people.”

Juried and non-juried craftspeople and artists will offer their handmade items for sale in booths dotting the scenic campus. A wide variety of media will be represented, including fiber, pottery, wood, metal, jewelry, paintings, and glass. The festival brings in many local artists and crafts people, as well as people from all over the country.

The entertainment lineup this year features over 30 talented acts on two stages for continuous live music and dance during the weekend festival. Individuals and groups will perform old-time, bluegrass, folk, gospel, and Celtic music. Dance performances scheduled will include clogging, morris, garland, and rapper sword. “There is an amazingly high quality of music and dance on the whole at Fall Festival. It’s a nice variety – a little bit of everything,” said  CONTACT _Con-3DA823CB5 Bob Dalsemer, Music and Dance Coordinator at the Folk School, and organizer of the entertainment at Fall Festival.

Each year at the Festival, the Folk School hosts demonstrators of traditional and contemporary styles of craft. Kisha Blount, Assistant Program Manager, said, “The folks in the Mountain Life Area will demonstrate the old mountain ways of getting along – from grinding corn or forging metal, to making music.” There will also be demonstrations of contemporary woodturning, pottery, spinning, and weaving, among others, throughout campus studios.

A kid- and family-friendly event, the Folk School Fall Festival features several areas that are just for young people. Pony and wagon rides will be available again this year, and kids and adults are invited to participate in the drumming circle, from 1-2 pm on both Saturday and Sunday.

Almost 20 local food vendors will serve meals, snacks, and drinks. Fall Festival is the primary fundraising event for many local non-profit groups that sponsor food booths. This year, there will be food for a variety of tastes, from kettle corn to the Folk School’s Famous Barbecue.

Both the Folk School’s Craft Shop and History Center will be open during the festival.

The festival will be held Saturday and Sunday, October 3 and 4, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm on the school’s campus on Brasstown Road in Brasstown, NC. Admission prices per day are $5.00 for adults, $3.00 for children ages 12-17, and free for children under 12. Parking is free. For more information about Fall Festival or John C. Campbell Folk School, call 1-800-365-5724 or 828-837-2775 or visit  HYPERLINK “http://www.folkschool.org/fallfestival” www.folkschool.org/fallfestival. The entire vendor and music program is available online.

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marketplace_9565.jpg CUTLINE: Over 200 craftspeople and artists will line the Folk School’s scenic paths and Festival Barn with their wares. Photo by Keather Weideman.
morris_dancer_6673.jpg CUTLINE:  Sticks in the Mud Morris Dancers will perform traditional English dances for audiences. Continuous music and dance performances on two stages are a big part of the weekend. Photo by  CONTACT _Con-3DA823CB3 Keather Weideman.

alpacas_9471.jpg CUTLINE: Kids will find lots to do, including pony and wagon rides, face painting, and playing in a drum circle. Don’t forget the Humane Society’s Pet Adoption booth! Photo by Keather Weideman.
WoodworkingDemo_5752.jpg: Rodney Hopkins (left), a Folk School instructor, demonstrates woodworking techniques on the porch of the Woodworking Studio during Fall Festival. Photo by Keather Weideman.
MAP: A Map of the 36th Folk School Fall Festival

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Sidebar: The information below can be posted in a box near the above article as a sidebar that provides the festival’s specific music and dance performance schedule:

Fall Festival Music & Dance Schedule
Saturday, October 3, 2009 
FESTIVAL BARN STAGE
10:00 Pretty Bird
10:40 Roberta and Furman, The Marble Mountaineers
11:20 Whimzik
12:00 Campbell Folk School Cloggers
12:40 Don Fox and Friends
1:20 Pure Profit
2:00 Liz and Tim
2:40 Morris, Garland and Rapper Sword Dancers
3:20 Bean Sidhe
4:00 Brasstown Grass

Saturday, October 3, 2009 
CRAFT SHOP STAGE
10:00 The Mountaineers 
10:40 Here and There Mountain Travelers
11:20 Frogtown Four
12:00 Pretty Bird
12:40 Staber and Chasnoff
1:20 Barney’s Goat
2:00 Butternut Creek and Friends
2:40 The Songtellers
3:20 Dirt Girls
4:00 Buck and Nelson
(If it rains, the  HYPERLINK “https://www.folkschool.org/index.php?section=articles&article_cat_id=8&article_id=15″ \t “_parent” Craft Shop Stage will be moved to Keith House.)

Sunday, October 4, 2009 
FESTIVAL BARN STAGE
10:00 Sunday Morning String Band
10:40 Lee Knight
11:20 Staber and Chasnoff
12:00 Blue Ridge Grass
12:40 Campbell Folk School Cloggers
1:20 Buzzard Mountain Boys
2:00 Jerry and Paul Wilson
2:40 Little Brasstown Baptist Church Choir 
3:20 Morris, Garland and Rapper Sword Dancers
4:00 Irons In The Fire

Sunday, October 4, 2009 
CRAFT SHOP STAGE
10:00 Pure Profit
10:40 Kenneth Gay
11:20 Jerry and Evelyn
12:00 Beulah Land Gospel Band
12:40 Parker Brothers
1:20 Mountain Valley Bluegrass
2:00 Suzuki Fiddlers
2:40 Wayde Powell Band
3:20 Coldwater Creek
4:00 Anne & Rob Lough
(If it rains, the  HYPERLINK “https://www.folkschool.org/index.php?section=articles&article_cat_id=8&article_id=15″ \t “_parent” Craft Shop Stage will be moved to Keith House.)