We’ve began publishing a monthly newsletter here at Whitley County Fine Arts. Let us know if you like it, or if you have any submissions!
With Every Season… Turn, Turn, Turn
Whitley County Fine Arts Extension regrets to announce the cancellation of our Community Square Dances, scheduled for August 28 and September 4, respectively. In their place, we do look forward to hosting the Whitley County Extension Homemaker’s Annual Quilt Show for Old Fashioned Days! We hope to see you there, and will be scheduling additional square dancing opportunities in the coming months! 
Community-based theater, Old Time Shape Note Singing (like you used to in church), and much more at Whitley County Community Center!
Hello world! We hope that you’ve enjoyed the last couple of weeks down here in Whitley County. If you’ve missed a week, you’ve missed ALOT. This past weekend Trip Bratton presented drumming workshops with area youth and adults, we screened two wonderful Appalshop films about Appalachian dancing and about Old Regular Baptist religion, and hosted a fantastic Crayon Canvas workshop! This coming week, we’ll be hosting an exciting mix of events that provide a variety of fun, free entertainment for the whole family (unless otherwise noted). Make sure to reserve your seats for Hobert and Nora, the community story share, or the Shape Note Singing today by calling 606-549-7373!
Friday, August 17- Hobert and Nora: A Musical, 428 Main Street, Williamsburg, KY
Saturday, August 18- Saturday Farmers’ Market, 4275 N. Hwy. 25, Williamsburg, KY
Monday August 20, 6 PM- Appalshop Film Screening Series, 428 Main Street, Williamsburg
* Screening Hazel Dickens: It’s Hard to Tell the Singer from the Song
Tuesday, August 21- Main Street Farmers’ Market, 428 Main Street, Williamsburg, KY
Tuesday, August 21- Community Story Share, 428 Main Street, Williamsburg, KY
Wednesday, August 22, Southern Fried Jazz Band, Corbin High School, Corbin, KY
Friday, August 24, 7:00 PM- Community Shape Note Singing- 428 Main Street, Williamsburg
Friday, August 24- District II Talent Showcase, Kentucky State Fair, Louisville
Saturday, August 25- Saturday Farmers’ Market, 4275 N. Hwy. 25, Williamsburg, KY
Smithsonian Exhibit Opening, Appalshop Film Series, Gourd Workshop, African Rhythms Demonstration!
Calendar of Events for August 1-11
Saturday, August 4- Saturday Farmers’ Market, 4275 N. Hwy. 25, Williamsburg, KY
Saturday, August 4- New Harmonies Exhibit Community Celebration, 428 Main Street, Williamsburg, KY
Virgil Bolin & Peerless Mountain Bluegrass Band & Dancing
Monday August 6, 6 PM- Appalshop Film Screening Series, 428 Main Street, Williamsburg
* Screening Sunny Side of Life (about the Carter Family Band)
Tuesday, August 7, 5:30-8:15 PM- Kentucky Foundation for Women’s Artist Enrichment Grant Workshop, Somerset
Tuesday, August 7, 4-6 PM- Main Street Farmers’ Market, 428 Main Street, Williamsburg
Tuesday, August 7, 6:30 PM- Community Arts Workshop, 428 Main Street, Williamsburg, KY
Tuesday, August 7, 6:00 PM- Appalshop Movie Screening, 428 Main Street, Williamsburg, KY
* Screening Minnie Black’s Gourd Band
Thursday, August 9- Sunday, August 12- Nibroc Festival, Corbin
Friday, August 10- Trip Bratton Workshop with Williamsburg HS Drum Line
Friday, August 10- Trip Bratton African Rhythms Demonstration- 428 Main Street, Williamsburg, KY
Saturday, August 11- Saturday Farmers’ Market, 4275 N. Hwy. 25, Williamsburg, KY
Saturday, August 11- Trip Bratton Community Drum Circle, 4275 N. Hwy. 25, Williamsburg
JAM festival, Square Dancing, Appalshop films, Bluegrass Music, OH MY!
We’ve been busy planning all kinds of summer fun to coincide with the opening of New Harmonies. If you haven’t checked our calendar of events yet, you may be surprised to find so many amazing events right around the corner.
This week alone, we’ve got the following:
Monday, July 23, 6-9 PM- Cumberland Falls Jam Session, Cumberland Falls State Park
Tuesday, July 24- Main Street Farmers’ Market, 428 Main Street, Williamsburg, KY
Tuesday, July 24- Square Dance lessons & Calling lessons, 428 Main Street, Williamsburg
Saturday, July 28- Saturday Farmers’ Market & JAM Festival, 4275 N. Hwy. 25, Williamsburg, KY
Jam and Jelly tasting as well as musical jam! Bring your appetites and your instruments!
Tuesday, July 31- Main Street Farmers’ Market, 428 Main Street, Williamsburg, KY
To view the community calendar of events through September, http://whitleycountyfinearts.wordpress.com/events/calendar-of-events/.
Smithsonian Exhibit regarding American Roots Music comes to Whitley County!
Whitley County Fine Arts Council hosts Smithsonian Exhibit,
New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music
The Whitley County Fine Arts Council, in cooperation with the Kentucky Humanities Council, is pleased to announce the opening of the Smithsonian Institute exhibit New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music as well as the opening of our new multi-use community arts center and gallery space on August 4, 2012 from 2:00-4:00 PM. The community arts space is located at the former UK Extension Office on 428 Main Street, in downtown Williamsburg in Southeast Kentucky.
To view more, http://whitleycountyfinearts.wordpress.com/events/smithsonian-new-harmonies-exhibit/
When you stop and listen, you quickly realize that music is all around us — at a local festival, at a dance hall on a Saturday night, or on your radio or your .mp3 player. Whether you’re hearing blues, country western, folk, or gospel, American roots music reveals the American story – peoples reshaping themselves in a new and changing world. As Americans from a variety of heritages shared cultural influences, musicians found new ways to play unique sounds learned from new neighbors on traditional instruments. The inevitable intermingling of musical influences created exciting new sounds – new American music
The Whitley County Fine Arts Council and the surrounding community has been expressly chosen by the Kentucky Humanities Council as the only South East Kentucky venue to host New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music as part of the Museum on Main Street project – a national/state/local partnership to bring exhibitions and programs to rural cultural organizations. The exhibition will tour a total of six communities in Kentucky through summer and fall, 2012.
Through a selection of photographs, recordings, instruments, lyrics and artist profiles, New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music will explore the distinct cultural identities of American roots music forms. The exhibition will examine the progression of American roots music, as rich and eclectic as our country itself. Other musical genres profiled include zydeco, tejano, bluegrass and klezmer.
Free events include square dance lessons and square dance calling lessons in July leading up to the exhibit, as well as a Friday night concert and workshop series, Saturday Farmer’s Market musical performances, other workshops to be announced, and a community celebration on August 4.
New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music is part of Museum on Main Street, a unique collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), state humanities councils across the nation, and local host institutions. To learn more about New Harmonies and other Museum on Main Street exhibitions, visit http://www.museumonmainstreet.org. Support for Museum on Main Street has been provided by the United States Congress and the Kentucky Humanities Council. SITES connect millions of Americans with their shared cultural heritage through a wide range of art, science and history exhibitions. Humanities councils support community-based humanities programs that highlight such topics as local history, literature and cultural traditions.
The Whitley County Fine Arts Council serves the local community through the creation and support of opportunities in the arts for citizens that will stimulate creativity, promote participation, and recognize artists, arts educators, and arts supporters at all levels and mediums. The Whitley County Fine Arts Council is a branch of the Whitley County Cooperative Extension Service, and represents Whitley County citizens interested in promoting cultural offerings in the region in diverse artistic areas from visual art and craft to popular and classic music to theatre, dance, creative writing, new media, and cultural preservation. To learn more, visit whitleycountyfinearts.wordpress.org.
