Kentucky Folklife Program to present artists Saturday at Horse Cave Heritage Festival

The
Kentucky Folklife Program, a statewide traditional culture
organization based at WKU, will be presenting a wide range of folk
artists and local tradition bearers Saturday (Sept. 21) beginning at 11 a.m. at the
Horse Cave Heritage Festival. 

For more than 20 years
the KFP has been working to document, present and conserve the rich
heritage and culture of the state. For the past three years the KFP has
worked with the City
of Horse Cave to create a special talk stage performance area at their
annual fall festival. The facilitators of these presentations of
traditional local culture include the KFP staff, WKU Department of Folk
Studies professors, and graduate students in Tim
Evans' Public Folklore class.

 “The work
of a public folklorist documenting and developing relationships with
communities is an intimate undertaking,” said KDP Director Brent
Bjorkman. “Our mission goes beyond simply collecting their stories but
is further advanced by collaborating with these artists and cultural
tradition bearers to present themselves back to their home communities.
Sometimes these presentations might be in the
form of an exhibit or a radio program, but the format of a staged talk
in front of festival visitors helps to validate these prideful artistic
expression of culture in front of both outside visitors and local
residents alike.”

 Topics the
KFP and Folk Studies graduate students will be helping to present on
hourly stages include the local traditions of quilting, the long
ever-changing history of tobacco farming and warehousing of the crop in
the region, as well as a discussion with several key local basketball
legends of the Horse Cave area. This year the KFP will also continue its
popular presentations of local food traditions
at the festival, featuring cooking stage interviews with Fried Pie and
Tamale makers. 

 These presentations begin at 11 a.m. and run through 5 p.m. in front of the Thomas House in Downtown Horse Cave.

 A full Schedule of event for the entire festival can be found at the following link:
http://www.horsecaveky.com/?page=Annual_Heritage_Festival