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This year’s Fall Festival is just around the corner on October 6 and 7, and we’re looking for volunteers to help us produce this special event.
For the past 44 years, we’ve celebrated our rich Appalachian heritage at Fall Festival, our fun-filled weekend featuring the craft of over 240 craftspeople, continuous live music and dance on two stages, craft demonstrations, food, and kids’ activities.
Volunteers work at our admission gates in 2.5-hour shifts on Saturday and/or Sunday. You’ll take cash, make change, and distribute admission wristbands and event programs. Oh, and welcome everyone with a smile!
To thank you for your help, you’ll receive free admission to the festival, a free meal ticket, and an event t-shirt.
Email volunteer@folkschool.org with the following information and we’ll put you on the list. We’ll be in touch later with final assignments and other details.
- Your full name
- Your email address
- Your phone number
- Day preference to work: Saturday and/or Sunday
- Time preference to work: morning, mid-day, and/or afternoon
- Are you under or over 21 years old? (anyone 16 or older is welcome to volunteer)
We’re looking forward to a great festival and welcome you to be an important part of it!
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We are so happy to welcome Ted Cooley as our Music and Dance Coordinator. Ted has an illustrious history with the Folk School. He’s twice served as a host, and then settled in the area to help launch our JAM (Junior Appalachian Musicians) Program in 2005. He taught and served as the JAM Program coordinator for 8 years. Ted has taught over 40 Folk School classes over the years. He served as the Nature Studies Resident Artist, and is currently the Storytelling Resident Artist. I talked to Ted about his experience in the Folk School community, and his thoughts on returning as the Music and Dance Coordinator. Enjoy our interview!
CP: What originally brought you to the Folk School?
TC: Like so many of us, I found out about the Folk School by happening upon a catalog, and I was amazed that you could study so many different things at one place! At the time, I was a graduate student at ETSU and I immediately decided to take a break from my studies and apply for the Host position. The rest (as they say) is history.
CP: What’s it like returning to the Folk School as a full-time employee?
TC: It has been wonderful reconnecting with the greater Folk School community! Though I have been teaching in Virginia, it feels, in many ways, as though I never left. One of the magical qualities of the Folk School is that you always feel at home here.
Ted playing a fiddle tune outside the History Center.
CP: What are the strengths of the music and dance program at the Folk School? What are you excited to bring to the table?
TC: The Folk School is unique in regard to the amount of programing offered in music and dance. There are weekly opportunities for folks to study a wide variety of musical instruments and dance styles. There are also opportunities for the larger community to attend live concerts and participate in weekly dances at the Keith house. There is always something being offered!
I have a deep love for traditional music and dance. During the last few years my social life revolved around playing music at weekly jams and going to dances around the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. I also enjoy running sound and coordinating events. One of the advantages that I have in my new role is that I have been working for the Folk School for many years. I have been a host twice, been a Resident Artist and Recreation Leader for our youth programs. I not only have met a lot of artists connected with the School, but these opportunities have also given me a unique perspective that I feel will be helpful during my tenure here! [click to continue…]
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Executive Director and Auction Emcee Jerry Jackson welcomes a full house for the live auction.
The 2018 Gala & Benefit Auction brought close to 200 Folk School friends together for a lively evening of bidding, mingling, and entertainment. The event, an annual highlight in our community, featured offerings by artists and donors as near as Brasstown and as far away as Belgium.
Chef Jarrett Palmer fills the Olive Dame Campbell Dining Hall with delicious treats from the forthcoming Folk School Cookbook.
Musicians Annie Fain Barralon and Jonah Graves welcomed guests to the first part of the evening with traditional mountain music on the porch of Olive Dame Campbell Dining Hall. Through the screened porch door, folks were treated to their first glimpse of a stunning display of over 100 silent auction pieces in a variety of mediums, from jewelry and paintings to baskets and pottery. Attendees also dined on featured dishes from the forthcoming Folk School Cookbook, including “Mushroom Turnovers” and “Cheese Pennies and Stars with Green Tomato Marmalade.”
During the second portion of the evening, guests were invited to the historic Keith House to view and bid on nearly 50 unique pieces from artists and other Folk School supporters. Throughout the live auction, solo auctioneer and longtime Folk School friend Tim Ryan kept the crowd engaged and entertained with his signature wit and charm. [click to continue…]
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Tim Ryan with a bonsai tree
Tim Ryan will be our auctioneer at our Gala & Benefit Auction this Saturday. Tim has been involved in the Folk School in so many different ways: instructor, Folk School Board member (1994-2004), Resident Artist in Gardening and Homesteading (2000-2015), storyteller, gardener, auctioneer, kettle cooker, and blacksmith. Let’s get to know him a little bit better!
CP: Let’s talk about auctions since the Gala & Benefit Auction is this Saturday. How did you get into auctioneering?
TR: Benefit auctioning is a niche. I got into it because of Jim Batson, who teaches knife making here at the Folk School. Years ago, at the 2nd Alabama Blacksmith reunion, I took a green coal class and made a great poker with a wizard head on the end. I was finishing the project up and was so proud of it. My instructor came over and picked it up and said, “This is going to sell so good at the auction tonight.” I said, “WHAT?!?” He said, “Oh, you didn’t know? Everything we make in green coal we donate to the auctions to fray the cost of the conference.” I really could have cried. [click to continue…]
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