If you can’t be here in person for our summer and fall workshops, we invite you to join us online! These hour-long virtual demonstrations will give you a chance to learn from a live presentation by our talented instructors, followed by a 10–20 minute Q & A.
Please Note: these are not follow-along lessons, although we do encourage you to make while you watch! These programs will cost $10 to attend via Zoom.
Gardening
August 29 • 3 p.m.
Organic Pest and Weed Management with Teddy Pitsiokos
Do you love to garden, but can never seem to keep the weeds and bugs away from your beautiful vegetables? Learn how to manage pests like an organic farmer! This demonstration will cover the basics of how to efficiently prevent, identify, and remove common garden pests, including weeds.
Register on Zoom.
Cooking
September 4 • 3 p.m.
Vegetable Alchemy: Making Simple Ferments with Nanette Davidson
End of season harvest provides many opportunities for creating delicious fermented fruits and vegetables that add a probiotic tang to your everyday fare. Learn how to prepare krauts, pickles, and condiments that require simple tools, few ingredients, and no cooking.
Register on Zoom.
September 6 • 3 p.m.
Cooking with Fire with Nanette Davidson
Discover the basics of brick oven management while learning how to create mouth-watering roasted fruit and vegetable dishes, and baked focaccia!
Register on Zoom.
Nature Studies
September 4 • 6 p.m.
Appalachian Plants at Home with Karen Hurtubise
Learn to appreciate a diversity of interesting native and useful plants along with some basics of growing and maintaining these beauties in your own home landscape. Some possible plants for discussion include ginseng and goldenseal, milkweeds and mulberries, persimmons and pawpaws, among others.
Register on Zoom.
September 6 • 6 p.m.
Fall Mushroom Foraging with Michael Weese
Explore aspects of identification and how tree associations, soil composition, weather patterns, and other factors can influence mushroom growth. Discover why each mushroom, with its own distinct growth habits and storied history, is unique and valuable to the natural world. Common fall fungi in the region may include honey mushrooms, chicken-of-the-woods, maitake, and puffballs.
Register on Zoom.
October 1 • 6 p.m.
An Afternoon with the Trees with Carol Parks
Get to know some of the Folk School’s magnificent trees, just as they’re putting on their autumn colors. Learn the basics of tree identification, the history and folklore of these trees, and what makes each one unique and memorable.
Register on Zoom.
October 1 • 3 p.m.
Outdoor Mushroom Cultivation with Leif Olson
Learn how to grow mushrooms from logs and mulch beds. Cover the basics of fungal ecology and how to successfully grow edible mushrooms including shiitake, oyster, stropharia, turkey tail, and more.
Register on Zoom.
October 2 • 6 p.m.
An Introduction to Birding with Liz Domingue
Learn how to find, identify, and appreciate our southern Appalachian birds.
Register on Zoom.
Dyeing
October 4 • 3 p.m.
Into the Blue with Sally Blankenship & Cathy Mulvey
Observe for yourself the transformative magic of indigo, and learn why it’s a standout in the world of natural dyes.
Register on Zoom.
October 4 • 6 p.m.
A Colorful Moment: Uses of Natural Dyed Fleece in Spinning and Felt Making with Martha Owen
Hand and drum card dyed fleece for different effects in finished yarns, knit wear and felt making.
Register on Zoom.
Photography
October 3 • 6 p.m.
Capture Nature through the Lens with Liz Domingue
Learn the basic techniques of nature photography! Enhance your photographic skills and explore the flora and fauna of our natural surroundings, from butterflies and other invertebrates to birds and abundant plant life.
Register on Zoom.
Basketry & Broom Making
October 2 • 3 p.m.
Making a Witches Broom with Marlow Gates
Just in time for Halloween, watch master Marlow Gates as he makes an “authentic” Witches Broom, 4′-5′ in length, complete with a crooked handle, dyed purple broom corn and green accent wrap.
Register on Zoom.
The Folk School transforms lives, bringing people together in a nurturing environment for experiences in learning and community life that spark self-discovery. Located in scenic Brasstown, North Carolina, the Folk School offers year-round weeklong and weekend classes for adults in craft, art, music, dance, cooking, gardening, nature studies, photography and writing.
Is it possible yet to watch virtual demos since the original presentations were done? Would love to see some I couldn’t join.
Sheryl-not yet, but we’re getting close to figuring out a way to allow people to watch them. Hopefully, we’ll have it fixed soon!
Is the photography session geared towards using a professional type camera with lenses? Or would it benefit those of us using only phone cameras? thanks.
Alisa-the instructor said that it really isn’t appropriate for a smartphone. If you have at least a point and shoot camera it would be helpful since she will be covering exposure, lighting, composition, etc.
Zoom is only free for 40-minute classes unless we pay $150 a year. Are online classes for less than 40 minutes? I would love to take many classes but I can’t afford to pay for Zoom. Do you have any suggestions?
Regards,
We’ve been hosting hour-long discussions for free on zoom with no issues. It may be that the $150 charge is for people who want to host classes themselves. There should be no charge from zoom for our Virtual Workshops. The $10 fee is to help the Folk School cover costs of developing these programs. If you continue to have trouble accessing zoom, please contact Darcy at darcy@folkschool.org. Thank you for your question!