It Still Lives

As we approach the annual Foxfire Fall Festival, we take a look at historic traditions and community activities here in the mountains, from corn shuckings to baseball games. Featuring interviews with Arie Carpenter, Carrie Stewart, Florence & Lawton Brooks, Harriet Echols, Richard & Margaret Norton, and Lena Dorsey. 

We're revisiting music in Appalachia and taking a look back at banjo making in Appalachia, from its origins in West Africa to mountain musicians in the 1970s. Visit www.foxfire.org/category/podcast for show notes and pictures!

This month, we are taking the podcast on the trail as we explore the history and impact of William Bartram's travels through Southern Appalachia with Brent Martin, Executive Director of the Blue Ridge Bartram Trail Conservancy.

In 1981, the Foxfire students dedicated an entire issue of the Foxfire magazine to the topic of fishing, from types of fish in the mountains to equipment and, of course, big fish tales. This month, we are pulling just a few excerpts from this robust issue to share with you! Interviews featured include Buck Carver, Minyard Conner, Melvin Taylor, Willie Underwood, and Florence Brooks.

We sat down with traveling artist and Appalachian-native Rosalie Haizlett to talk about her upcoming project Tiny Worlds of the Appalachian Mountains. Learn about how Rosalie explores nature to discover the miniature miracles of our mountains!

Several months back, Foxfire staff members met with Dr. Trey Adcock (Cherokee Nation) and Gilliam Jackson (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) to learn about their work in the Snowbird Community, near Robbinsville, North Carolina. 

We are carrying on the conversation around craft and community this month, as we sit down with quilter Zak Foster at the Foxfire Museum. 

We are continuing are exploration of weaving in the southern mountains with this look back at what the craft looked like during the first half of the twentieth century. In the 1970s and early 1980s, Foxfire students sat down with Marinda Brown, Edith Darnell, Lula Norton, and Lyndall Toothman to talk about their memories of the craft.

Host Kami Ahrens and Foxfire weaver Sharon Grist take a field trip to the John C. Campbell Folk School to meet with Allie Dudley, the school's new resident artist and a flourishing young historic weaver. Listen in as Sharon, Kami, and Allie talking weaving patterns, the future of craft, and it's role in communities.

We are kicking off Season 4 of It Still Lives with an interview from with art lover, gardener, and author Mignon Durham to talk about her passion project Devotion and how it helped her cope with the uncertainty we faced during 2020. Listen as Foxfire curator Kami Ahrens and Blue Ridge Public Radio regional reporter Lilly Knoepp talk with Mignon about her experiences in Appalachia and creating a space in our community that honors the culture here.