[Scmusenet] Eighth Annual Hagood Mill Storytelling Festival will be a day of family fun this coming Saturday, October 17

[Allen Coleman]

Eighth Annual Hagood Mill Storytelling Festival

A day of family fun coming up on Saturday, October 17

 

     The Pickens County Museum of Art & History invites you to a special, and free, day of milling, stories, tall tales and lots of memories at the Hagood Mill Historic Site & Folklife Center. The Mill will be operating, rain or shine, on Saturday, October 17 from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

 

     As part of the Museum's "Music in the Mountains" series, the celebration of tradition will continue on this day at the "Eighth Annual Hagood Mill Storytelling Festival." The hills around the ole mill will echo with the whispers, howls 'n hollers of some of the Southeast's best storytellers sharing bits about all sorts of folks, mountain funnies, coastal cultures and places that are wild. 

 

     Returning to again host what has become one of Hagood Mill's favorite annual events is storyteller, musician and radio personality, John T. Fowler. 

 

     From the rolling hills of upstate South Carolina with family ties to the western North Carolina mountains, John Fowler's storytelling is a blast of old-time energy of yesteryear introducing traditional yarns and folktales from the Carolina region. Those Appalachian family ties run deep in John, which in turn creates his friendly and energetic personality. He also is an old-time mountain banjo and harmonica master, and plays several other traditional instruments, occasionally blending them into his programs. John's stories and old-time songs, geared for audiences young and old, are stepping stones of history and southern culture. John is also a researcher, collector, preservationist and writer as well as the host of an old time radio show on NC public radio station WNCW 88.7 FM. 

 

     This year's festival features a quintet of talented tellers gracing the stages, porches and shade trees at the mill. Joining John Fowler will be, from Florida by way of the Carolina Lowcountry, Barb "Yostie" Ashley. Sharon Cooper-Murray of Johns Island will inspire children of every age with her tales of the Gullah people. Sharing Native American lore will be Columbia's Will Moreau Goins. Visiting from Tennessee, Saundra Kelley will share her love of the environment with her Earth Stories. 

 

     Barb "Yostie" Ashley is a storytelling-puppeteer from Pensacola, Florida, serving as an artist-in-residence with the South Carolina Arts Commission. She has educational degrees from Florida State University and the University of South Carolina. Yostie is an educational entertainment specialist in informal drama and has authored several monographs on motivational teaching ideas. During the summer months her company, the Merry Mariner Puppet Factory/Kidstown, does daily performances at Coligny Plaza Outdoor Theatre area in Hilton Head, SC. With the theme, "Play is Her Work," Yostie is very enthusiastic about bringing innovative approaches to children's literature with puppetry. Yostie recently published a video "Simply Storytelling with Puppets" which was funded in part by the South Carolina Arts Commission.

 

     Sharon Cooper-Murray, a native of South Carolinian was raised in Florence County. She attended Knoxville College and the University of Tennessee where she received her B.S. in English & Speech/Drama. She returned to South Carolina and has resided in Charleston County since 1977. Sharon says of her arrival to Wadmalaw Island, SC, "It was the first time I heard the Gullah language, I was fascinated by the tone and rhythm of this Creole language and that was the beginning of what has become my life long passion: the Gullah culture; their stories, music, crafts, food ways, religious folkways... their way of life." During the late 1980's she, with her husband, started De Gullah Enna Pry which is a heritage development company. In their efforts to preserve, conserve and develop the heritage of this indigenous population they have been involved in numerous activities, including the extensive research of Gullah stories, histories and lore. During an oral history project conducted in 1992 on Johns and Wadmalaw Islands Sharon had the opportunity to hear first-hand the stories and tales from a group of people ranging in age from 78 to 96 years old. She says that their stories were the catalyst that propelled her into storytelling. Since then she has been telling tales in a variety of forums including schools, churches, conferences, family reunions, festivals, craft shows and the list goes on. Sharon has traveled extensively throughout the East coast of the United States telling the tales of the Gullah people.

 

     Historic preservationist, published author, community leader and communications professional, Dr. Will Moreau Goins, a descendant of Eastern Cherokee, Tuscarora and Cheraw ancestors, is also a folklorist, cultural presenter, storyteller, chanter-singer, dancer, artist, educator, and arts administrator. Dr. Goins presently serves as the Chief Executive Officer for the Eastern Cherokee, Southern Iroquois & United Tribes of South Carolina, Inc.  a.k.a. of the Cherokee Indian Tribe of South Carolina-ECSIUT, Inc. In 2008, the South Carolina General Assembly, The South Carolina Arts Commission and the University of South Carolina's McKissick Museum awarded the 2008 Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award to Dr. Goins to recognize his lifetime achievement in traditional arts. He has appeared in performances for over 40 Ambassadors, international dignitaries, and throughout the entire United States, as well as, in France, Greece, Australia, Italy, Wales, the United Kingdom, and in Turkey. He has performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. in the Nation's Capital and at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. He also has reached out to over 25,000 youth and students in his outreach to schools annually and is on the SC Arts Commission Approved Artists Roster. 

 

     A native of Tallahassee, Florida and now living in Tennessee, Saundra Kelley is a seventh generation North Floridian. She is descended from the hardy pioneer folks who farmed their way south from the Carolina's to North Florida in the early 1800's, cracking their bullwhips to keep the mighty oxen on task. She earned an M.A. in Education with a Storytelling Concentration from East Tennessee State University in 2007. Still, the designation Florida Cracker is a badge of honor for native Floridians and one Saundra Kelley is proud to own. Kelley is noted for her passion for the environment; her place-based stories called Legends of the Wild inspire us to preserve, protect and save our natural and cultural heritage. Kelley's traditional folktales and personal narrative reflect her family's rich southern storytelling tradition and her own relationship to the earth. She also collects regional stories and oral histories from all over the southeast.  Kelley is writing her first book, Storytelling in Contemporary Appalachia/stoking the fire, which is a compendium of the life/work journeys of fifteen Appalachian storytellers, due for publication in the spring of 2010. Kelley is the staff writer for the Jonesborough Herald and Tribune and writes a column for the Wakulla Area Times in Florida under the name The Tennessee Rambler. She is a performing member of the Jonesborough Storytelling Guild; The National Storytelling Network; the Florida Storytelling Association and the Tennessee Writer's Alliance.

 

     Join in the fun from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. for this FREE day of tall tales, whoppers, folklore and good ol' stories along with the monthly dose of milling, music and memories. The Hagood Mill hosts a variety of folklife and traditional arts demonstrations each month, including blacksmithing, bowl-digging, flintknapping, moonshining, quilting, spinning, weaving, woodcarving and more! 

 

     "Music in the Mountains 2009" is sponsored by a private benefactor. The Pickens County Museum of Art & History is funded in part by Pickens County, members and friends of the museum and a grant from the South Carolina Arts Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts. 

 

     There promises to be lots to do and lots of fun! So, head on out, grab a plate of Barbeque or a couple of hot dogs and enjoy a day at the Mill. Show your support for the Mill and the Pickens County Museum by joining them at this monthly Third Saturday event. The Hagood Mill operates, rain or shine, the third Saturday of every month and is located just 3 miles north of Pickens or 5 ½ miles south of Cherokee Foothills Scenic Hwy 11 off SC Hwy 178 at 138 Hagood Mill Road. Hagood Mill is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 until 4:00, to tour the buildings and grounds and to visit the Mill Site Gift Shop.

 

     For additional information please contact the Hagood Mill Historic Site & Folklife Center at (864) 898-2936 or the Pickens County Museum at (864) 898-5963. 

 

 

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