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NC Folk

Helping communities across the state connect their heritage arts and traditions to local development, education, and active citizenship

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NC Field

undentified-musicians-at-toy-shopNC Field is NC Folk’s blog about folklore in the field and about the field of folklore. Whether it’s a guide to conducting family oral histories or a profile of a great artist, NC Folk's work across our state’s 100 counties means that we engage with hundreds of unique voices and ideas every year.

We feature stories that give us glimpses into North Carolinians’ lives—stories about family, place, and identity—and others about the How’s and Why’s of folklife documentation. Like individual quilt squares, those personal and community histories, essays, and general musings are integral pieces of a rich, whole—North Carolina.

You can also join our Facebookand our Instagram feed to keep up with the latest issues and events in North Carolina folklife.

Photo: Unidentified musicians at Jack Guy's Toy Shop, Beech Grove, NC. Photo from the Jack Guy Collection.

Help NC continue its forward looking arts policy

The North Carolina Arts Council has released a draft plan for the arts over the next four years and is seeking public input through an online survey. The document that results will be a new strategic plan to shape the future of NC arts for the next four years – 2015-2019. If you think this is… Read More →

Filed Under: Musings, NC Field, Uncategorized

Encouraging “Place-Rooted” Development: Notes from Stone Country

by Joseph O’Connell In the late 1970s, Bedford, Indiana began investing in the construction of a nine-story-tall pyramid. Made from locally-quarried limestone, the pyramid was intended as the centerpiece and chief attraction of a heritage park interpreting the local architectural stone industry. As a symbol, it would invite the comparison between Bedford’s achievements and those… Read More →

Filed Under: NC Field, Theory in Practice, Uncategorized

Ethics of the documented – Finding Vivian Maier

The newly released documentary Finding Vivian Maier tells the story of John Maloof’s purchase of a box full of old negatives at auction, hoping they would relate to the book he was writing about his Chicago neighborhood. Instead, they led him to the discovery of street photographer Vivian Maier. As Maloof learns more about her work (which… Read More →

Filed Under: Musings, NC Field, Uncategorized Tagged With: ethics, fieldwork, key questions

May Day – Tom Dula’s Hanging and the Ethics of the Documented

On this day in history – May 1, 1868 – Thomas C. Dula was hanged in Statesville, NC for the murder of Laura Foster. Dula (pronounced “Dooley”), the bloody murder, and subsequent trial became the infamous subjects of the “Ballad of Tom Dooley.” Much has been written over the years about the actual murder, the ballad, and… Read More →

Filed Under: NC Field, Theory in Practice, Uncategorized Tagged With: John Jeremiah Sulliven, Tom Dula

Storytelling Animals

by Joy Salyers, Executive Director On May 6th and 8th, I’ll be participating in the Raleigh performances of a national movement called Listen to Your Mother. 32 cities nationwide are hosting these live staged readings in honor of Mother’s Day, each directed, produced, and performed by local communities, for local communities. Last year was the… Read More →

Filed Under: NC Field, Theory in Practice, Uncategorized Tagged With: Listen to Your Mother, personal experience narrative, preaching, Storytelling

Pete Seeger’s lessons for we who sing, and we who stand nearby

(Pete Seeger at the Great Hudson River Revival, 2011)    (Post title comes from Seeger’s song, “To My Old Brown Earth”) Last Monday morning sometime after six, I heard the radio talking about Pete Seeger’s career and said aloud, “Oh, no.” Throughout the day and week I read many tributes and memorials in the news… Read More →

Filed Under: NC Field, Theory in Practice, Uncategorized Tagged With: activism, community-based development, environmental stewardship, folk music, Folk Revival, health, Pete Seeger, traditional culture

Remembering Ted Hicks

  by Tom McGowan The death of Ted Hicks last Friday deprives our community and the community of scholars and storytelling artists of an extraordinary bearer of family and local traditions. Born in 1954 in Avery County, the son of Ray and Rosa Hicks, Ted stayed at home in their iconic weathered house on the… Read More →

Filed Under: NC Field, Tradition Bearers, Uncategorized Tagged With: Appalachia, Avery County, Beech Mountain, Herbal Lore, In Memoriam, Jack Tales, Storytelling, Ted Hicks

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