President Lyle Roelofs today announced that Berea College will make substantial funds available to eastern Kentucky counties impacted by last month’s devastating flooding. The flooding affected 8,000 residents in the region.
Tag: Loyal Jones Appalachian Center
Ezell National Tour Launches in Berea Over Earth Day Weekend
Ezell becomes the Appalachian Eagle during the Clear Creek premier of the full Ezell: Ballad of a Land Man performance (photo by Erica Chambers)
Ezell: Ballad of a Land Man, an award-winning outdoor eco-cultural theater, music and meal experience will be presented at the Berea College Forestry Outreach Center and the Pinnacles over Earth Day weekend, April 21 to 24, 2022.
Ezell is an environmental, cultural and spiritual parable derived from living in the foothills of Appalachia, one man among many seeking to make sense of the time, place and condition in which we live. In the story, Ezell’s choices, traumas, ancestors and more intersect with themes of domination and resilience as he seeks to take advantage of an anticipated fracking boom and the opportunity to reconnect with the people and land of his raising.
Continue reading Ezell National Tour Launches in Berea Over Earth Day Weekend →
National Book Foundation Authors Present “The Environment of Now” at Berea College
Can readers escape the end of the world? Join National Book Award–honored authors Julia Phillips (Disappearing Earth, 2019 Fiction finalist) and Jackie Wang (The Sunflower Cast a Spell to Save Us from the Void, 2021 Poetry finalist) for readings and conversation on writing the environment of place and people in the 21st century.
The free event takes place on Tuesday, April 12, at 6 p.m. in the Berea College Alumni Building’s Baird Lounge. Refreshments will be available. Masks are required.
To bring cutting-edge authors to Appalachian Kentucky, the National Book Foundation’s public programming arm, NBF Presents, arranged these authors’ visits in partnership with Berea College and Appalshop (Letcher County).
48th Celebration of Traditional Music at Berea College: October 14-17, 2021
Written by Liza DiSavino
The 48th annual Berea College Celebration of Traditional Music (CTM) will take place Oct. 15-17 and will feature, due to COVID, a mixture of both in-person and live-streamed events.
The CTM seeks to represent homemade music passed on from person to person in the Appalachian Region, and the musicians who play it. It is supported by a generous grant by the L. Allen Smith Memorial Fund and is presented by the Loyal Jones Appalachian Center, the Music Department, the Celebration of Traditional Music Committee, and the members of the Berea College Folk-Roots Ensemble.
A pre-CTM Stephenson Memorial convocation concert performance by John McCutcheon will take place Thursday, Oct. 14 at 8 p.m. at Phelps-Stokes Chapel. This is the only evening concert open to the public. The event is free, and masks and COVID-19 vaccination are required.
Continue reading 48th Celebration of Traditional Music at Berea College: October 14-17, 2021 →
46th Celebration of Traditional Music at Berea College: October 10-14, 2019
Noted musician and songwriter Billy Edd Wheeler, a Berea College alumnus, “is bringin’ it home” at this year’s Celebration of Traditional Music (CTM) with tales of ‘Memories Through Songs’ featuring traditional Appalachian folk music.
The festival’s opening event on Thursday, Oct. 10, will be the Stephenson Memorial Convocation Concert, headlined by Wheeler along with performances by Doug Orr of Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada and Whitewater Bluegrass Company from Ashville, North Carolina. The Convocation begins at 8 p.m., in Phelps Stokes Chapel on the Berea College campus.
Continue reading 46th Celebration of Traditional Music at Berea College: October 10-14, 2019 →
Berea College Announces Winners of “Appalachian Narratives for Our Time” Awards
Berea College’s Loyal Jones Appalachian Center has announced the winners of the “Appalachian Narratives for Our Time” award for essays about how Appalachians thrive in the places they call home.
The submitted essays focus on the authors’ compelling life stories and illustrate the challenges of coming of age, working and living in the realities of family and community.
“Appalachia has a rich and, at the same time, challenging history,” said Chris Green, director of the Loyal Jones Appalachian Center. “All too often, however, national media portrays difficulties in the region as the fault of people who live here. We wanted to give the majority of Appalachians who grow up and make good lives a new opportunity to tell their stories.”
Continue reading Berea College Announces Winners of “Appalachian Narratives for Our Time” Awards →
Needle Work Musical Drama Coming to Berea College March 26th
Higher Ground will present an original one-act musical drama, Needle Work, at the Phelps Stokes Chapel at 7 p.m., Tuesday March 26, 2019. The performance includes stories collected in eastern Kentucky communities and music from the cast and local musicians. It is free and open to the public.
Needle Work examines the pros and cons of needle exchanges, where substance abusers can exchange dirty syringes for clean ones without fear of legal consequences, as a way of stemming the spread of diseases such as hepatitis and HIV/AIDS.
Continue reading Needle Work Musical Drama Coming to Berea College March 26th →
Berea College and Community to Celebrate MLK Day with Convocation and Events
Community (Berea and campus) members begin to march from Union Church to Presser Hall on Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2018.
(Photo: Crystal Wylie ’05)
Berea College staff, faculty and students have organized a series of events in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, Jan. 21, 2019. The centerpiece event is a convocation featuring Zeb Harrison & The Sounds of Praise. The annual MLK Day activities are co-sponsored by Office of the President, Berea College Music Program, Black Cultural Center, Carter G. Woodson Center for Interracial Education, the Center for Excellence in Learning through Service (CELTS), Berea College Music Program, First Christian Church, Union Church, and Willis D. Weatherford Jr. Campus Christian Center. Continue reading Berea College and Community to Celebrate MLK Day with Convocation and Events →
44th Celebration of Traditional Music at Berea College, October 26-29, 2017
Alice Gerrard
Photo credit: Irene Young
This year’s Celebration of Traditional Music (CTM) greets Halloween by focusing on British and Appalachian ballads, haunting tales of love and loss. The CTM honors the tradition of passing music, stories, and oral history from person to person in the Appalachian Region. Alice Gerrard is the featured performer. Continue reading 44th Celebration of Traditional Music at Berea College, October 26-29, 2017 →
Berea’s Appalachian Center Director Interviewed on NPR
Chris Green, director of the Loyal Jones Appalachian Center, was recently interviewed on WEKU radio, about the impact that elimination of funding for the Appalachian Regional Commission―as called for in the recently-proposed federal budget―could have on southeastern Kentucky. A sound clip and text of the interview between program host Stu Johnson and Green can be accessed at:
http://weku.fm/post/bereas-loyal-jones-center-concerned-about-trump-budget-cuts
Appalachian Food Summit Convenes at Berea College With Opening Inaugural John Egerton Cornbread Convocation
BEREA, KY (September 2, 2016) – The Appalachian Food Summit will open with a free soup beans and cornbread supper at The Loyal Jones Center at Berea College September 16 from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. The event, the first John Egerton Cornbread Convocation honors the generosity and inclusiveness of the late social justice activist, Southern food writer and Kentucky-born historian, John Egerton. The dinner is free of charge but a suggested $15 donation will benefit West Virginia Flood Recovery Efforts. Continue reading Appalachian Food Summit Convenes at Berea College With Opening Inaugural John Egerton Cornbread Convocation →
News Advisory
WHAT: Kentucky premiere of documentary film Blood On The Mountain
WHEN: Wednesday, March 2, 2016. Film starts at 7:00 p.m. (run-time: 93 minutes), discussion panel follows screening
WHERE: Phelps Stokes Auditorium, Berea College
Hosted by: Loyal Jones Appalachian Center, Berea College
Sponsored by: AFL-CIO, Appalachian Voices, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth (KFTC), the Loyal Jones Appalachian Center and the Cumberland Chapter of the Sierra Club Continue reading News Advisory →
Appalachian Center Director Comments on Muslims in the Region
Christopher Green, director of the Loyal Jones Appalachian Center at Berea College and an associate professor of Appalachian Studies, was interviewed for a recent article published by Al Jazeera America. The article centered on the growing population of Muslim Americans in the Appalachian region and the welcome they have experienced from their local neighbors. Green, an Appalachian scholar, was quoted about the often-overlooked depth of diversity in the region.
Read the full article here:
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2016/2/21/muslims-appalachia-kentucky.html
Berea College Welcomes Public to Kentucky Musicians: Musical Traditions
Berea College welcomes the public and campus community to “Kentucky Musicians: Musical Traditions.” This event on Thursday, October 15, 2015, at 3:00 p.m. in Phelps Stokes Chapel is free and open to the public. It is co-sponsored with the Loyal Jones Appalachian Center. Continue reading Berea College Welcomes Public to Kentucky Musicians: Musical Traditions →
Significant Recording at the Library of Congress Originated by Chance Meeting at Berea College
What do Joan Baez, Sly Stone, Steve Martin, Sesame Street, and Old Regular Baptists have in common? All of them have recordings named by the Library of Congress as American treasures. But one selection has a common connection to Berea College.
James H. Billington, the Librarian of Congress, recently announced the latest list of recordings to be added to the library’s National Recording Registry. Each year, the Library of Congress selects 25 sound recordings—which are at least 10 years old—that are recognized for their cultural, artistic and/or historical significance to American society and the nation’s audio legacy. “By preserving these recordings, we safeguard the words, sounds and music that embody who we are as a people and a nation,” Billington said. Continue reading Significant Recording at the Library of Congress Originated by Chance Meeting at Berea College →
Award-Winning “Proud Citizen” To Be Screened March 31
Katerina Stoykova-Klemer
On Tuesday March 31 at 6:30 p.m., Berea College will host a screening of Thom Southerland’s award-winning 2014 feature film Proud Citizen. The screening will take place at the Loyal Jones Appalachian Center. It is sponsored by Berea’s English Senior Seminar on “Living Literate Lives” as well as Berea’s Film Studies Program and Loyal Jones Appalachian Center. The screening will include a Q&A session with both Thom Southerland and lead actor Katerina Stoykova-Klemer, whose life and work inspired the film. The event is free and open to the community. Continue reading Award-Winning “Proud Citizen” To Be Screened March 31 →
Gordon McKinney Awarded Outstanding Achievement Prize
Dr. Gordon B. McKinney, former director of the Loyal Jones Appalachian Center at Berea College, has been selected winner of the 2014 Outstanding Achievement Award by the Western North Carolina Historical Association (WNCHA). The award recognizes significant contributions of individuals and organizations in preserving and promoting the history of the mountain region. Continue reading Gordon McKinney Awarded Outstanding Achievement Prize →
Esteemed author Crystal Wilkinson Joins Berea College
Crystal Wilkinson, author of “Water Street” and “Blackberries, Blackberries,” has been named the Appalachian Writer-in-Residence at Berea College. Housed in both the English and Appalachian studies departments, the grant-funded, three-year position will start at the beginning of the fall 2014 semester. Continue reading Esteemed author Crystal Wilkinson Joins Berea College →
Two Renowned Authors Offer ‘Advice from Appalachian Intellectuals’ to Berea College Graduates, May 4
Watch the live video stream on the day of commencement.
bell hooks, a celebrated author and social activist, and Silas House, a best-selling novelist and environmental activist, will address 271 members of Berea College’s 142nd graduating class during a special commencement service titled “Advice from Appalachian Intellectuals.” Both commencement speakers are faculty members in Berea College’s Loyal Jones Appalachian Center. Continue reading Two Renowned Authors Offer ‘Advice from Appalachian Intellectuals’ to Berea College Graduates, May 4 →
Author Jason Howard Named Editor of Appalachian Heritage Magazine at Berea College
Kentucky author Jason Howard has been appointed editor of the literary quarterly Appalachian Heritage at Berea College, announced Dr. Chris Green, director of the college’s Loyal Jones Appalachian Center. Continue reading Author Jason Howard Named Editor of Appalachian Heritage Magazine at Berea College →
Appalachian Heritage Magazine celebrates author David Huddle and the centennial of Pine Mountain Settlement School
The public is invited to celebrate the Summer 2013 issue of Appalachian Heritage on September 27 at Berea College’s Loyal Jones Appalachian Center. The featured author of this issue, David Huddle, is the featured reader for this event. This issue of the magazine is illustrated by photographs that celebrate the centennial of Pine Mountain Settlement School, and representatives of Pine Mountain will be present and will display some of photos from their centennial display. The event will begin with a reception and refreshments at 7:30 p.m., followed by the reading at 8. Continue reading Appalachian Heritage Magazine celebrates author David Huddle and the centennial of Pine Mountain Settlement School →
Appalachian Heritage and Grace Toney Edwards Celebrate Issue Featuring Breece Pancake
The public is invited to celebrate the Spring 2012 issue of Appalachian Heritage on Friday, September 28th at Berea College’s Loyal Jones Appalachian Center Gallery at 205 North Main Street in Berea, Kentucky. A reception with refreshments will begin at 7:30 p.m. followed by a multi-media presentation at 8:00 p.m. Continue reading Appalachian Heritage and Grace Toney Edwards Celebrate Issue Featuring Breece Pancake →
Berea College Names New Director of Appalachian Center
Chris Green has been named the new director of the Loyal Jones Appalachian Center at Berea College.
He replaces award-winning author Silas House, who returns to his position as NEH Chair in Appalachian Studies after serving as interim director of the Appalachian Center. Continue reading Berea College Names New Director of Appalachian Center →
Kentucky Author, Frank X Walker, is Featured Author for “Appalachian Heritage”
The public is invited to celebrate the Fall 2011 issue of “Appalachian Heritage” on Friday, November 4, at Berea College’s Loyal Jones Appalachian Center at 205 North Main Street in Berea, Kentucky. The featured author for this issue of the magazine, Frank X Walker, is the featured reader for the event. It will start at 7:30 p.m. for refreshments followed by the reading at 8 p.m. Continue reading Kentucky Author, Frank X Walker, is Featured Author for “Appalachian Heritage” →
Author Karen Salyer McElmurray Celebrated in Spring ’11 “Appalachian Heritage”
Berea College celebrates the spring issue of its literary quarterly, “Appalachian Heritage,” on Friday, June 10, 2011, with a reading by celebrated Kentucky author, Karen Salyer McElmurray, the featured author of that issue. The event will begin with refreshments at 7:30 p.m., followed by the reading at 8 at the Loyal Jones Appalachian Center in the Trades Building on Berea’s campus. The event is free and open to the public. Continue reading Author Karen Salyer McElmurray Celebrated in Spring ’11 “Appalachian Heritage” →