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The Kentucky Folklife Festival: An Orientation by Bob Gates, The Kentucky Folklife Program
The
first annual Festival of Kentucky Folklife is the culmination of eight years
of research and preparation. Since the Kentucky Folklife Program began in
1989, it has dedicated itself to the conservation of the state is diverse
living traditions. Folklorists throughout Kentucky conducted folklife surveys
that identified and documented the cultural traditions of families, occupations,
ethnic groups, churches, and communities. These hundreds of people, who
shared their cultural expressions of who they are, enriched our understanding
of the commonality and diversity of folk groups in Kentucky. We all belong
to folk groups and each of us utilizes traditional knowledge in our everyday
lives. Our families are folk groups and we share with our loved ones many
forms of folklore such as food, celebrations, pet names, stories, jokes,
games, crafts, songs, and memories. This festival is an educational celebration
of that diversity of culture which we all share. It provides us with an
opportunity to see ourselves from a different perspective and to learn from
the traditions of others.
The Festival invites artists to participate because they represent or
actively participate in an ongoing folk tradition. They are here to cook
food, make music, tell stories, create objects, play games, and do jobs
that reflect their cultural values. Unlike a typical arts and crafts fair,
artists at this festival demonstrate their art not to sell it, but to educate
and entertain others. Many create their art only for themselves and their
families. Those who do have items to sell have made them available to the
public at the Folklife Festival Shop located centrally on the Plaza. The
shop is a cooperative venture of the Kentucky Historical Society Gift Shop
and the Kentucky Crafts Market Program.
The Festival is indeed an educational celebration. Every festival activity
offers ample opportunity to learn. Signage throughout the festival grounds
provide historical and contextual information about the traditions presented.
Volunteer presenters assist artists and encourage conversations between
artists and visitors. Many of our tradition bearers take part in narrative
stages where they join others in discussing traditions, sharing experiences,
and swapping stories.
A look at the narrative stage schedule reveals such diverse programs as the ethnic traditions of recent arrivals, the art of demolition derby, the regional fiddling traditions of Kentucky, the passion of rolley hole marble playing, the art of boat building, and the pursuit of the perfect barbecue. A second narrative stage down on the Kentucky River presents riverboat pilots maneuvering their barges, commercial fishermen and mussel brailers laying nets and trailing their brails, boat makers comparing the different aesthetic attributes of their vessels, and houndsmen and women showing the many breeds of hunting dogs traditional to Kentucky.
The festival hosts two major marble tournaments where some of the best
players in the world will participate. Rolley Hole, a cross between croquette
and golf played with hand-fashioned flint marble, is a game once played
throughout the state. Today Monroe County, Kentucky (and Scott County, Tennessee,
across the border) is a place where this game is very much alive Also in
the marble yard, players from Glasgow, Kentucky, compete for the Tennessee
Square State Championship title. The Marble Yard Complex anchors an area
devoted to traditional games, recreation, and family folklore. Registration
for these tournaments is open to all; however, if you play like me, you
might be better off enjoying the view from the sidelines.
Nearby is the Family Folklore Tent where everyone is welcome to participate in hands-on activities representing the various traditional cultures at the festival. Through these activities, children and adults are encouraged to explore the connection between their culture and the culture of others presented at the festival. Special events taking place in this area include storytelling, Eastern Indian art of mehendi, African American drumming, and sharing of family folklore. At the foodways stage, or cooking stage, we get "up close and personal." Here people prepare their favorite regional, community based, or family foods. Such regional fare as transparent pies from Mason County, goetta from northern Kentucky, barbecue from Daviess County and Purnell Sausage, a family-owned business from Simpsonville, demonstrate their culinary skills. The festival also features such local ethnic favorites as Native American fry bread, Eastern Indian dishes, and everyday foods preferred by Mexican migrant workers. Traditional foods can also be bought throughout the festival site from vendors representing regional food traditions from across the state. The sixty-foot bar-b-que pit manned by members of Saint Mary Magdalene, a Catholic parish in Daviess County, is a great place to eat but also to learn first-hand how chicken, mutton, and pork are cooked to perfection in the western Kentucky style.
The Old Capitol Stage and the Plaza Stage share the richness of Kentucky's musical traditions. Artists representing over sixteen musical styles perform throughout the festival. From solo ballad singers to hard-driving bluegrass, from powerful church choirs to electric blues bands, these musicians are brought together to share their artistic stylings of music from their own communities. Our three special evening concerts and our Sunday-afternoon gospel program capture the essence of Kentuckyís diverse musical traditions. We dedicate our Thursday-night concert, Celebrating Kentucky's Musical Diversity, to Kentucky's Sarah Gertrude Knott, whose groundbreaking work with the National Folk Festival helped shape our definitions of folk music and folklife. This concert features famed dulcimer player and ballad singer Jean Ritchie, as well as other artists reflecting Knott's expanded view of folk music. Friday nightís concert, Kentucky Blues, celebrates the distinct African American musical tradition played in Kentucky today. On Saturday night we salute the ìfather of Bluegrassî in our concert, A Bill Monroe Tribute. In this memorial concert, hosted by Ricky Skaggs, nationally recognized bluegrass performers pay homage to this Kentucky legend. If you enjoy kicking up your heels, be sure to join us for our early-evening dance concerts each night next to the Family Folklore Tent.
To help you get the most out of the festival experience, the articles in this program introduce key concepts and themes in the study of Kentucky folklife; they also provide biographies and backgrounds for the artists and traditions presented at the festival. Michael Ann Williams, in her program article, "Art in Everyday Life," explains our connections to the many folk groups in our communities, regions, and state. As members of these groups, we know intrinsically what makes a good quilt or story, how to win a blue ribbon for our canned tomatoes, or impress our biker friends by customizing our Harley. Other articles in the program examine folk groups and the forms or genres of folklore which are passed on in their groups. Erika Brady introduces the study of occupational folklore or the insider viewpoint of a job well done. In another article about folk music, Brady expands the definition of folk music beyond just ballads and fiddle tunes to encompass the music performed in communities, churches, and bars. Tom Adler writes about Bill Monroeís bluegrass legacy. Jeff Todd Titon examines the rare lining-out singing style sung by congregations of Old Regular Baptists in eastern Kentucky. Betsy Adler explores the delicious traditions of food and how foodways are more than just what we eat, but also how, when, and where.
The Festival of Kentucky Folklife offers a sampler of the cultural diversity and history of the state, an educational and entertaining event that seeks to introduce us to each other. We expect the festival to be a model to schools, communities, arts organizations, and others on ways to interpret, present, and celebrate the abundance of cultural resources present in every community. Two days of our festival, Thursday and Friday, are dedicated to over 5,000 school children from across the state helping make the link between folk culture and curricula. Likewise, on Saturday and Sunday, forty teachers are taking part in a special workshop to train them in how to incorporate local folk resources into the classroom.
As I travel across the state it occurs to me that Kentucky's folklife is alive and well in the rural areas, suburbs, and cities. From my neighborís demolition derby car to my motherís goetta, I see a wealth of traditional knowledge around me. I hope this festival can serve as an introduction to the folklife of others and create an appreciation for our own, because we all use art in our everyday lives. In fact, it has been said that the greatest art of all is the art of living. So enjoy the folklife of your neighbors and friends, and maybe make some new ones, here at the Festival of Kentucky Folklife.
Bob Gates directs the Kentucky Folklife Program, an inter-agency program of the Kentucky Historical Society and the Kentucky Arts Council located at the Kentucky Historical Society. Both agencies are members of the Education, Arts and Humanities Cabinet.
