Mothers' Day Program
In honor of Mothers' Day, Appalachian Arts Center is offering a program that honors the ways in which women have contributed to our region's culture, heritage, art, and history. Dr. Katie Hoffman will share some of her favorite pieces of regional culture, including songs, readings, and stories. Though they have often done so quietly and unobtrusively, women have played a major role in shaping mountain culture. This program highlights some noteworthy contributions, offering insight into the lives of women from Native Americans to the present day. Expect an interactive, entertaining, and educational afternoon session appropriate for women and girls of all ages--and don't forget to bring the men who honor them!
Dr. Katie Hoffman is the founder and owner of Appalworks.com. She grew up in Richmond, VA, but is thrilled to have ended up in East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, right in the middle of the music, food, literature, and culture that she loves best. Katie’s PhD is in English, but her specialty is really Appalachian Studies. She is a singer and scholar of traditional Appalachian ballads and a singer/songwriter with a CD to her credit, entitled Beautiful Day. Katie co-chaired the Appalachian section of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the Mall in Washington, DC during the summer of 2003, and has worked for a number of years on local food initiatives in Appalachia, serving such organizations as the Appalachian Regional Commission and the Collaborative for a 21st Century Appalachia. She was the traditional music producer for a 4-part PBS series entitled Appalachia: A History of Mountains and People. In 2014, Katie guest-curated (with Dr. Jean Haskell, retired Director of the Center for Appalachian Studies at East Tennessee State University) an exhibit at the Portsmouth, Virginia Art and Cultural Center called Changing Appalachia: From Custom to Cutting Edge. She serves on the education committees of both The Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail and the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, and is part of the Advisory Council for the Gray Fossil Site and Natural History Museum in Gray, TN. Former oral history projects include Hidden Heroines of Northeast Tennessee and a two-year project documenting former students' memories of the Vardy Community School in Hancock County, TN. Her current oral history work concerns the McLain Family Band of Eastern Kentucky. Katie is also on the board of the newly formed non-profit organization Create Appalachia, which seeks to incubate and promote arts-based businesses in East Tennessee and the surrounding region.
The program will begin at 2:00p.m.on Saturday, May 9th, and will be followed by a reception. For more information, or to reserve a seat, please contact the Arts Center at: 276-596-9188.
Appalachian Arts Center, a part of Southwest Virginia Community College is located on Route 19 in the ‘Old Archie Helton Store’ – 2.5 miles south of Claypool Hill.
