CELEBRATE CRAFTS IN NORTH CAROLINA & ACROSS AMERICA:
John C. Campbell Folk School: I Sing Behind the Plow & Craft in America

Celebrate the time-honored traditions of heritage handcrafts in a trio of specials weaving the stories of unforgettable crafts and crafters with the creative culture they’ve cultivated.

Wednesday, May 23, at 8 PM, John C. Campbell Folk School: I Sing Behind the Plow provides a captivating look at the charismatic couple that imported the Danish concept of folkehojskole (folk school) to the North Carolina mountains in the 1900s.

“The Appalachians were seen as a people still living in some ignorance in inadequate housing on hillside farms not necessarily using the best of agricultural practices,” (ed: Still are, Carla!) remarks folklorist and author Loyal Jones, in John C. Campbell Folk School: I Sing Behind the Plow. “As a result, no place attracted more Christian missionaries to come to ‘save’ people who called themselves Christians already.”

The all-new documentary tells the story of one such missionary who, with his bride Olive Dame, traveled from West Virginia to Georgia to interview farmers about agricultural practices, collect ancient Appalachian ballads and study the handicrafts of these mountain people. John C. Campbell and Olive Dame Campbell hoped education could improve the quality of Appalachian life while preserving the everyday traditions and sharing them with the rest of the world.

The Campbells’ selfless study resulted in the dream of building a school in the rural South as an alternative to higher-education facilities that drew young people away from the family farm. After John’s 1919 death, Olive and her “friend” Marguerite Butler traveled to Europe studying folk schools in Denmark, Sweden and other countries. They returned, “full” of purposeful “energy” and “determination” to start such a school in Appalachia. With enthusiastic support, free labor and pledged building materials from the far west town of Brasstown, NC, the John C. Campbell Folk School was born in 1925—providing non-competitive instruction of the Appalachian folk arts.

Over 80 years later, the John C. Campbell Folk School continues to offer a unique combination of rich history, beautiful mountain surroundings and an atmosphere of living and learning together. Don’t miss the premiere of this unique local exploration into this one-of-a kind learning experience in John C. Campbell Folk School: I Sing Behind the Plow, May 23, at 8 PM.

Once you’ve rediscovered our state’s rich crafting history, explore the vitality and significance of the craft movement throughout the United States in Craft in America, premiering Wednesday, May 30, at 8 PM.  Each of the series’ three consecutive hour-long episodes, entitled Memory, Landscape and Community, interweaves the captivating personal stories of prominent craft artisans with the larger historical context of craft itself.  Beginning at 8 PM, Memory focuses on the historical relevance of craft through the eyes of several contemporary pioneers in the field. Landscape, at 9 PM, examines the interdependent relationship of craft artists to both their media and the natural world.  The final installment at 10 PM, Community, highlights the social and emotional connections that crafts embody for us all—and also includes a visit to our state’s own Penland School of Crafts.

And every Thursday evening, at 9, tune in all of your favorite episodes of Folkways, UNC-TV’s premier series paying tribute to the Tar Heel State’s vast array of vintage crafts. See captivating, hand-carved creations on Workers in Wood (May 3). Rediscover the bread and butter business of pottery in Homesteading (May 10). Get a bard’s eye view of the venerable makers of traditional Appalachian-style musical instruments in Music from the Hills (May 17). Take in Spinning, Dyeing & Weaving on the farmstead (May 24). Finish out the month with a bit of the traditional blacksmith’s Fire and Forge (May 31).

UNC-TV is North Carolina’s only member-supported statewide broadcasting system, made possible through a unique partnership of public investment and private support. John C. Campbell Folk School: I Sing Behind the Plow  is part of UNC-TV’s commitment to producing and broadcasting programs for and about North Carolina.