West Virginia Folklife Program

04/21/2026

Congratulations to the 2026 cohort of National Heritage Fellows, including especially Gerry Milnes from West Virginia!! 🎉🎉Join us for a celebratory reception at the West Virginia Humanities Council on May 21st, 6-8pm. 1310 Kanawha Blvd E. Charleston, WV 25301

04/21/2026

We are thrilled to celebrate Gerry Milnes, who received the 2026 Bess Lomax Hawes National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts! Congratulations to Gerry, his family, and the Augusta Heritage Center!

Please join us for a reception to celebrate Gerry on Thursday, May 21st from 6-8pm at the West Virginia Humanities Council, 1310 Kanawha Blvd E. Charleston, WV 25301

GERALD MILNES OF ELKINS HONORED AS NATIONAL HERITAGE FELLOW Gerald “Gerry” Milnes of Elkins, West Virginia, has been named a 2026 National Endowment for the Arts’ National Heritage Fellow, the nati…

03/18/2026

Did you miss our West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship showcases? Good news!! You can now enjoy beautiful films of our showcases created by Appalachian filmmakers Rebecca Branson Jones and Clara Haizlett! Follow the link to watch:

In November, we celebrated the participants of the 2024-25 West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program with two public showcases! In case you missed them, you can watch highlights from these even…

03/18/2026

Here is another preview from our fully digital "People & Mountains" publication.

In the latest issue, West Virginia Folklife Apprentice pairs share living traditions with their communities

🔗 Read this article and more at : http://bit.ly/4cN04PT

03/18/2026

Our Winter 2025-26 issue of “People & Mountains” is here!

This edition invites you into stories you won’t find anywhere else—from discoveries in the field, to traditions passed down through generations, and hidden chapters of West Virginia history waiting to be uncovered.

📖Read it here : http://bit.ly/468kXRl

01/29/2026

Enjoy our latest blog post that features highlights from a community storytelling panel during Fasnacht 2025 in Helvetia, West Virginia!

Mark your calendars for Fasnacht on February 14, 2026. The event will feature another wonderful community discussion about Fasnacht and its connections to Mardi Gras hosted by local historian, Anna Chandler, with Maura Hofer, Eleanor Betler, and Mary Gibbons. 🎉✨
Helvetia Restoration and Development Organization

On Saturday, March 1, 2025, visitors in winter coats and elaborate handmade masks gathered with locals for Helvetia’s community-wide Fasnacht celebration. As part of the event, a rapt crowd filled …

01/21/2026

Last week, overwhelmingly bipartisan votes in both the U.S. House (397-28) and Senate (82-15) secured full restoration of federal funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities for the current fiscal year. The bill awaits the president's signature.

The West Virginia Humanities Council is grateful for the unanimous support of Senators Capito and Justice, Representatives Miller and Moore, and for this strong reaffirmation of Congress's faith in the value of the state humanities councils. Our work is made possible by such support—from our congressional leaders in West Virginia and beyond, and from the constituents we serve. H.R. 6938 is a huge step toward restoring the councils to their full capacity and impact in our states and local communities.

Grantmaking remains paused until federal funds are officially released, at which time we will make a separate public announcement.

https://www.statehumanities.org/federation-statement-on-passage-of-level-funding-for-neh-and-humanities-councils/
https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/6938/all-actions
https://artsnc.org/federal-updates-nea-neh-funded/

12/02/2025

West Virginia’s living traditions continue when we recognize their importance and intentionally carry them on.

This Giving Tuesday, support the traditional artists who preserve our cultural heritage by donating to the West Virginia Folklife Program.

🔗: https://bit.ly/westvirginiafolklife

11/12/2025

We celebrated our second West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship showcase at Arthurdale Heritage, Inc., and WOW 🤩 what an incredible evening of demonstrations, performances, and dancing! Thank you to everyone who came out, and thank you to Arthurdale Heritage, Inc. and their staff for hosting us!

The event showcased the accomplishments of five of our ten apprenticeship pairs: Margaret Bruning & Nevada Tribble (fiber arts & weaving), Richard Eddy & Katie McCoy (fiddle repair), Ginny Hawker & Mary Linscheid (Primitive Baptist hymn singing), Ben Townsend & Bodhi Gibbons-Guinn (old time fiddle), and Taylor Runner & Annick Odom (square dance calling).

We dedicated the event to Richard Eddy, a beloved Morgantown musician and fiddle repair mentor to Katie McCoy. Richard passed away in July of this year, and Katie carried on and finished fixing the "mulch" fiddle they had been working on during their apprenticeship. She gave a beautiful dedication to Richard and played the tune, "Halfway Pond" on the completed fiddle.

The showcases mark the completion of the 2024-25 round of the West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program. We're so grateful to the traditional artists who participated this year and passed on important cultural and creative knowledge. For those interested in applying to the program, keep an eye out for announcements in Summer 2026!

Thank you to all of our funders for supporting the WV Folklife Apprenticeship Program: the National Endowment for the Arts Mid Atlantic Mid Atlantic Folk and Traditional Arts The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation, and our friends who have given donations.

✨If you would like to support the West Virginia Humanities Council to ensure we can continue our programs, including the West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship program, please consider making a donation at wvhumanities.org✨

Photos 📸: Mike Keller

11/07/2025

Our headquarters, the MacFarland-Hubbard House, proudly hosted the West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Showcase last Saturday.

Attendees enjoyed performances, live demonstrations, and candy samples while celebrating West Virginia’s vibrant community and living traditions.

📸 : Photos by Mike Keller