Last September, Mountain Heritage Day was gearing up for the big 50th anniversary celebration, aiming to be one of the biggest festivals yet. However, just days before the planned events, WCU canceled the event due to Hurricane Helene’s arrival.
This year, Mountain Heritage Day is back and bigger than ever with a week full of events for students, faculty and community to enjoy.
When planning for the 51st Mountain Heritage Day started, Chancellor Kelli Brown issued a three-part challenge to the organizers: feature more student and faculty work, use underutilized parts of campus and engage the local community.
“She was interested in seeing more faculty and student work featured because all of the departments do so much to support our regional community, research the environment and better understand how it is all connected,” said Mountain Heritage Day planning committee co-chair and Mountain Heritage Center director Amber Albert.
The beloved Mountain Heritage festival will be returning on Saturday, Sept. 27 as the conclusion to the week of festivities.
This year, the festival is moving to a more central location instead of the intermural fields of years past. Food booths and arts and crafts vendors will be found in the Cordelia Camp parking lot. Bardo Arts Center will be the home to the volunteer headquarters, craft demonstrations and the evening music performances.
Along the creek, stations will feature blacksmith demos, moonshine still demos, a hit and miss engine and highland cows.
The Andy Shaw Ford Classic Car Show, the McNeely’s Chainsaw Competition and the Big Cove Stickball Demonstration Game will also be back. The Balsam Family Tent, which will be found near the intermural fields, is hosting a variety of live music and storytelling throughout the day, ranging from WCU student band Upstream Rebellion to Whitewater Bluegrass Co.
Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning assistant director Jenna Kubiak is organizing and recruiting student volunteers.
Kubiak says that around 160 student volunteers are needed to fill the shifts through the week. One hundred and thirty students have already signed up, well on the way to a full volunteer staff. CCESL also needs back-up volunteers, so Kubiak is hoping for around 180 students in total.
“There are a ton of opportunities to volunteer,” Kubiak said. “Assisting performers, helping with kids’ activities and vendors, no experience is needed.”
Volunteers will get a free Mountain Heritage Days t-shirt as well as volunteer hours. These hours can be counted towards CCESL’s Spark Community Engagement Award.
As part of the week-long events, there will be a day of observance on Friday, Sept. 26, the one-year anniversary of Helene hitting WNC. The Alumni Tower bells will ring out in tribute of anniversary, followed by a moment of silence. [See full schedule]
As part of the week-long events, there will be a day of observance on Friday, Sept. 26, the one-year anniversary of Helene hitting WNC. The Alumni Tower bells will ring out in tribute of anniversary, followed by a moment of silence.
A listening booth will be set up at the Catamount Fountain from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Here, people will have the chance to listen to a collection of personal stories and community responses to the hurricane. The Mountain Heritage Center and CCESL are collaborating to compile these oral histories from locals.
Festival organizers hope that the expanded Mountain Heritage Days are here to stay but will be workshopping it over the next few years.
“We have three years to sort of experiment,” Albert said. “So, if something doesn’t work this year, we can just set it aside and try something else next year.”
- Sept. 22 at 5:30 p.m.: WCU linguistics professor and recent graduate will dive into the history and syntax of Appalachian English.
- Sept. 23 at 5:30 p.m.: The Manget brothers will lead a guided hike while discussing the plants and people of southern Appalachia. The hike will explore the trails behind WCU’s Health and Human Sciences Building. No registration is required.
- Sept. 25 and Sept 26: Rooted in the Mountains returns with the theme Matrilineal Worldmaking. The symposium will be held in the Bardo Arts Center. Registration is required.
- Sept. 26 at 6 p.m.: Bluegrass band The Well Drinkers will perform in Sylva’s Bridge Park.
