From basket weaving to puppet shows, local children discovered the artistry of mountain traditions during Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Week craft demonstrations.
Around 150 elementary and middle school students from Jackson County tried their hands at traditional mountain crafts and skills during the field day on Sept. 23 through demonstrations from local craftsman’s aided by WCU students from the College of Education.
The co-chair for Mountain Heritage Days and director of the Mountain Heritage Center, Dr. Amber Albert, was at the event helping set everything up to greet the kids and guide the education student’s through the event.
See some of the activities that the kids participated in in the slideshow below.
“We are expecting about 150 second graders. We have been looking forward to this event as it is a sort of highlight of the week with us really getting to connect to school-age children with their heritage through hands-on crafts and demonstrations. I mean, it’s really going to be exciting and in this beautiful setting of the mountains and Cullowhee, it’s really a nice pairing,” Albert said.
At each station, students from Cullowhee Valley, Catamount School, Scotts Creek, Summit Charter and Blue Ridge got the chance to learn the culture and traditions of their home. WCU social studies methods students guided the children through activities such as corn shuck doll making, weaving and even showing the materials found in nature that were used to make clothes long before factories and machines.
The hands-on experience not only taught skills that were once practical for the mountains but gave the children a deeper appreciation for the region’s cultural heritage.
Vanessa Feliz, a WCU student in the social studies methods class, was happy that the kids were able to interact and do some of the crafts. But it was also a learning moment for her too.
“I never got to do any of this. Like I never had any recollection of going to these kinds of events where you learn about the land that you live on and stuff like that, so I think it’s really cool how there is so many hands-on activities. Getting to look at the basket weaving, or making the corn husk dolls, and the fact that they get to bring it home, and that they get to have a part of their home,” Feliz said.
Families are invited to join in on the celebration this Saturday, Sept. 27 where the same crafts and more will be on display along with music, food and traditions that bring the regions heritage and memories to life.
