When weird becomes normal...
A week at the John C Campbell Folk School
Although I have been more home-bound the last few years, I have spent much of my adult life traveling. I have friends all over the world through my love of music, art and craft. I have a talent for being able to talk to whoever I sit next to at a party, eat what is put in front of me and take in the rich details of the place I am temporarily planted in. I have been “collected” by many groups of people over the years, gathered my own tribe around me and found a handful of places that feel comfortable, even if they aren’t actually home. We recently were asked to teach at a place I have been wanting to visit for many years, the John C Campbell Folk School.
The Folk School was started by Olive Campbell and Marguerite Butler in 1925 in Brasstown, NC. One their website, they state the following:
Our Vision
A community that awakens, enlivens, and enlightens the world.
Our Mission
The Folk School transforms lives, bringing people together in a nurturing environment for experiences in learning and community life that spark self-discovery.
Our Values
Joy
We bring originality, creativity and passion to all endeavors—we sing behind the plow.
Kindness
We treat everyone with respect, humility and warmth.
Stewardship
We honor the traditions and spirit of the Folk School as we guide its evolution and preserve it for the future.
Non-Competitive
We support and affirm each other in lifelong growth.
They teach classes on music, art, craft, dance, food, nature, agriculture and all the various ways they intersect. They are known as a repository of knowledge on traditional Appalachian folkways, but there is plenty of other stuff to learn there as well. Their motto is “We Sing Behind The Plow,” which encapsulates our family’s values of hard work, art, music and community building.
Nicole and were invited to teach there this summer as part of their “little/middle week,” which is one of two weeks a year where kids can take classes. She was hired to teach music to the littles and I was hired to teach ukulele to the middle/high school students. We only agreed to it if Henry could come along and take classes as well, which placed him into blacksmithing and book arts. The whole thing was dreamed upon by Virgina Mattox, who is a Beansprout customer/student and served as my teaching assistant. She lives in Brasstown and has worked/volunteered/studied there since the ‘90’s. Below you can see my two ukulele classes as well as Virginia and myself.
I think the whole camp had about 300 students and at least 50 staff. The energy was crazy during the day, as kids gathered for music, took classes, played around the festival barn and lived an un-plugged life. Below you can see some of the craft projects that they made. Unfortunately, we don’t have any videos of our class performances, as the kids can’t be on photo or video for privacy reasons.
At night, most kids went home, but lots of families, volunteers and staff stayed onsite, spread across the 300 acres in various houses, dorms, cabins and a main lodge. Every night had programing open to the public. This included a dance, jam session, open mic, movie night, song circle, campfires, etc…I sat in with the dance band and had a great time.
