Press release:
Center for Cultural Preservation
(828) 692-8062
WORLD PREMIERE OF 1916 FLOOD FILM TO SCREEN IN JUNE(HENDERSONVILLE, NC, May 12, 2016) – A new film by award-winning filmmaker David Weintraub will have its world premiere on Thursday, June 23rd at the Center for Cultural Preservation’s next program “Remembering The Great Flood”. The film, Come Hell Or High Water, Remembering The Flood Of 1916, had its preview debut last December to sold-out audiences. The full film explores the history of the Western North Carolina’s worst natural disaster that marks its 100th year anniversary in July but also asks the question, what have we learned?
1916 was the year that 22 inches of rain fell in a 24 hour period, when the French Broad was 17 feet above flood stage and the Swannanoa River was a mile wide, a year that still evokes powerful memories in many old-timers family histories. But what concerns many is the reality that WNC is a flood prone area and such a disaster could repeat. Given that the Great Flood led to hundreds of mudslides and landslides causing extensive damage at a time when no one lived on the side of mountains, the worry is that should a flood of similar proportions occur today it would likely be more devastating.
In addition to screening the new film, the Rocky Fork Band, a local bluegrass band, will perform its tribute song to the Great Flood and a discussion will follow featuring mountain natives and historians as well as experts in landslides and flood mitigation.
According to 7th generation farmer, Drew Brannon, “If we don’t learn the lessons of the 1916 flood, we are bound to repeat them, with worse results than 100 years ago.” Drew’s father and grandfather lost everything in the Great Flood and those haunting memories still shake the Brannon family tree. Jennie Jones Giles, a local historian and seventh generation native, says “Remembering the 1916 flood is important because the consequences to Western North Carolina should this happen again would impact us 10-20 times greater than it did then. The lessons the flood could teach us could save our lives and better protect our community.”
The screening of the film’s world premiere, music and discussion is scheduled for Thursday, June 23rd at 7 p.m. at Blue Ridge Community College’s Thomas Auditorium. There is a suggested donation of $5. Since the program is expected to sell out, advance registration is strongly recommended. Reservations can be made through the Center’s website, www.saveculture.org or by calling the Center for Cultural Preservation at (828) 692-8062. The program is co-sponsored by the N.C. Humanities Council, the Henderson County History and Genealogy Center, Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy and Mountain True.
The Center for Cultural Preservation is a cultural nonprofit organization dedicated to working for mountain heritage continuity through oral history, documentary film, education and public programs. For more information about the Center contact them at (828) 692-8062 or www.saveculture.org
UPCOMING FLOOD PROGRAMS THIS SUMMER/FALL
- 7/11-15/2016 – 8:50 a.m. — WNCW FM Radio 88.7, Audio Documentary; (828) 692-8062
- 7/16/16 – 1:45 p.m. — AB Tech College, Asheville, sponsored by NC Division of Cultural Resources; (919) 807-7288
- 7/23/16 – 10:30 a.m. — Anne Elizabeth Suratt Nature Center at Walnut Creek Preserve, sponsored by Pacolet Area Conservancy; info@pacolet.org
- 8/6/16 – 7:00 p.m. — Mountain Gateway Museum, Old Fort, N.C.; (828) 668-9259
- 8/9/16 – 12:00 p.m. — Transylvania County Library, Bruce Rogow Room, Brevard, N.C.; (828) 884-3151
- 10/20/16 – 7:00 p.m. — Wilkes Heritage Museum, Wilkesboro, N.C.; (336) 667-3171
- October 2016 – TBA — Mars Hill College, Marshall, N.C.
- October 2016 – TBA — Appalachian State University, Boone, N.C.
- 11/20/16 – 7:00 p.m. — Lake Lure Town Hall, Lake Lure, N.C., sponsored by Chimney Rock Park; (800) 277-9611
- January, 2017 – TBA — Iredell Public Library, Statesville, N.C.; (704) 878-3090
- February, 2017 – TBA — Northwestern Regional Library, Elkin, N.C.; (336) 835-2169
The great 1916 flood washed out Vanderbilt’s shops. This led to her selling the bidness to Fred Seely in 1917 . He reopened it as Biltmore Industries. It is still open today…99 years later. Cool! Art gallery, car museum, studios, great dining…great place. Way to go Fred (and Babs Blomberg).