“Keeping the Fires Burning” series launches with songcatcher Betty Smith, Sept. 17

Ballad singer, storyteller and traditional music preservationist Betty Smith is the first featured presenter in “Keeping the Fires Burning,” a series created by The Center for Cultural Preservation. Smith appears on Thursday, Sept. 17 at 1 p.m. at the Patton Building Room 150 on the campus of Blue Ridge Community College.

Press release from event organizers:

The Center for Cultural Preservation, is pleased to announce the launch of its second season of its popular public program series KEEPING THE FIRES BURNING- Heroes of Mountain Culture. The series features musicians, authors and heritage preservation leaders who are working to keep mountain culture alive.

The 2015-16 series will kick off with renowned mountain music performer and storyteller Betty Smith on Thursday, September 17th at 1 PM. Betty Smith is one of the keynote saviors of ballad music in the Southern Appalachians having extensively researched traditional music through oral histories of the N.C. Mountains and turning them into written history. Smith was a ballad singer first, a musician and a teacher, and then a playwright and author. She plays fiddle, psaltery, guitar, autoharp, and her beloved dulcimer.

According to Center Executive Director, David Weintraub, “Betty Smith is a priceless champion of mountain culture who not only performs the old-time music but has worked tirelessly to keep the old traditions alive. Her excellent work was in part the basis of a powerful film, ‘Songcatcher’.”

In order to whet people’s appetite for what Betty Smith has to offer, the Center is working with the Hendersonville Public Library to offer the movie Songcatcher, the week before the Smith program on Thursday, September 10th at 2PM. Songcatcher tells the story of a musicologist who happens about the rich tradition of ballad music preserved in these mountains and seeks to collect the old songs. The movie provides a fascinating look at the ballad music tradition.

Join the Center for Cultural Preservation’s launch of its new program series with Songcatcher at the Kaplan Auditorium at the Henderson County Main Library at 301 N Washington St, Hendersonville on Thursday, September 10th at 2 PM and the incredible Betty Smith on Thursday, September 17th at 1 PM at the Patton Building Room 150 on the campus of Blue Ridge Community College.

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 or the Keeping the Fires Burning Series, contact them at (828) 692-8062 or www.saveculture.org. The series is cosponsored by the North Carolina Humanities Council and Henderson County History and Genealogical Society, Liquid Logic Kayaks and Holly Spring Farm. (Photos and images available upon request.)