Press release:
The Folk Art Center is the final stop on a listening tour to help create a new craft trail across our mountains.
The Blue Ridge National Heritage Area seeks ideas and suggestions to develop the Blue Ridge Craft Trails. People interested in Western North Carolina’s rich craft heritage are invited to attend the session 2-4 p.m. Thursday Aug. 31 at the Southern Highland Craft Guild headquarters at the Folk Art Center, Milepost 382 on the Blue Ridge Parkway in east Asheville.
The BRNHA’s latest trail initiative will encourage cultural tourism and strengthen rural economies by promoting the region’s many craft artists, craft schools, local arts businesses and venues. The online project promises to link traditional and contemporary artisans with more visitors to studios and galleries.
Several listening sessions have been scheduled across the region. Craft artists, gallery owners, arts groups, businesses and anyone interested are invited to attend and offer their comments. Meetings have drawn more than 100 people at Blowing Rock, Cherokee, Tryon, Yadkinville, Brasstown and Penland.
“We envision the Blue Ridge Craft Trails of Western North Carolina as an online roadmap to guide visitors through our rich craft heritage and connect personally with artisans in our mountain communities,” said Angie Chandler, executive director of the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area.
“We’re building on the pioneering work of HandMade In America in the 1990s, which started the original Craft Heritage Trails of WNC. We want to update that guide for the Internet age and provide new opportunities for the next generation of crafters, collectors and visitors,” Chandler said.
The professional craft industry generates more than $206 million in annual business across 25 Western North Carolina counties, according to a 2008 economic study.
The Blue Ridge Craft Trails project is funded with a $90,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission and contributions from the North Carolina Arts Council and WNC Community Foundation.
To register for the meeting, click on brownpapertickets.com/event/3022671, or call Amy Hollifield at 298-5330, ext. 303.
Authorized by Congress in 2003, the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area covers 25 Western North Carolina counties, and remains the only regional organization dedicated to the stewardship of five Appalachian cultural legacies – craft, music, natural beauty, agriculture and Cherokee heritage.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.