Free and open to the public

This year’s Appalachian Studies Association conference will feature more than 650 presentations and workshops. Most are only for conference attendees, but there are also a number of free events (including the previously mentioned Innovation Expo and the screening of hillbilly) that anyone can attend.

Special collections exhibit

Spotlighting the region’s special collections, this exhibit will debut at the conference on Thursday, March 14, and remain open to the public throughout March. Participating organizations include UNC Asheville, Mars Hill University, Western Carolina University, Appalachian State University, the North Carolina Room at Pack Library, the Western Regional Archives, the Blue Ridge Parkway Archives, Warren Wilson College, the Biltmore Industries Homespun Museum, the Carl Sandburg Home and the Swannanoa Valley Museum.

“A lot of these are smaller collections that people may not be aware of,” says exhibit organizer Gene Hyde, the head of special collections at UNCA’s Ramsey Library. The event will also serve as a launch for the Appalachian Curator, a triannual online newsletter that will spotlight different collections throughout the region.

Inquiry-based learning workshops

On Friday, March 15, two workshops exploring inquiry-based learning through primary sources will be offered for teachers. Both events are free for educators but require registration through the conference website. The session for K-5 teachers will run from 9-11 a.m.; a session for teachers in grades 6-12 will go from 1-3 p.m. To register for K-5, visit avl.mx/5q2. To register for 6-12, go to avl.mx/5qn.

Keynote address

The conference’s keynote “address” will actually be a conversation among writers Lee Smith, Ron Rash and Wiley Cash. It will be held in UNCA’s Lipinsky Hall on Saturday, March 16, from 4-5:30 p.m.

Poetry reading at YMI

Later that evening, from 8-9:30 p.m., the YMI Cultural Center (39 S. Market St. in downtown Asheville) will host Affrilachia y el Caribe. The reading will feature poets Ricardo Nazario y Colón, Shauna M. Morgan and Frank X Walker. Darin Waters, an associate professor of history at UNCA, will serve as master of ceremonies.

Old-time square dance

Immediately after the poetry reading, the YMI will host an old-time square dance. The caller will be Phil Jamison, director of Warren Wilson College’s traditional music program, and the host band will be the Warren Wilson College Old-Time Ensemble (aka The RiverBenders), with a special guest performance by the Green Grass Cloggers. The event will conclude at 11 p.m.