March 1, 2007

 
LIVINGSTON, Ala.—The fourth annual Sucarnochee Folklife Festival, sponsored by The University of West Alabama, welcomes everyone to downtown Livingston to discover some of the best musicians, artists, storytellers and cornbread chefs the Black Belt has to offer. The festival begins Saturday, April 21, at 8 a.m. with the Sucarnochee 5K River Run and ends that evening with a walking ghost tour of Livingston led by UWA Professor of English and ghost lore author Dr. Alan Brown.  

This year’s festival, named after the Sucarnochee River that flows through the Sumter County town, is packed with a variety of activities situated around Courthouse Square. The Cornbread Cook-off set for 9:30 a.m. is a culinary delight, allowing cooks of all ages to wow the judges in three categories: traditional cornbread, specialty cornbread and best recipe using cornbread. Artisans from around the region will create a variety of folk crafts including pine needle and gourd baskets, shell carvings, metal works, wood carvings and pottery. Food vendors and artists allow visitors to take home a piece of tradition.  

“We knew that our cultural traditions needed to be documented, maintained and appreciated,” said Dr. Tina Naremore Jones, Director of UWA’s Center for the Study of the Black Belt. “Over the years, the stories, the songs and the crafts of West Alabama artists have faded from the minds of many people. The festival is an effort to restore those memories for younger generations.”

Musicians from several genres will take the stage, with Alabama bluesman Willie King headlining the festival. King’s album “Freedom Creek” was acclaimed by critics worldwide and received awards from “Living Blues Magazine” for Best Male Blues Artist, Best Blues Album and Best Contemporary Blues Album. The Emelle Dulcimer Group, Jacky Jack White, Russell Gulley, gospel choirs and many others will entertain throughout the day.

Another highlight of this year’s festival is award-winning storyteller and actress Delores Hydock’s performance of “Footprint on the Sky: Memories of a Chandler Mountain Spring.” A touring artist for the Alabama State Council on the Arts, a speaker with the Alabama Humanities Foundation and a member of the Southern Order of Storytellers, Hydock has been featured at a variety of concerts, festivals and special events around the United States.

“Footprint on the Sky” describes Hydock’s recollections from her experience as a Pennsylvania college senior doing field research on Alabama folklore. It is a funny and touching portrait of an Alabama mountain community in the 1970's. Memories, family histories and superstitions are brought to life in this story of strong women, Southern hospitality and the generous spirit of a close-knit community.

Additionally, the Alabama Blues Project, with the help of the Sumter County Historical Society, will erect a historical marker in memory of blues singer Vera Hall, a 2005 inductee into the Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame. Born in 1902 in Payneville, just outside of Livingston in Sumter County, Hall established one of the most stunning bodies of American folk music on record. Though Hall sang her entire life, it was not until the late 1930s that her singing gained national exposure, when famed ethnomusicologist John Avery Lomax recorded over 200 spirituals in Sumter County during recording trips for the Library of Congress in 1937, 1939 and 1941.

Although Hall died in 1964, her work still garners attention. In 1999, techno-artist, Moby, included her voice and song “Trouble So Hard” in his multi-platinum album “Play,” thus introducing Hall’s voice to a whole new generation of listeners. Prized by scholars and folksong enthusiasts, Hall’s recordings include examples of early blues and folk songs that are found nowhere else. Her masterful renditions of traditional songs and stories are a defining part of Southern Black culture and the Black Belt region.

Although the festival culminates on Saturday, several events held earlier in the week will also grant locals and visitors alike the chance to learn more about Black Belt art, literature and music.

During the week, New Mexico sculptor and photographer Matthew Chase-Daniel will build a sculpture on the UWA campus made from natural materials he finds around the region. On Wednesday, April 18, he will host a brown bag lunch at noon in the Bell Conference Center to discuss his work.

Thursday evening brings to Livingston New York Times best-selling author Sena Jeter Naslund and William Cobb, 2007 Harper Lee Award winner and UWA alumnus, for a panel discussion entitled “Families Writing Together.” Moderated by Don Noble, host of Alabama Public Television’s “Bookmark,” the writers will share their talents April 19 beginning at 6 p.m. in the Bell Conference Center.

Friday night, The Sucarnochee Revue, a radio program taped live in UWA’s Bibb Graves Auditorium, takes the stage.  Featuring musical and literary artists from the Black Belt, the Revue begins at 7 p.m. on April 20. Show producer, performer and host Jacky Jack White put together the Revue in February 2005 and has gained a loyal following ever since.

“What surprises people about the show is the fantastic range of musical genres,” White said. “We have blues, jazz, Dixieland, gospel, bluegrass, classical and more. Historically, there is an incredible amount of talent in the area.”

The Sucarnochee Revue’s primary purpose is to introduce radio listeners in Alabama, Mississippi and other parts of the nation and world to the artistic community of performers from the Black Belt area. The show not only preserves original music and the works by original artists, but also captures the evolution of that music and its current generation of performers.

The program is currently heard on Alabama Public Radio each Saturday night at 10 p.m. It is also on radio stations in Mississippi, Tennessee, Colorado, Texas, Illinois, New York and Georgia. Plus, www.shadygroveradio.com plays the show on-demand.

A celebration of regional folk songs, stories and crafts, the Sucarnochee Folklife Festival hopes to restore memories of rural Black Belt folklore that have faded from many people’s minds.

“The festival and the special events surrounding it, including the Sucarnochee Revue, give people a wonderful reason to discover our region,” said Jones. “Let’s be amazed by what we have here in the Black Belt, and let’s share it with others.” 

Admission to the Sucarnochee Folklife Festival is free. The entry fee for the Sucarnochee 5K River Run is $12 for pre-registered participants and $15 at the race. All runners will receive festival T-shirts. There is also a $5 entry fee for each category of the Cornbread Cook-off, with the winners receiving $25 and a festival T-shirt. For more information about the Sucarnochee Folklife Festival or to sign up for the River Run or the Cornbread Cook-off, please contact Dr. Tina Jones at 205-652-3752.