Friday, October 25
4-5 PM The Midnight Special Experience ( Tribute to Lead Belly) @ The Apollo
9:15-11 PM Square Dance (The McCarthys/ Steve Green calling) @Hi-Fin
Saturday
9:30-10:30 PM Ballad-Off @Turnbow Park
10:45 PM-12am Square Dance (Big Cricket Stringband/Steve Green calling) @Hi-Fin
2-3 PM Lauren Willette, Arkansas Folk and Traditional Arts @Hi-Fin
“Now that’s one wild woman!’: The Legacy of Billy Joe Tatum in the Ozarks
Billy Joe Tatum was a naturalist, author, and educator who grew up in Missouri and Arkansas during the 20th century. She is often compared to Euell Gibbons; her book titled Billy Joe Tatum’s Wild Foods Field Guide and Cookbook was the first of its kind to offer gourmet-style recipes for wild and foraged foods. She wrote many different columns for the Ozarks Mountaineer magazine which was distributed not only in the region but around the United States and internationally. Billy Joe was the first herbalist or “yarb doctor” at the Ozark Folk Center State Park, where she oversaw the first stages of the construction of the Heritage Herb Garden at the center of the state park.
This presentation will focus on Billy Joe’s home Wildflower, the parties and events she hosted there, and the ways she interacted with her friends, family, and acquaintances. This presentation will also feature examples of her writings and excerpts of oral history interviews with her family members and friends.
Lauren Adams Willette is the Folk Arts Survey Coordinator at Arkansas Folk and Traditional Arts, a public folklore program of the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Lauren is a Ph.D. Candidate in Heritage Studies from Arkansas State University.
3-4 PM Rachel Whittaker, @Shiloh Museum
Railroad Tracks
Music obviously was important to the people of the Ozarks, and while they held onto traditional ballads, they also absorbed new songs and adapted music to the changes in their community and environment. When the railroads came to this part of the country, they also sang to tell stories about the railroad. This presentation will include audio recordings and lyrics adapted by the people of the Ozarks.
4-5 PM Panel, moderated by Jared Phillips, University of Arkansas with
Steve Green, Joshua Youngblood, and Rachel Reynolds @Shiloh Museum
“Melodies of the Ozarks: Performance, Preservation, and the Future of Ozark Music”
Sunday October 26
11 AM – 1 PM Not Your Mama’s Gospel Brunch @ The Apollo
1:30-3 PM Ozarks Stringband Championship @ The Apollo