Culture Vulture Film Festival Offers New Mountain Films, Dinner, Music
The Center for Cultural Preservation, WNC’s mountain heritage cultural organization, presents a film festival featuring sumptuous local barbecue, great music and three mountain films including a preview of the Center’s new film on the roots of mountain music. The Culture Vulture Film Festival returns on Friday, November 4th to feature The Last One, a film on renowned WNC moonshiner Popcorn Sutton, A Mighty Fine Memory about Madison County master fiddler Roger Howell and the Center’s own preview of their new film, From Knee to Knee, the Roots of Mountain Music.
According to David Weintraub, Executive Director of the Center and director/producer of the new mountain film, “Given that music is the universal language, its exciting to explore how the ballad tradition became the connecting strand from Scotland and Ireland to Appalachia. Ballad music was the foundation for most of what we consider homegrown music, a tapestry of Scots-Irish, African-American and Cherokee influences. Seeing the films on Roger Howell and on the ballad tradition will help take the audience on a journey revealing how deep the music truly goes in our culture.”
In addition, Popcorn Sutton, the legendary moonshiner’s story will shed new light on the old bootlegging tradition that continues through today in these hills.
The night will begin with barbecue dinners with all of the fixings from the best bbq places in the area and music by acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, Aaron Coffin starting at 6PM. The films begin at 7PM followed by a panel of experts including former moonshiners, historians and ballad singers.
The Culture Vulture Film Festival will be held on November 4th at Blue Ridge Community College’s Blue Ridge Conference Hall. Tickets for dinner, music and films cost $20 and $15 just for the films. Tickets are available online at saveculture.org or by calling the Center at 692-8062.
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 contact them at (828) 692-8062 or www.saveculture.org.