Ronnie Pepper. Photo courtesy of Larry Ketron
The Center for Cultural Preservation, WNC’s cultural history and documentary film center, will present the Appalachian Storytelling Extravaganza on Thursday, March 28, at 7 p.m. at Blue Ridge Community College’s Thomas Auditorium. The event will feature Appalachian storyteller Michael “Badhair” Williams, Cherokee elder Freeman Owle and African- American storyteller Ronnie Pepper. Tickets to the event are $15.
Owle continues a long tradition of Cherokee myths and tales that he will share with the audience at the Appalachian Storytelling Extravaganza. “When Cherokee stories are involved, they should be stories that are really from the Cherokee and the vast number of years that they have evolved from Cherokee life and place,” he says. “It is always good for people who come to this place to know the stories and the people of the area.”
Pepper says that, as a society, we are losing our ability to simply listen, and events like this provide an opportunity to practice. “Asheville is made up of many different people, and many different stories; we just haven’t taken the time to see them,” he says. “Not only Asheville but all communities should take time to stop, look and listen. This event gives the Asheville community an opportunity to do that: just listen.”
The Thomas Auditorium is located at 180 West Campus Drive in Flat Rock. 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 or to reserve tickets for this event, call 828.692.8062 or visit SaveCulture.org.
