FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Kyle Huneycutt
(706) 379-5319, [email protected]
Young Harris College’s Georgia Mountain Storytelling Festival Awarded Vibrant Communities Grant
YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. — Young Harris College’s Georgia Mountain Storytelling Festival (GMSF) was recently awarded the Vibrant Communities Grant through the Georgia Council for the Arts (GCA).
“Thanks to the GCA, we can share the art of storytelling with everyone in our area,” said YHC Associate Professor of English and Director of Rhetorica Amanda Lawrence, Ph.D., who is helping coordinate the event. “One of the many benefits of the Vibrant Communities Grant is that it will enable us to offer tickets to this year’s GMSF for free to all students 18 and under.”
The mission of GCA is to cultivate the growth of vibrant, thriving Georgia communities through the arts by promoting Georgia’s economic growth, supporting strong connections between artists, arts organizations and the public, acting as a catalyst for increased public awareness of the value of the arts, and investing in the sustainability and advancement of Georgia’s creative sector.
The GMSF, which takes place Friday-Saturday, April 1-2, on the YHC campus, showcases the art of Southern storytelling with a particular focus on Appalachian stories, both traditional and contemporary. The festival offers storytelling and musical performances, children’s events, and workshops so that community members, visitors, and students of all ages and from all disciplines will not only learn about the tradition and history of the region through storytelling, but also have the opportunity to become part of its preservation.
The 2016 festival features well-known Affrilachian teller Lyn Ford, celebrated Appalachian musicians David Holt and Josh Goforth, environmentalist Doug Elliot, Circle of Excellence Award-winner Andy Offutt Irwin, balladeers Sweet Sunny South, and a special panel of YHC student tellers.
Advance ticket sales will run through Friday, March 18. To find out more about the Georgia Mountain Storytelling Festival, contact Dr. Lawrence at [email protected] or visit yhc.edu/storytelling. For more information about GCA, visit gaarts.org.
About Young Harris College
Young Harris College is a private, baccalaureate degree-granting college located in the beautiful mountains of North Georgia. Founded in 1886 and historically affiliated with The United Methodist Church, Young Harris College educates, inspires and empowers students through the highest quality liberal arts education. The College currently has more than 1,200 students across five divisions—Education, Fine Arts, Humanities, Mathematics and Science, and Social and Behavioral Sciences. The historic campus in Young Harris, Ga., is currently undergoing major campus improvements to accommodate the College’s growth. Recent LEED-certified campus improvements include the 121,000-square-foot Rollins Campus Center, new residence facilities, and a 57,000-square-foot recreation and fitness center. In 2014, the College was granted active membership in NCAA Division II and is a fierce competitor in the prestigious Peach Belt Conference. YHC is among fewer than 300 colleges and universities nationwide named to the 2015-2016 list of Colleges of Distinction. For more information, visit yhc.edu.
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