Sharyn McCrumb takes the stage, reading from her award-winning ballad novels. This evening marks the end of her week-long residency at Shepherd College. The New York Times says, "Ms. McCrumb writes with quiet fire and maybe a little mountain magic. . . . Like every good storyteller, she has the Sight." To learn more about Ms. McCrumb, visit her website.

Hailing from Hot Springs, North Carolina, Betty Smith sings unaccompanied ballads and performs other pieces while playing the psaltery, guitar, mountain dulcimer, and autoharp. Betty is also an accomplished scholar and folklorist, and her book Jane Hicks Gentry: A Singer among Singers was recently published by the University of Kentucky Press. Betty will present a one-woman play based on the life of the famous ballad singer and storyteller on Saturday morning.

Cari Norris, banjo player and quilter, grew up in Kentucky and South Carolina. She became familiar with the musical traditions of her ancestors through her grandmother, Lily May Ledford, who led the all-women string band, the Coon Creek Girls, to fame in early radio, first at WLS in Chicago and later at the Renfro Valley Barndance. Rocked to sleep as a child by ancient ballads, Cari absorbed what has been called the "lonesome sound" of Appalachian music. Cari will be very visible throughout the day on Saturday. Come join her in song at the community sing, view her quilts at Studio 105, and walk over to O'Hurley's General Store to learn more about her music.

The Helvetia Dancers come to us from the tiny Swiss village of Helvetia, West Virginia. Led by Bruce Betler, they are known for their preservation of traditional Swiss culture, including dancing and yodeling. Join them Saturday afternoon for a yodeling workshop and a dance demonstration.

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