FAIRMONT, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Fairmont State University announced Wednesday that the 2022 West Virginia Folk Artist of the Year will be presenting at the Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center next week.
The appearance will be part of Booth’s Tall Tales of Tony Beaver Storytelling Tour, and will take place on Wednesday, June 8 at 7:00pm.
Featured in the performance will be historical West Virginia tall tales featuring Tony Beaver, and will be presented with financial assistance from the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture, and History and the National Endowment for the Arts, with approval from the West Virginia Commission on the Arts.
“We are thrilled to host Adam as part of his tour” says Dr. Francene Kirk, director of the Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center. “The Tony Beaver stories with their connection to West Virginia’s 20th Century timber industry are near and dear to our hearts. Adam came to the Center last fall to do some research in our archives. He is an amazing scholar as well as a highly talented performer.”
The recipient of the 2022 Governor’s Arts Award for Folk Arts in West Virginia, Booth’s original storytelling blends traditional mountain folklore, music and an awareness of contemporary Appalachia propelled by a focus on craft.
Just some of the highlights from Booth’s prolific career include Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, three-time Teller-In-Residence at the National Storytelling Center, The National Storytelling Festival, Timpanogos Storytelling Festival, the Appalachian Studies Association Conference, the National Academy of Medicine and Spoken Word Resident at the Banff Centre (Alberta). He is a member of the Recording Academy (GRAMMYs) and his recordings have received a Parents’ Choice Gold Award, two Parents’ Choice Silver Honors and five Storytelling World Awards and Honors. He is a four-time champion of the West Virginia Liars’ Contest.
This program will be free and open to the public, with all stories presented suitable for a general audience. For more information and additional dates, visit Adam Booth’s website here.