Tag: Division of Culture and History

Watch the 2015 West Virginia History Bowl

Teams of 8th grade students from around West Virginia will face off Tuesday in an academic bowl competition that focuses on West Virginia history, literature, arts, architecture, geography and culture.

The questions for the history bowl are largely drawn from questions found in the Archives and History Quick Quizzes and Daily Trivia.

To learn more about the West Virginia History Bowl, check out the 2011 West Virginia Legacy program on the tournament from the West Virginia Library Commission Library Television Network.

You can watch the entire competition below starting at 9 a.m.

For more information about the History Bowl, contact Matt McGrew at Matt.McGrew@wv.gov or (304) 558-0230.

For more information, visit the Official West Virginia History Bowl website.

 
 

2014 Vandalia Award Goes to Logan Native

The Vandalia Award, West Virginia’s highest folklife honor, was presented to singer, songwriter and performer Roger Bryant last week at the 38th Annual Vandalia Gathering.

A native of Logan, Bryant is a musician whose roots are in the old-time and folk music traditions. He is the grandson of local folk legend Aunt Jennie Wilson and spent several years traveling with her, and accompanying her on his guitar.

By the early 1970s, Bryant began writing songs and performing on his own, achieving national attention in the late 1970s with his song “Stop the Flow of Coal.” He’s recorded four albums, the most recent of which is “On the Banks of the Old Guyan.”

According to a news release from the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, Bryant serves as executive director of the Logan Emergency Ambulance Service Authority and is the director of the Logan County Office of Emergency Management.

Bryant plays music when he can and is a yearly performer at the state Division of Culture and History’s Vandalia Gathering. The individuals who receive the Vandalia Award embody the spirit of the state’s folk heritage and are recognized for their lifetime contributions to West Virginia and its traditional culture.

West Virginia Golden Horseshoe Winners Honored

  Nearly 230 eighth graders have been honored as winners of the Golden Horseshoe Award for their knowledge of West Virginia history and culture.   
 
A ceremony was held Thursday at the state Culture Center in Charleston. Students from all 55 counties participated.

Retiring state schools Superintendent Jim Phares says as a former history teacher, he was honored to join in the ceremony.
 
The first Golden Horseshoe ceremony was held in 1931. The award’s name comes from golden horseshoes that Virginia Gov. Alexander Spotswood gave to a party of about 50 men who explored land west of the Allegheny Mountains in the early 1700s.  
 

Watch the 2014 West Virginia History Bowl

Teams of 8th grade students from around West Virginia faced off Tuesday in an academic bowl competition that focused on West Virginia history, literature, arts, architecture, geography and culture.

The questions for the history bowl are largely drawn from questions found in the Archives and History Quick Quizzes and Daily Trivia.

To learn more about the West Virginia History Bowl, check out the 2011 West Virginia Legacy program on the tournament from the West Virginia Library Commission Library Television Network.

You can watch the entire competition below. Click here for the full results.

For more information about the History Bowl, contact Matt McGrew at Matt.McGrew@wv.gov or (304) 558-0230.

For more information, visit the Official West Virginia History Bowl website.

Demolitions Could Affect Beckley Historic District

  State historians say a proposed demolition project could threaten uptown Beckley’s historic district.

Dan Bickey has proposed demolishing three buildings that he owns and developing the space for metered parking.

Only one property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing resource to the Beckley Courthouse Historic District. But State Historic Preservation Officer Susan M. Pearce tells The Register-Herald that demolishing the buildings would significantly alter the district’s viewshed.

West Virginia Division of Culture and History deputy commissioner Caryn Gresham says the demolitions could lead to the district’s removal from the national register.

Bickey says he hopes the district doesn’t lose its historic designation. He says the city needs more parking and it’s not cost effective to restore the buildings.

Gala Set for W.Va. Arts Awards on Thursday

West Virginia is celebrating some of its best artists and art supporters.
 
The 2014 Governor’s Arts Awards ceremony is scheduled for Thursday night at the Culture Center in Charleston.

The Division of Culture and History and the West Virginia Commission on the Arts say the awards honor those who have made significant contributions to the state’s culture.
 
The honors include: the Arts in Education Award, the Distinguished Service Award to the Arts, the Leadership in the Arts Award, the Artist of the Year Award, and the Governor’s Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement.
 
This year’s event made news after a student’s plan to recite a poem about the Upper Big Branch mine explosion at the event was denied.
 
Officials blamed miscommunication and the student will be allowed to recite the poem.
 

Exit mobile version