Encore: Oscar Micheaux, Kathleen Driskell And Soul Food, Inside Appalachia

This week, in the 1920s, Oscar Micheaux was an entrepreneur filmmaker in western Virginia. He became a world-renowned director and producer. Also, Kentucky’s poet laureate lives down the road from what has been called the country’s most lethal cryptid. Attempts to spot it have led to deaths. And, we talk soul food with Xavier Oglesby, who’s passing on generations of kitchen wisdom to his niece.

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Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival

Arts & Culture Bill Lynch +, May. 15, 2026

Dungeon Fest And Kentucky's Grand March, Inside Appalachia

This week, Appalachian Dungeon Fest spotlights the fantastical music of dungeon synth. Also, every year, the Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival stages a formal dance. Organizers rely on a manual that’s been passed down for generations. And, small dairy farms are closing across the country. Central Appalachia has been hit hard

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Arts & Culture Bill Lynch +, Sep. 26, 2025

Encore: The Grand March And A Year After A Denied Abortion, Inside Appalachia

This week, for nearly a century, the Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival has staged a formal dance. Organizers rely on a manual that’s been passed down for generations. Also, abortion is illegal in most cases in Tennessee. So what happens after a birth? A photographer followed one mother for a year. And, new prisons are touted as a way to bring jobs to former coal communities. Not everybody agrees the trade-off is worth it.

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Arts & Culture Bill Lynch +, May. 02, 2025

Red Onion Prison, NIOSH And The Mountain Laurel Festival, Inside Appalachia

This week, officials are scrutinizing a supermax prison in Wise County, Virginia, after inmate complaints and a visit by a state lawmaker. Also, laid-off federal worker warns the Trump administration’s mass firings could make a big difference for coal miners. And, every year, the Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival stages a formal dance. Organizers rely on a manual that’s been passed down for generations.

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Arts & Culture Will Warren, May. 20, 2024

Ball Gowns, Curtsies And A Queen: Pineville, Kentucky Hosts Elaborate Dance Tradition With Polish Roots

The Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival happens every Memorial Day weekend on the grounds of a scenic state park. It’s a four-day celebration that culminates with an exquisite tradition: the Grand March, a dance that has been taught to Kentucky college students in Pineville since the first festival in 1931.

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Arts & Culture WVPB Staff, May. 17, 2024

A Visit To KY Mountain Laurel Festival And Kim Richey Has Our Song Of The Week, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, the Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival in Pineville, Kentucky has staged a formal dance for nearly a century that has remained the same for generations. Folkways Reporter Will Warren takes us for a visit.

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