TRADTIONAL ARTs WORKSHOPS
Explore all the traditional arts offerings at Happy Hollow Old-Time Music Gathering, including hands-on crafts, nature-based knowledge, and the playful art of Stuntology.
Space is limited for some workshops, and registration will take place at the merch tent. After you arrive on-site, stop by to learn more and sign up for the workshops you’d like to attend over the weekend—spots may fill quickly!
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25
Medicine, Food and Uses of Plants Walk with Talcon Quinn
10:30 – 11:45 AM
Humans have always utilized plants for food, medicine, and an expansive girth of utilitarian purposes. Learn a handful of plants who adorn the beautiful landscape of Snow Fork, their uses, as well as safe and proper foraging practices on this gentle, plant walk with Talcon Quinn. Open to 25 participants.
Students should bring a notebook or device to take notes with and wear appropriate clothing/footwear for easy, all weather hiking.
Folk Herbal Preparations: Elderberry Syrup with Talcon Quinn
1:30 – 2:45 PM
Explore the folk uses and lore of Elderberry while making Elderberry Syrup with Talcon Quinn. This workshop will explain basic preparations of herbal teas and tinctures, explore other common herbal folk remedies, and discuss how to safely incorporate herbalism into your daily life. Limited to age 12 or older unless accompanied by an adult. Open to 12 participants though others are welcome to observe.
Students should bring a notebook or device to take notes with.
Broom Making with Curt Cable
3:00 – 4:15 PM
A mini hawk wing whisk broom is an excellent beginner class to have some fun, and learn some foundational skills for future more difficult brooms if desired. We will discuss some broom history and lore, view some samples of what can be done with these skills that you’ll learn, and make your first boom. Limited to age 15 or older unless accompanied by an adult. Open to 12 participants though others are welcome to observe.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26
Yarn Spinning with Lisa Heinz
10:30 AM – 12:00 pM
Come to learn how to spin yarn using a locally handmade wooden drop spindle and wool from regional sheep! Have you ever wondered what it took for our ancestors to make enough thread to weave cloth for clothing? It was quite a job and required many hands to spin enough for a single garment. Adults and children alike spun the fiber needed in their community. If you and or your older kids would like to learn this skill — and to take home your very own locally handmade spindle, join us for this workshop! Limited to age 12 or older unless accompanied by an adult. Open to 8 participants though others are welcome to observe.
Homemade Canjos with Evan Binkley
1:30 – 2:45 PM
Learn to build and play a Canjo, a one string Appalachian fretted instrument that uses tin cans as the resonator. Limited to age 12 or older unless accompanied by an adult. Open to 10 participants though others are welcome to observe.
Students should bring your own can.
Limberjack Dolls with Anthony Massie
3:00 – 4:15 PM
Students will learn about the history and roots of the limberjack, a traditional dancing puppet and rhythm instrument. Students will learn the basics of playing a limberjack and discover how these simple wooden figures have been used to make music and entertain. After learning to play, each student will get to paint and decorate their own limberjack to take home. Limited to age 8 or older unless accompanied by an adult. Open to 15 participants though others are welcome to observe.
This workshop involves painting and students should bring old clothes or a smock.
Stuntology with Sam Bartlett
4:30 – 5:30 PM
Bar tricks for kids. Humor + science= farting sounds. Creative tinkering with everyday garbage. This stuntology presentation is a dazzling array of physical impossibilities and absurdities that can be wrought with everyday objects. Sam coaxes horrible sounds out of straws, makes forks float, napkins balance, and paper expand. Sam demonstrates, then it’s your turn. You will be mystified and amazed by stunts that work brilliantly, and even more entertained when stunts fail miserably. It’s all part of the experiment! Open to all ages.