Appalachian Heritage Food & Dance Trail

FAIN: ZR-256707-18

Hindman Settlement School, Inc. (Hindman, KY 41822-0844)
Abby Huggins (Project Director: February 2017 to December 2020)
Sarah Kate Morgan (Project Director: December 2020 to May 2024)

The development of a regional folklife festival and trail that accurately depicts the cultural and historical nuances of central Appalachia.  

The Heritage Food & Dance Trail will map the venues, restaurants, farms, and other cultural heritage sites that authentically represent the stories, people, places, and experiences from central Appalachia's past and present. In collaboration with partner institutions, Hindman Settlement School will host a series of asset mapping sessions at locations throughout the region to engage artisans, citizens, historians, community leaders, businesses, and others with an interest in the project; gather information and historical context; and identify individuals for further discussion during formal oral history interviews. These oral histories and asset maps will serve as the basis for the development of a trail and series of events designed to engage the public in thinking critically about their Appalachian roots and encourage further engagement in regional traditions focused on foodways and dance.

Associated Products

East Kentucky Food and Dance Trail Oral History Collection, 2017-2018 (Database/Archive/Digital Edition)
Title: East Kentucky Food and Dance Trail Oral History Collection, 2017-2018
Author: Huggins, Abby
Abstract: The fourteen oral history interviews in this collection were recorded to contribute to the documentation of combined food and dance gatherings in eastern Kentucky. The interviewing effort is part of the East Kentucky Food and Dance Trail Program at Hindman Settlement School in Hindman, Kentucky.
Year: 2017
Primary URL: https://berea.libraryhost.com/?p=collections/findingaid&id=651&templateset=print&disabletheme=1

East Kentucky Food and Dance Trail (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: East Kentucky Food and Dance Trail
Author: Brett Ratliff
Author: Abigail Huggins
Author: Lora Smith
Abstract: The East Kentucky Food & Dance Trail, a collaboration between Hindman Settlement School and the Appalachian Food Summit, highlights the area's venues that encourage community building, cross-generational learning, and entrepreneurship through our culinary and dance traditions. The Trail promotes regional relationship building, as well as cultural education and tourism opportunities for residents and visitors in east Kentucky. Hindman Settlement School started the Food & Dance Trail conversation over a year and a half ago and these conversations have resulted in twenty-five affiliates from farmer's markets, to restaurants, community centers, nonprofits, and others; and we feel like we're only just getting started. In January 2017 we brought on Appalachian Transition Fellow, Abby Huggins to help coordinate the project. The Food & Dance Trail is grounded in diverse stories, seeing food and dance as both things that gather people together. This interactive workshop will give a brief overview of the Food & Dance Trail while also creating space for story circles, oral history sharing, and a square dance.
Date: 4/5/2018
Primary URL: https://mds.marshall.edu/asa_conference/2018/accepted_proposals/260/
Conference Name: Appalachian Studies Association Annual Conference

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