WHEELING, W. Va. - The Clifford M. Lewis, SJ Appalachian Institute at Wheeling Jesuit University is set to host “Celebrate Appalachia Week” April 22-26 with activities ranging from bluegrass concerts, Appalachian food, labor history presentations, photo exhibits, and more.
The event begins on Monday, April 22nd with a campus-wide service project in the newly constructed campus community garden, followed by a kick-off dinner complete with ramps, venison, fried green tomatoes, and other Appalachian dishes. In addition to a delicious meal, the audience can enjoy the music of local folk and bluegrass band, Uncle Eddie and Robin with guest Greg Pawlack and decorate a quilt square while learning about Appalachian quilting guilds.
The food and fun will be from 5:00pm-7:00pm in the Benedum Dining Room in Swint Hall. Admission for the general public is $10.
Tuesday, April 23rd features native singer and songwriter, Tom Breiding of Tom’s Unbroken Circle. This performance highlights the challenges and triumphs of the labor history movement in WV and will be held in the RATT in Swint Hall at 6:30pm.
On Wednesday, April 24th at 6:30pm in the Lundy Lounge of Acker Science Center, local storyteller, Judy Tarowsky will tell several Appalachian ghost stories for children and families!
Thursday, April 25th at 11:00am, in Donahue Hall Room 129, Alyssa Pasternak-Post will speak on the relevance of spirituality within the Appalachian region and the role of the Bishops’ Pastoral letters. Later that evening at 7:30pm in the Kirby Hall Art Gallery, Pittsburgh photographer, Brian Cohen, will present on his newly released, Marcellus Shale Documentary Project which highlights the impact natural gas drilling has had on local communities.
To finish up the week of events, Fr. Brian O’Donnell will present a discussion titled, “Taking the Mountains Seriously: Green Theology and Appalachia” on Friday, March 26th at 12:00pm in the Executive Dining Room in Swint Hall.
All events are open to the public and free, unless otherwise noted. For more information, please call Elizabeth Collins at 304-243-4361 or email ecollins@wju.edu .
