OUR MISSION

• To encourage wider understanding and practice of artistic expression found in local regional and ethnic traditional folk cultures.
• To document, promote, encourage, and nurture West Virginia’s folklife and folkways.
• To accomplish the above through workshops, apprenticeships, publications, and public presentations.

Augusta was the historic name of West Virginia in its period of earliest settlement. In 1973, "Augusta Heritage Arts Workshops" was the name given to a summer program that was set up to help preserve the Appalachian heritage and traditions. In 1981, Davis & Elkins College became the sponsor of the program, renamed Augusta Heritage Center. In the years since then, it has flourished and grown. Augusta Heritage Center is a non-profit organization known nationally and internationally for its activities relating to traditional folklife and folk arts of many regions and cultures.

Augusta Heritage Center is best known for intensive week-long workshops that attract several hundred participants annually. Thousands more attend our public concerts, dances, and festivals. Augusta’s full-time staff, plus volunteers, seasonal staff, and work-study students, produce a great variety of quality workshops. These world-renowned workshops and festivals have brought together master artists, musicians, dancers, craftspeople, and enthusiasts of all ages.

Our year-round activities also include folklife research and documentation, our statewide West Virginia Folk Arts Apprenticeship program, production of films and audio recordings for a national audience, and outreach programs for young people and our local community.

Augusta-sponsored activities in the community enrich the quality of life in the Elkins area year-round. “Pickin’ In The Park,” a weekly series of informal old-time and bluegrass jam sessions hosted by Augusta every Wednesday night throughout the year. From mid-May through September these jam sessions take place under the trees in Elkins City Park, attracting spectators from near and far. The Wednesday jam sessions continue on a smaller scale in the Hermanson Center on the Davis & Elkins College campus from October to May.

Augusta Scholarships

Augusta has encouraged hundreds of talented artists through its Augusta Scholarship Program. Many have gone on to achieve renown in their chosen fields. More than 75 Scholarships were awarded in 2006 to youth and adults who showed great promise and could not otherwise attend. The recipients were from all over the U.S. and as far away as Canada and Europe. We recommend applying well in advance for scholarships.

Complete scholarship applications will include an application form, a registration form, and a letter of recommendation from an artist who is familiar with the applicant and can attest to his or her accomplishments.

The Augusta Scholarship deadlines are:

Late applications will be considered only if funds are available. Scholarship awards do not include housing and meals. Applicants under 18 must be accompanied by an adult chaperone.

Your tax-deductible donations to the Augusta Scholarship fund are always appreciated. Please contact us for information on making a contribution at augusta@augustaheritage.com or call 1-800-624-3157 ext. 1209.

Folklife Programs

An important goal of the Augusta Heritage Center is to foster an environment whereby folk art and folklife traditions are encouraged, nurtured, supported, presented, and documented. Through our Folk Arts Coordinator, Gerry Milnes, fieldwork and research is ongoing to identify and document traditional artists, practices, and historical data relating to West Virginia.
 
Funding for Augusta’s Folklife Programs comes from the National Endowment for the Arts and private contributions.

The Apprenticeship Program

Augusta’s year-round West Virginia Folk Art Apprenticeship Program supports master artists and deserving apprentices with grants in a wide range of folk and traditional art practices.

Coordinator Gerry Milnes assists in the application process, matching master artists with apprentices, and helping them plan a course of study and goals. He also produces events and recordings that help to fund the Apprenticeship Program. Milnes visits and documents all applicants to assist the panel in making their determinations. This documentation (including photos, videotape, and sometimes audiotape) becomes part of the Augusta Collection. Many of the master artists and apprentices are presented at the Augusta Festival and the Fiddlers' Reunion.

The Apprenticeship program is open only to West Virginia residents through an application process whereby master artists and apprentices apply together. Applications are available by calling the Augusta office. They are due April 1st and October 1st and panelists meet in May and November. Apprenticeship applicants should have some experience in their chosen field, but it is not necessary to be advanced.
 
The Apprenticeship Program has expanded in recent years to include funding and technical assistance to West Virginia teachers who are organizing traditional music and crafts programs in the public schools.