PBS to profile Campbell Folk School

A storytelling class at John C. Campbell Folk School.

Well-known national media outlets National Geographic and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) will each profile John C. Campbell Folk School during May.

National Geographic Books will designate the nonprofit Folk School as one of "The 100 Best Vacations to Enrich Your Life" in the book of the same name by author Pam Grout, to be released May 15.

"Sing Behind the Plow: John C. Campbell Folk School" is the name of a documentary scheduled to air May 23, at 8:00 p.m. on UNC-TV, the 22-station PBS network for North Carolina.

According to Grout, her book is filled with "before and after" vacations; trips that have "the potential to seriously change your life." Grout wrote that at the Folk School "you will find a school that aims to engage both the hands and the heart."

Jan Davidson, Folk School Director, said that while the school offers adults 830 classes each year in craft, art, music, cooking and other hands-on subjects, it's not the making of various things - be it a Windsor chair or a song - that's really important.

"Our concern is primarily that people have a sense of discovery of themselves.and that they do it in the company of other people," stated Davidson. "That positive emotional experience folks have when they come together in a supportive, non-competitive environment is why we were included in the book."

A year in the making, the PBS documentary explores the 82-year history of the Folk School through interviews with various scholars on Appalachia, Folk School personnel and archival photos, footage and recordings.

"The Folk School has always been a forward-looking institution, thinking about the future. I thought it was time to look back at some of our past and tell how this unique school started and evolved," stated Davidson, also an executive producer on the documentary.

"Even people who know and love the Folk School may not know who John C. Campbell was. Who were the founders Olive Dame Campbell and Marguerite Butler Bidstrup? How did the local people build the school? Who was Fred O. Scroggs? How did Denmark come into the story? These are some of the questions this program will try to answer, while setting the Folk School's story in the larger context of what was happening to the nation and the world during those years," Davidson said.

After its debut on UNCTV, the documentary will be made available to other PBS stations throughout the United States. It will also be produced on DVD, which will be available in the Folk School's Craft Shop.

John C. Campbell Folk S c h o o l o f f e r s m a n y c l a s s e s each year including g a r d e n - i n g , n a t u r e s t u d i e s , photography and w r i t i n g . Founded in 1925, the Folk School is a national landmark on the National Registry of Historic Places. The school features a Craft Shop, History Center, nature trails, regular concert series, and community dances. For more information about the Folk School, call 1-800- FOLK-SCH or visit www.folkschool.org.