The Appalachian Center for Ethnobotanical Studies at Frostburg State University announces a new season of the Mountain Herbalist Series beginning Monday, Sept. 13. The series is designed to increase awareness of useful plants and reconnect people with natural resources and mountain traditions. All events will be Mondays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Mountain City Traditional Arts at 25 E. Main St. in Frostburg. The programs are free and open to the public.

"Mountain Roots" returns to kick off the beginning of the series on Sept. 13. Discover the lore, tradition and science behind the uses of Appalachia's most popular native medicinal roots: ginseng, goldenseal, Solomon's seal, sassafras, yellowroot and more.

The second event, "Bridging the Gap: Scientific and Traditional Herbal ...

Corner House, a musical duo hailing from Columbia, South Carolina, will perform at Mountain City Traditional Arts (MCTA) on Saturday, September 4th at 7:30 pm. Afternoon workshops for fiddle and guitar are also being offered at 3 pm. For 20 years, fiddler and vocalist Andi Hearn and guitarist Davey Mathias, have been playing music together.

For 20 years, fiddler and vocalist Andi Hearn and guitarist Davey Mathias have been playing music together,  and for more than 10 of those years, their focus has been on performing and teaching Irish Traditional Music. Joining them for the MCTA performance is Frostburg resident and former Corner House band member, Jeff Thomas, on concertina. 

Corner House formed in 2003 and has since performed around the southeast and beyond. ...

 The Frostburg State University Appalachian Festival is pleased to feature a talented cadre of Appalachian poets at this year’s event, on the campus of FSU, Saturday, September 18. Brought together by their artistry and appreciation for Appalachian regionalism, this group defies deeply entrenched regional stereotypes. Referring to themselves as Affrilachian Poets, they are committed to challenging images of white homogeneity in the mountain region.

Steadily gaining national acclaim since the 1990s, this collection of writers has become a true social movement. And the term Affrilachian, coined by writer Frank X Walker, is now commonplace in Appalachian Studies and Sociology courses throughout the eastern US.

Explaining the roots of its founding, the essay, Affrilachian ...

Four-time Grammy Award winner, consummate folk song collector, TV personality, storyteller and acclaimed musician David Holt will perform the capstone concert for the fifth annual Frostburg State University Appalachian Festival on Saturday, Sept. 18, at 8 p.m. at the Palace Theatre in downtown Frostburg. Sharing the bill is Laura Boosinger, an Asheville, N.C., recording artist with a long list of recordings and performances to her credit.

Their performance will cap off a full day of regional music, workshops and activities featured as part of the annual FSU Appalachian Festival. The event celebrates the history, culture and environment of Mountain Maryland and the surrounding Appalachian region.

Holt offers a heady mix of intricately crafted songs and spoken-word folklore ...