Cincinnati’s 50th annual Appalachian festival is being held Mother’s Day weekend.
More than ten thousand people are expected to attend on the banks of the Ohio River at Coney Island.
Dancers including Spirit of American Cloggers, Country Step Cloggers and, Sugarfoot Cloggers are scheduled to demonstrate the Appalachian traditions of dancing at the three- day event this weekend.
The Appalachian Community Development Association is a non-profit organization . It produces the festival to promote awareness of and appreciation for Appalachian culture. Proceeds from the festival are used toward grants given to groups involved in Appalachian life.
Sandra Moss has been the festival coordinator for eight years. She said she got involved for two reasons."We promote education of the Appalachian region and we are also feeding children down in the Appalachian territory.”
Moss said along with clogging and music all weekend long there are handmade crafts and down-home cooking. Storytellers are also a festival favorite.
One of the storytellers is Sue Cox. The Fort Thomas resident said there’s a list of storytellers from West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky who are planning to roam the grounds telling tall tales. Cox frequently uses a possum puppet to assist. She demonstrates how one of her tall tales about a tail begins.
Cox said there’s a special treat for people who stay until evening. She said in the evening there's an open mic for anyone who wants to tell a "G" rated story.
An area of the festival is set up like a primitive pioneer village set in the 1840s ,where visitors can see, among other things, how to churn butter, weave and grind corn.
The Cincinnati Appalachian festival is scheduled rain or shine.
