Aug. 15, 2012. Glenn Bolick, local authority on Appalachian culture and folklore, headlines Grandfather Mountain’s 9th Annual Kidfest on September 8. Bolick is a bona fide expert storyteller, potter, musician, singer, songwriter and presenter.
Growing up in Caldwell County, Bolick was exposed to sawmilling, storytelling and music from a very young age. His earliest musical influences were his grandparents and aunt who used to sing shape-note gospel hymns in three-part harmony.
Bolick’s musical development continued when he met his wife, Lula. He learned to play guitar from her family. He also developed his pottery experience with Lula, whose Owens family pottery tradition dates back five generations.
Bolick has been the recipient of several awards including the Bascom Lamar Lunsford Award from the North Carolina State Fair. He’s also received recognition for his folk singing, hollering, harmonica and banjo playing. Together with his wife, he received the North Carolina Folklore Society’s coveted Brown-Hudson Award.
During his two-hour segment at Grandfather Mountain Kidfest that begins at 1 p.m., Bolick will share his gift of storytelling with children and present old-time toys in the Nature Museum Auditorium.
“I tell mostly ‘Jack Tales,'” said Bolick. “They’re all stories I’ve been picking up since I was a child. Some of them I learned when I was very young when we sat around the radio in the evening.”
For more information including the full Kidfest schedule, please visit www.grandfather.com
The Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation established to preserve Grandfather Mountain, operate the nature park sustainably in the public interest, provide an exceptional experience for guests, and inspire them to be good stewards of the earth’s resources. For more information, visit www.grandfather.com or call 800-468-7325.
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