Missouri Folk Arts Program

Congratulations to the American Folklife Center on its first 50 years! Learn more about the the Center's "first official action" at the link:

The First Musical Evening Sponsored by the American Folklife Center (Part 1) | Folklife Today On February 19, 1976, in what could be considered the first official action of the American Folklife Center, the Library of Congress hosted a reception to celebrate the passage of the American Folklife Preservation Act, which established the Center as part of the Library. The event featured speeches...

Let's celebrate the 2026 Missouri Living Traditions Fellows--Marquise Knox (Bowling Green), Brian Hawkins (Harrisonville), and Mary Barile (Boonville)!

Learn more about these tradition bearers and their exceptional lifetime achievements at the link in the comments. We can't wait to work with them to document their life stories and to recognize them in person. Stay tuned for details.

May is National Preservation Month (est. 1973). Thanks for the reminder, Smithsonian Folklife.

In Missouri, several traditional artists are involved in historic preservation, including Bernard Tappel of Osage Bluff Blacksmith Shop. He's been working as a resident blacksmith with Dick's Mill Restoration Project in Cooper County.

In this shared post, the folks at Dick's Mill explain how Tappel forged hinges and door latches last fall for the mill's engine room doors.

Feel free to share additional Missouri examples in the comments of traditional artists/artisans contributing to the preservation of our historic places.

We sit with the news today of the loss of Marideth Sisco, a longtime friend of Missouri Folk Arts, who brought her great talents and wisdom to our Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program, Community Scholars Network, and--most recently--the 2025 Living Traditions Fellowships. Those efforts are just a sliver of Marideth's contributions to the cultural life of the Ozarks and Missouri.

As thunder rumbles outside our office today, we can vividly imagine the loss she describes [at the link] of the "giant, weathered oak that has stood for centuries only to fall suddenly in a storm." And, it is comforting to know that Marideth Sisco not only planted acorns over the decades, she has nurtured saplings and trees that carry traces of her cultural genome.

Thank you, Marideth.

Photo description: "Marideth Sisco performs in 'An Evening with Ozarks Women' on the Ralph Rinzler Main Stage at the 2023 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Photo by Sonya Pencheva, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives

Ozarks storyteller, author, musician and host of KSMU's 'These Ozarks Hills' dies at 82 Marideth Sisco lived in West Plains and helped many people learn more about the Ozarks through her writing and music.

Earlier this week, we learned the sad news that Robert "Bob" Pinter of Sugar Creek, Mo. passed away at age 91.

Mr. Pinter was an early mentor in the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program, teaching tamburitza in 1988-89 to apprentices, including Nick Andresevic, pictured here in a photo from the project's archives, now housed at The State Historical Society of Missouri.

Mr. Pinter was well-versed in the tamburitza tradition, one that he himself took up in grade school, then later honed with friends Matthew Butkovich and Barry Berislavich, under the mentorship of Nick Rodina, who took a bus from Kansas City, KS to Sugar Creek, MO to teach the trio and then a local tamburitza orchestra.

Mr. Pinter wrote of that time: "The orchestra played extensively in Kansas & Missouri, particularly the Kansas City area. We also played Iowa a couple of times. The highlight was a trip to Washington, D.C. during the Bicentennial year, 1976. The trip was sponsored by the Optimist organization . . . The group of 48, eight adults + 40 orchestra members, spent time touring the numerous government offices, museums, historical sites, etc." over the course of seven days.

Over the last fifty years, from those transplanted roots, Mr. Pinter, his family, and other families from that era, have sustained the orchestra, as well as dance troupes of adults and children. They practice regularly and anchor the popular Sugar Creek Slavic Festival each June.

Missouri Folk Arts extends heartfelt condolences--and appreciation--to the Pinter family and friends. As Bob Pinter wrote: "participation in the customs, music, song, dance, etc. is the way younger generations can continue their traditions and preserve their heritage." Hear, hear.

Speaking of Shannondale, here’s some good news about summer Ozark crafts workshops from Shannondale!

𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝘇𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗖𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲!
Join us August 20–22 at beautiful Shannondale, located at 41277 State Highway 19, Salem, MO 65560, for three days of creativity, craftsmanship, learning, and community!

Ozark Craftworks brings together artisans, makers, and curious beginners for hands-on workshops in traditional and heritage crafts including:
• Basketry
• Fiber Arts
• Blacksmithing & Forging
• Jewelry
• Leatherwork
• Woodcraft
• Culinary Traditions
…and more!

Attend for a single day or immerse yourself in the Full Event Experience. Lodging and meals are available on-site.

📌 Step 1: Select your classes here:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0C44A9A92BA4FACE9-63236897-ozark #/

📌 𝗜𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗧 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟮: 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀, 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗹𝗼𝗱𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲:
https://www.ultracamp.com/info/upcomingSessions.aspx?idCamp=1201&campCode=MOV&idLocation=4553

⚠️ Please note: Participants must complete event registration in order to attend classes. Class sign-ups alone do not register you for the event.

𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀?

Event Registration, Lodging & Meals:
Theresa Enloe: 573-858-3284

General Questions:
Mary Ficker: 573-247-1777
Kathy Love: 573-808-1824

We can’t wait to gather, create, and celebrate traditional crafts together in the Ozarks!

Coming up on Tuesday, May 12, at noon at The State Historical Society of Missouri, learn how a missionary employed cooperatives to promote folk art [cream and strawberries] in Shannondale, Missouri's local economy.

History on Elm presents
Shannondale’s Brotherhood Economics
by Don Love and Mike Luster
Tuesday, May 12 at noon
Center for Missouri Studies, 605 Elm Street, Columbia, MO
FREE | OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
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When the 1930s Depression gripped the Heartland, the Evangelical and Reformed Church sent Vincent Bucher to the impoverished Ozark mountains to lead a new mission church. Before President Franklin D. Roosevelt created programs to lift Americans out of poverty, Bucher was organizing cooperatives to market folk art, cream and strawberries. Working together, families could make their hard-scrabble farms productive, improve the abused forest to create jobs, and build bridges (literally) to unite isolated communities. Bucher called his approach “brotherhood economics.”
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This season of History on Elm is generously sponsored by Central Bank and Central Trust, Shortwave Coffee, and the State Historical Society of Missouri.
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