Carnegie Hall Spring 2023 Spring Classes & Workshops offer a wide range of learning opportunities that enlighten and inspire students of all ages. These unique learning opportunities are taught primarily in small group settings at the Hall. The Spring 2023 Classes & Workshops options are now available, and the Appalachian Heritage Series features nationally recognized teaching artists – Mike Costello, Amy Dawson, Genevieve Bardwell, and Susan Ray Brown.
The Appalachian Heritage Series is designed to introduce new students to old traditions by experiencing a hands-on opportunity to learn about Appalachian arts and crafts. Students learn to keep Appalachian roots alive by learning through the arts with Carnegie Hall.
On Saturday, Mar. 25, from 9 to 11 a.m., as part of the Appalachian Heritage Series, instructors Genevieve Bardwell and Susan Ray Brown, with special guest Eleanor Marshall, teach students the traditions of Baking Salt Rising Bread. Cost is $55 ($50 for members). Class size is limited, and students must be 16 years of age.
Come for a taste of nostalgia with master baker Genevieve Bardwell as she shows how to make salt rising bread, using the same three-step process that has been passed down through West Virginian families for centuries. Bardwell will share historical research that reveals how the Appalachian women were ingenious in their use of natural leavening methods to raise biscuits, gingerbread, and salt rising bread. The class includes hands-on instruction of salt rising bread and sourdough bread. Attendees will leave with warm loaves of salt risin’ and an authentic sourdough starter.
After the workshop, Carnegie Hall presents a free lecture by Genevieve Bardwell and Susan Ray Brown on Saturday, Mar. 25, at 11:30 p.m. Admission if free but registration is required. Space is limited so register early.
Genevieve Bardwell lives and works in Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania, an Appalachian community where salt rising bread has been a part of life for nearly 200 years. Inspired to understand this beloved heritage bread by Susan Ray Brown, they have spent decades extensively researching its history, lore, and science. This quest has taken them to libraries, bakeries, and bread museums across the world, as well as into the kitchens and living rooms of many expert salt-rising bread bakers. They also co-authored the original book – Salt Rising Bread: Recipes and Heartfelt Stories of a Nearly Forgotten Appalachian Tradition (Bardwell and Brown, 2016).
Genevieve started Rising Creek Bakery, in Mt. Morris, PA, then sold it in 2017. Rising Creek Bakery specializes in salt rising bread and ships hundreds of loaves weekly throughout the US. Genevieve graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and went on to earn a master’s in Plant Pathology. She continues to conduct research and teach classes about salt-rising bread.
Lost Creek Farm’s Mike Costello and Amy Dawson will lead a two-day class of Traditional Sausage Making on Friday, Apr. 14, from 6 to 9 p.m., and Saturday, Apr. 15, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Cost is $150 ($125 for members). Automatic scholarships are available for Greenbrier County students over 50 years of age who will pay only $85. Class size is limited, and students must be at least 16 years of age to participate.
Focusing on heritage sausage recipes from the Spanish and Italian communities of north-central West Virginia, as well as recipes and techniques from their own families, the course will include storytelling, recipe instruction, and hands-on learning. Students will make at least three types of sausage which will be sampled and taken home after class. The first day will cover basic butchery, an introduction to the cultural significance of various sausage traditions, portioning, grinding, and seasoning. The second day will include stuffing and finishing linked sausages, smoking Spanish sausages, and canning Amy’s family’s traditional sausage.
Named 2022 James Beard Award semifinalists in the category of Best Chef, Southeast! and featured on Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown and in The New York Times, Lost Creek Farm offers a unique take on mountain cuisine, defined by story-rich recipes, time-honored techniques, and newly emerging regional traditions. Operated by Mike Costello and Amy Dawson, and located in the rolling hills of Harrison County, West Virginia, Lost Creek Farm hosts culinary events and workshops around West Virginia and the eastern United States. The Farm and Forage Supper Club, Lost Creek Farm’s signature dinner series, offers guests an unparalleled on-farm experience, as dozens of Appalachian heirloom crops from the garden make their way to the dinner table, only several feet away.
To enroll and for a complete list of the Appalachian Heritage Series or other classes and workshops visit carnegiehallwv.org/classes-and-workshops. You may also pick up a Classes & Workshops brochure at 611 Church Street, Lewisburg.
Limited scholarships for classes and workshops are available for students ages 50 and over thanks to the generous contribution of the Mary B. Nickell Foundation.
