up next we speak with emily hilliard on her work to document a to is that make up appalachian heritage. ♪ >> in west virginia, a lot of people across the state may not identify as artists that are extremely creative. it is important how they are preserving traditions, to storytelling. and practice these reforms. we document and support traditional artists, cultural heritage practitioners and cultural communities across the state. basically i travel all over the state and do history and documentation of banjo players, fiddlers, neon signmakers, independent wrestlers, ramadan fast breaking dinners, serbian chicken roasts. any kind of aspect of cultural heritage, and the practice of folk life in the state. thinking how we choose stories for the folklife program there is so much to document, so many people to talk to and sometimes when i hear about someone in her 90s that will be a priority, someone who is very old and has stories to tell that will push something to the top of the list. also stories that complicate the narrative about west virginia internally or outside. stories that show

up next, folklorist emily hilliard discussed the ways the

next we speak with west virginia spokesperson emily hilliard in her work to document the cultures that make up appalachian heritage. >> in west virginia we have a lot of people across the state who may not identify as artists but are extremely creative. extremely important in how they are preserving in their own way these traditions in their community from storytelling , to fiddle tunes. so we want to help these people do the work that they're already doing and practicing their art form. >> with the west virginia folklife program we document prisoners, preserve and support traditional artists. cultural heritage practitioners and cultural communities across the state area so basically, i travel all over the state and do oral histories and documentation of banjo player's, fiddlers, neon sign makers, independent wrestlers. ramadan fast breaking dinners. serbian chicken roasts, any kind of aspect of cultural heritage or someone who practices a artform or a food way or some kind of practice of folklife in the state. and in thinking about how we choose tori for the west virginia for life pro

we stick with west virginia state folklorist emily hilliard on her work to document all the very -- variedultures that make up appalachian heritage. ♪ >> we have a lot of people across the state who may not identify as artists but are extremely creative, extremely important in how they are preserving in their own way these traditions of american unity, from seed savings to storytelling, to fiddle tunes. we really want to help these people do the work that they are already doing and practice their art forms. program,west virginia we document, preserved, present, ,nd support traditional artists cultural heritage practitioners, and cultural communities across the state. basically, i travel all over the state and do oral histories and documentation of the banjo players, fiddlers, neon sign makers, independent wrestlers, ramadan fast breaking dinners, serbian chicken roasts, any kind of aspect of cultural heritage or someone who practices a form, artform, or food way, or some kind of practice of folk life in the state. thinking about how we choose stories for the west virginia folklife program,

up next, folklorist emily hilliard discussed the ways the program is documenting appalachian heritage. ♪ emily: we have a lot of people across the state who may not identify as artists, but are extremely creative and important in their own way how they are preserving the traditions in their community from storytelling to fiddling and we really want to help these people do the work they are already doing and practice their artform. with the west virginia folklife present,we'd document, preserve, and support traditional artists, cultural communities across the state. i travel all across the state and do oral history and documentation of anjo players, fiddlers, sign ,akers, independent wrestlers ramadan fast breaking dinners, serbian chicken roasts, any kind cultural heritage or artform or some kind of practice of folklife in the states. -- in the state. there's so much to document, so many people to talk to. and sometimes, when i hear about a woman who is in her 90's, that will be a priority. someone who is very old and has a lot of stories to tell. that complicate narratives about west