Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia

Attention all Clifton Forge followers! Green Pastures, one of the nine MAAV projects, needs your stories! This project is hosting a listening session on Monday, October 21st, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Historic Masonic Theatre in Clifton Forge. If you have any ties, memories, or stories about the Green Pastures area (formerly known as Longdale), the project team would love to see you at this event. Details are below.

Monuments Across Appalachia Virginia would like to take a moment and acknowledge the tragedy currently happening in Southwest Virginia, Western North Carolina, and Tennessee. We strong encourage our followers to engage with local communities and resources to help those most impacted by Hurricane Helene. Below are a list of resources for those who want to lend a helping hand. Please feel free to share widely or comment below with any additional resources you'd like to share. Giles County Disaster Relief Fund: (https://buff.ly/4aMqvRq) Giles County Volunteer Sign Up: Volunteer Sign Up Giles County Disaster Relief (https://buff.ly/4eKM2fc ) Holler 2 Holler Donations and Resource List: Helene Relief NRV to Carolinas to TN (https://buff.ly/3Bvmbtt ) General Mutual Aid List: Mutual Aid and Autonomous Disaster Relief Groups Mobilize in Wake of Hurricane Helene | It's Going Down (itsgoingdown.org) HENTF "Save Your Treasures": https://buff.ly/3N8cSSy...

Did you know plants can tell stories too? ☘ The Forest Botanicals Region Living Monument unveiled the Storywalk Trail; the first component of their project. The trail features 10 interpretive signs that highlight the cultural, historical, economic, and medicinal importance of Appalachian Forest herbs. Led by Shannon Bell in partnership with APPALACHIAN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, Mellon Foundation, and Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia, this project emphasizes how herbalism preserves cultural traditions in the Appalachian Region. The celebration hosted several local craftsmen, native plant booths, had demonstrations, and a guided walk along the trail. The storywalk is located along the Sugar Maple and Twisted Forest trail at Flag Rock Recreation Area on High Knob in Norton, VA and is open to the public. Learn more about #MAAV and our projects through our website (MoreMountainStories.org)!

Happy Friday everyone! Just a reminder that the Montañitas Festival will be taking place in Luray, VA in 22 days! 🥳🎶 Be sure to swing by to celebrate Appalachian and Latino culture, food, music and more. #lurayva #maav #moremountainstories #appalachia #appalatine #mexilachian #montañitas #luaproject #appalachianmusic

The Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia (#MAAV) project at Virginia Tech seeks to hire a graphic designer to create visual storytelling elements, provide editorial design for a publication, and create a template for forthcoming booklets. We are looking for people with ideas for representing data in nontraditional ways. The position is available starting September and running through January 2024. For more information about MAAV visit https://lnkd.in/etnjURmC #informationdesign #graphicdesign Virginia Tech College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences Mellon Foundation

"I am in awe of their passion and the relationships they have built." - Lauren Trice, AICP, Project Coordinator https://lnkd.in/gmXWJDU8

We are so honored and excited to officially announce our Round 2 projects! In order of appearance: 1. Green Pastures - In cooperation with local stakeholders, preservation groups, and Douthat State Park, the project will introduce an interpretive trail and a staged reading to showcase the rich heritage and stories associated with Green Pastures. This recreational area holds significant cultural importance as a recreational haven for African Americans during an era of segregation. 2. 23/54 - In 1947, 23 Black parents and 54 children challenged racial discrimination in the court case Corbin v. County School Board of Pulaski County, Virginia. Inspired by this story, the Calfee Community and Cultural Center (CCCC) aims to research and tell the stories of brave Black parents in Southwest Virginia, their ancestors and descendants through oral history interviews, archival research, a traveling exhibit, and a community-created quilt. 3. Yesáh Community House - The Monacan Nation Cultural Foundation will be building a modern-day long house that will serve as a physical monument of the Monacan people in Virginia. It will be constructed on the Monacan pow wow grounds in Monroe, VA and will become the permanent home of this annual event. 4. Labor in Motion - The Town of Pound, VA and Appalachian Voices will be partnering in creating an amphitheater and decorative retaining wall. The amphitheater will be transformed into the town's first performance venue for town events and storytelling events chosen by town residents. (See rendering of the Community Design Assistance Center (CDAC) above. Neither rendering nor location have been finalized.) 5. Raising the Shade - More than 180,000 African American soldiers made significant contributions in the American Civil War, however, only a handful of monuments to these men exist. The Franklin County NAACP aims to share these stories and more at various community events over the next year, as well as dedicating a monument to these soldiers. To learn more about Round 1 & 2 projects, please visit moremountainstories.org Mellon Foundation Virginia Tech College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences Monument Lab #moremountainstories

Graduation day + the end of the semester is a bittersweet day here at #MAAV. We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to these lovely interns who are either graduating or transitioning to a new internship in the Fall. Leeanna, Theo, Reagan, and Rachel, congratulations on your special day! We hope you soak in every moment! To Amber and Will, though you are moving forward in your graduate careers, we hope you know how invaluable you both are to all of us here at MAAV. Here's to all of you! 🥂

#MAAV pauses on this day to remember the Virginia Tech students and faculty who lost their lives tragically on April 16, 2007. Though 17 years have passed since that day, their stories and legacies live on, signified by the April 16 Memorial located on the Virginia Tech Drillfield right across from Burruss Hall. MAAV encourages all within the community to participate in local events and opportunities to commemorate their lives and stories. Click here to learn more: https://lnkd.in/eeqaccs

Save the date for the *FIRST EVER* Small Towns Conference. Sponsored by Virginia Municipal League - VML, Virginia Tech Southwest Center, Virginia Tech Roanoke Center, and Virginia Tech Center for Public Administration and Policy. June 10-11, 2024 at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center.