What a whirlwind 2021 has been! Foxfire had a record year for attendance and engagement and we are looking forward to bringing you more great programming and content in 2022. Here are some highlights from our year:
In February, local gardeners spent a day helping us clear out downed and invasive species near our chapel.
In March, we recognized the anniversary of the pandemic in the United States by partnering with Blue Ridge Public Radio to expand our Covid-19 Oral History Project.
You can still submit to this ongoing project! Check it out on our website: foxfire.org/covid19/
Our friends from the Northeast Georgia History Center in Gainesville stopped by in April to record a short video on Foxfire. Watch their project here.
May finally brought the return of small-group tours for local grade school students. Over the course of three weeks, we hosted around 250 5th and 6th graders!
The month of June flew by as we celebrated our first Native Plant Week, featuring local herbalists, naturalists, chefs, and more. Later in the month, we welcomed a fresh group of high school students to our immersive Foxfire Summer Leadership Program.
The Foxfire students flourished in July as they explored heritage skills like blacksmithing, finalized edits for the Foxfire magazine, and wrapped up their SEED projects – including building a boat!
We hosted our first ever Hammer-In in August, welcoming seven regional blacksmiths to the mountain. We also offered a second community dye day, allowing our visitors to bring their own items to dye with indigo while they toured the museum.
September was full of preparations for the return of the Foxfire Mountaineer Festival in early October, with games, crafts, and artisans all in celebration of Appalachian culture.
October was our busiest month, as Rabun County population swelled with leaf-lookers. We hosted weekly woodstove cooking demonstrations on our new teaching stove, in addition to our regular resident artists.
After nearly four years of work, we wrapped up our Challenge Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities in November. This grant enabled us to reinterpret and improve many of our museum spaces, from new handicap-accessible entrances to interpretive signage and displays.
We invited our community to celebrate the holiday season with us this December during our Foxfire Christmas event on the mountain, which featured crafts, artists, music, and more!
Thank YOU for a great year! Let us know what you want to see in 2022! Best wishes to all for the New Year.
~ Foxfire Staff , Board, and Volunteers