A week of events exploring rural sustainability in Knox County and around the globe
Monday, April 1–Saturday, April 6, 2013
Kenyon College
Gambier, Ohio
All events are free of charge and open to the public. Events take place on the Kenyon College campus unless otherwise noted. For more information call 740-427-5158 or visit http://www.kenyon.edu.
For much of the last century, rural towns and villages throughout Ohio held “Community Week,” a roster of lectures, exhibits, and performances to inform, entertain, and celebrate the local community. Rural by Design continues this tradition to help ensure the vitality of rural life in a changing society.
Kenyon College
Gambier, Ohio
All events are free of charge and open to the public. Events take place on the Kenyon College campus unless otherwise noted. For more information call 740-427-5158 or visit http://www.kenyon.edu.
For much of the last century, rural towns and villages throughout Ohio held “Community Week,” a roster of lectures, exhibits, and performances to inform, entertain, and celebrate the local community. Rural by Design continues this tradition to help ensure the vitality of rural life in a changing society.
Monday, April 1
An Amish Perspective on Rural Sustainability
7:00 PM Rosse Hall
Lecture by David Kline, Old Order Amish bishop, farmer, and author
David Kline, of Holmes County, is a farmer with a broad audience and plenty on his mind. Not only does he operate a 120-acre farm and serve his local Amish community’s pastoral needs, but he also reaches an international readership as editor of Farming magazine. A typical issue ranges from beekeeping tips to Wendell Berry’s thoughts on the relationship between soil and national security. With gentle humor and insight, David often challenges preconceptions about the Amish and shares thought-provoking commentary on being a good steward and a good neighbor.
7:00 PM Rosse Hall
Lecture by David Kline, Old Order Amish bishop, farmer, and author
David Kline, of Holmes County, is a farmer with a broad audience and plenty on his mind. Not only does he operate a 120-acre farm and serve his local Amish community’s pastoral needs, but he also reaches an international readership as editor of Farming magazine. A typical issue ranges from beekeeping tips to Wendell Berry’s thoughts on the relationship between soil and national security. With gentle humor and insight, David often challenges preconceptions about the Amish and shares thought-provoking commentary on being a good steward and a good neighbor.
Tuesday, April 2
Government Policy and Rural Sustainability
7:00 PM Community Foundation Theater, Gund Gallery
Conversation with state and federal officials on government policy and rural communities
Rural communities today depend increasingly on outside resources to support the local economy and provide needed services. At the same time, government regulations impact the character of daily life, from agriculture to education to health care. Join us for a discussion with government officials about the complex interplay between state and federal institutions and rural character.
Cosponsored by the Center for the Study of American Democracy
7:00 PM Community Foundation Theater, Gund Gallery
Conversation with state and federal officials on government policy and rural communities
Rural communities today depend increasingly on outside resources to support the local economy and provide needed services. At the same time, government regulations impact the character of daily life, from agriculture to education to health care. Join us for a discussion with government officials about the complex interplay between state and federal institutions and rural character.
Cosponsored by the Center for the Study of American Democracy
Thursday, April 4
Rural Sustainability around the Globe
11:10 AM Community Foundation Theater, Gund Gallery
Conversation with Kenyon alumni and students active in global rural sustainability efforts
How do the terms global, local, and rural intersect? What does rural mean in a global context? What lessons can Knox County learn from international rural sustainability efforts? This panel will discuss how rural communities across the globe define themselves, sustain themselves, and connect to one another and to those in nonrural settings.
Cosponsored by the Center for Global Engagement
Rural Design and Rural Sustainability
7:00 PM Community Foundation Theater, Gund Gallery
Lecture by Dewey Thorbeck, founder and director of the Center for Rural Design, University of Minnesota
Architect Dewey Thorbeck is a pioneer in broadening discussions of sustainability from the narrow frame of land use to a larger concern with sustaining rural communities. Winner of a Rome Prize Fellowship to the American Academy in Rome and past president of AIA Minnesota, Thorbeck authored the groundbreaking book Rural Design: A New Design Discipline. In addition to his duties in the School of Architecture at the University of Minnesota, Thorbeck is currently writing a book titled Architecture for Agriculture.
11:10 AM Community Foundation Theater, Gund Gallery
Conversation with Kenyon alumni and students active in global rural sustainability efforts
How do the terms global, local, and rural intersect? What does rural mean in a global context? What lessons can Knox County learn from international rural sustainability efforts? This panel will discuss how rural communities across the globe define themselves, sustain themselves, and connect to one another and to those in nonrural settings.
Cosponsored by the Center for Global Engagement
Rural Design and Rural Sustainability
7:00 PM Community Foundation Theater, Gund Gallery
Lecture by Dewey Thorbeck, founder and director of the Center for Rural Design, University of Minnesota
Architect Dewey Thorbeck is a pioneer in broadening discussions of sustainability from the narrow frame of land use to a larger concern with sustaining rural communities. Winner of a Rome Prize Fellowship to the American Academy in Rome and past president of AIA Minnesota, Thorbeck authored the groundbreaking book Rural Design: A New Design Discipline. In addition to his duties in the School of Architecture at the University of Minnesota, Thorbeck is currently writing a book titled Architecture for Agriculture.
Friday, April 5
Barn Dance
4:30 PM Colwill Farm and Barn, 19855 New Gambier Road, Gambier
Original interpretive dance exploring space in a historic barn, choreographed by Balinda Craig-Quijada
Juxtaposing movement and dance against the backdrop of a local historic barn, this site-specific performance explores how these multipurpose structures frame and inform our landscape. We will experience what these plain, functional, yet architecturally striking structures from a bygone era tell us about past ways of life, communities, and the environment, and how they continue to inspire us today.
4:30 PM Colwill Farm and Barn, 19855 New Gambier Road, Gambier
Original interpretive dance exploring space in a historic barn, choreographed by Balinda Craig-Quijada
Juxtaposing movement and dance against the backdrop of a local historic barn, this site-specific performance explores how these multipurpose structures frame and inform our landscape. We will experience what these plain, functional, yet architecturally striking structures from a bygone era tell us about past ways of life, communities, and the environment, and how they continue to inspire us today.
Saturday, April 6
Local Foods Brunch
11:00 AM–1:00 PM Gambier Parish House
Enjoy a gourmet meal prepared from local ingredients.
Cosponsored by PEAS
Mountain Music, Southeast by Southwest
8:00 PM Rosse Hall
El Violín de Lorenzo Martinez and the New Ballard’s Branch Bogtrotters
Concert featuring traditional acoustic music from the Hispanic Southwest and Appalachia
El Violín de Lorenzo Martinez: Musica Antigua, from Albuquerque, performs the Spanish Colonial music of northern New Mexico. In 2003 violinist Lorenzo Martinez and his late father, Roberto, jointly received a National Heritage Fellowship Award from the National Endowment for the Arts, in recognition of the Martinez family’s artistry and preservation of Hispanic New Mexican music. Born in 1954, Lorenzo studied violin and guitar and recorded his first album of New Mexican music at age fifteen. Later he traveled to Mexico City to get involved in the mariachi scene. The trio performs both the old Hispanic folk repertoire and the newer mariachi style.
The Galax area of southwestern Virginia has long been the center of a distinctive, energetic variety of acoustic fiddle and banjo music. Some of the earliest recording artists of southern old-time music came from this region, and it has hosted music festivals and fiddling contests for more than a century. The New Ballard’s Branch Bogtrotters continue this lively tradition, entertaining at local dances, house parties, and stage shows. The band members all learned to play as young people within musical households. Fiddler Eddie Bond, of Fries, Virginia, is widely acclaimed as one of the finest old-time fiddlers today.
11:00 AM–1:00 PM Gambier Parish House
Enjoy a gourmet meal prepared from local ingredients.
Cosponsored by PEAS
Mountain Music, Southeast by Southwest
8:00 PM Rosse Hall
El Violín de Lorenzo Martinez and the New Ballard’s Branch Bogtrotters
Concert featuring traditional acoustic music from the Hispanic Southwest and Appalachia
El Violín de Lorenzo Martinez: Musica Antigua, from Albuquerque, performs the Spanish Colonial music of northern New Mexico. In 2003 violinist Lorenzo Martinez and his late father, Roberto, jointly received a National Heritage Fellowship Award from the National Endowment for the Arts, in recognition of the Martinez family’s artistry and preservation of Hispanic New Mexican music. Born in 1954, Lorenzo studied violin and guitar and recorded his first album of New Mexican music at age fifteen. Later he traveled to Mexico City to get involved in the mariachi scene. The trio performs both the old Hispanic folk repertoire and the newer mariachi style.
The Galax area of southwestern Virginia has long been the center of a distinctive, energetic variety of acoustic fiddle and banjo music. Some of the earliest recording artists of southern old-time music came from this region, and it has hosted music festivals and fiddling contests for more than a century. The New Ballard’s Branch Bogtrotters continue this lively tradition, entertaining at local dances, house parties, and stage shows. The band members all learned to play as young people within musical households. Fiddler Eddie Bond, of Fries, Virginia, is widely acclaimed as one of the finest old-time fiddlers today.
Throughout the week
Where Does Our Food Come From?
Gund Commons
Award-winning exhibit following the food we eat from farm to table
Most of us don’t think beyond the supermarket when considering the sources of our food. But the food choices we make each day have a profound impact upon the vitality of agricultural communities. Drawing on extensive fieldwork in Knox County, this exhibit combines narrative, photography, and interview excerpts to explore the journey from farm to table, and what food means to local residents.
Gund Commons
Award-winning exhibit following the food we eat from farm to table
Most of us don’t think beyond the supermarket when considering the sources of our food. But the food choices we make each day have a profound impact upon the vitality of agricultural communities. Drawing on extensive fieldwork in Knox County, this exhibit combines narrative, photography, and interview excerpts to explore the journey from farm to table, and what food means to local residents.
Rural by Design is presented by the Rural Life Center at Kenyon College. The Rural Life Center promotes education, scholarship, and public projects about Knox County, Ohio. In active partnership with the surrounding community, we seek to ensure the vitality of rural life in a changing society. For further information, visit our Web site.
This exhibit is part of an initiative, Rural by Design, promoting rural sustainability in Knox County and is made possible with support from the McGregor Fund of Detroit, Michigan. The McGregor Fund is a private foundation established in 1925 by gifts from Katherine and Tracy McGregor "to relieve the misfortunes and promote the well-being of mankind." The foundation awards grants to organizations in the following areas: human services, education, health care, arts and culture, and public benefit. Visit www.mcgregorfund.org for additional information.
This exhibit is part of an initiative, Rural by Design, promoting rural sustainability in Knox County and is made possible with support from the McGregor Fund of Detroit, Michigan. The McGregor Fund is a private foundation established in 1925 by gifts from Katherine and Tracy McGregor "to relieve the misfortunes and promote the well-being of mankind." The foundation awards grants to organizations in the following areas: human services, education, health care, arts and culture, and public benefit. Visit www.mcgregorfund.org for additional information.