We have officially completed four weeks of the Community Scholars training in Allen County!  The 12 soon-to-be Community Scholars have been hard at work interviewing family and community members and developing projects.  Since the program’s kick-off in August, Mark Brown of Kentucky Arts Council and the staff of the Kentucky Folklife Program have been meeting with the participants every-other week to delve into the worlds of folklore, oral history, and community research.

During the course of the training, several guest speakers and presenters have joined KAC, KFP and the Community Scholars participants, enhancing the training sessions with their varied expertise.  Guests have included WKU University Photographer, Clinton Lewis; Folk Studies Graduate and Community Scholar, Maxine Ray; and former director of the Kentucky Folklife Program, Bob Gates.  There are two sessions remaining before this group joins the ranks of over 150 certified Kentucky Community Scholars state-wide. We are looking forward to seeing the projects that come out of this group of promising Community Scholars!