From Wes Anderson, Barnes County Historical Society – Find Us on Facebook!

An exhibit based on the Award-Winning Book “Sundogs and Sunflowers: Folklore and Folk Art of the Northern Great Plains” to show at the Barnes County Historical Society Museum September 1-16, 2012.

What do Monster Fish, Haunted Houses, Duck Decoys and Sunflower Pie have in common? They all represent folk art and folklore that is part of the rich history of the Northern Great Plains.

The Sundogs and Sunflowers exhibition is based on the book, “Sundogs and Sunflowers: Folklore and Folk Art of the Northern Great Plains.” This groundbreaking compilation, thirty years in the making, celebrates the proud folk heritage of the Northern Great Plains. Published by the North Dakota Council on the Arts (NDCA), the book was compiled and edited by North Dakota State University Professor Emeritus Dr. Timothy J. Kloberdanz and NDCA folklorist Troyd A. Geist. The book has received great praise and recently won first place in the North Dakota Library Association’s 2011 Notable Document Awards.

Most of the book’s content comes from North Dakota with every single one of the state’s fifty-three counties represented. Traditions from the prairies of South Dakota, western Minnesota, eastern Montana, northeastern Wyoming, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan also are included. From 2010 to decades past, the book covers ghost stories and other strange tales, legends, blizzard stories, weatherlore, proverbs, folk expressions and folk speech, folk beliefs, folk medicine, holiday celebrations, hunting, fishing and trapping traditions, and folk art.

The exhibit includes 28 full-color photographic panels that provide a sampling from each of the book’s 10 chapters. Like the book, the exhibit includes some stories and images people will recognize from their own family members, friends, and neighbors while other, less familiar selections will provide fascinating revelations. The exhibit is great entertainment appropriate for the entire family.

If you enjoy the exhibit, information on how to purchase the book, Sundogs and Sunflowers: Folklore and Folk Art of the Northern Great Plains will be available. It is the perfect book to share with anyone who wants to get to know more about North Dakota. The 352 page, coffee-table-size, full color, hardcover volume features more than a thousand examples of folklore and folk art, as well as more than three hundred images.

The exhibit will be displayed from 9/1/12 through 9/16/12 at the Barnes County Historical Society Museum from 10-4 Mon-Sat. Admission is Free. Call Wes Anderson for more information call 701-845-0966

 

Sponsoring Organization: North Dakota Council on the Arts

The North Dakota Council on the Arts (NDCA) is a service and program agency of the state, established in 1967 by the State Legislature to develop the arts and to promote and support the arts in North Dakota. Grant funds are provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and appropriations from the state of North Dakota. The mission of the North Dakota Council on the Arts ensures that the role of the arts in the life of our communities will continue to grow and will play a significant part in the welfare and educational growth of our citizens. Website: www.nd.gov/arts/