For More Information, Contact:
Ruth Tonachel, 570-265-2543

For Immediate Release
May 20, 2008

Dance Celebrates History and Traditions of Northern PA

The Northern Tier Cultural Alliance (NTCA) is proud to be sponsoring an Old Time Barn Dance as part of our 2008: Year of the Barn project. Join us this Saturday night at the Waterwheel Barn in Colesburg – just outside Coudersport on Rt. 49 in Potter County - for a chance to experience the fun and artistry of old time square dancing and calling. There will be a $3 admission fee.

Activities begin at 6 PM with a Moveable Feast Potluck Supper sponsored by the Potter County Food Matrix. Bring a dish to pass and join us for supper. At 7:30, the Barn Dance will begin with Live Music and Master Callers Harry Erhard of Port Royal, PA and Ray Wetherby of Belmont, NY Also in the line-up is Natalie Phelps of Coudersport who has been documenting and learning old-time calls that she remembered hearing when she played in dance bands as a teenager in the 1950’s. The dance is being filmed for a DVD that will be available in early 2009.

Every year, NTCA presents an annual show of Folk and Traditional Arts titled "From Heart to Hand" somewhere within our 10-county region. This year we have elected to present the traditional callers and musicians on Saturday – and at another dance in Troy on September 19 – as our "2008 From Heart to Hand" show. These artists represent a master level of traditional performances and tie us to our heritage of barn dances as a respite from the hard work of farming and logging.

2008: Year of the Barn is a series of projects being undertaken to document, celebrate and preserve the agricultural importance and influence on the heritage and culture of PA's rural North Country and to highlight the continued role of farming in the PA North Country culture and economy. We are collecting surveys from barn owners across the Northern Tier region in order to create a permanent archive documenting as many barns as possible in the region. Survey forms are available from our website (www.ntculturalalliance.org) or by calling 570-268-5055. From the surveys, we are selecting a number of barns to feature in the DVD, in a 2009 calendar and on a driving trail map of barn architecture and history.

Year of the Barn projects are funded with help from the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, National Endowment for the Arts and PA Council on the Arts. Join us in Colesburg as we celebrate the great and diverse heritage of Northern Tier music and agriculture.

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