West Wing Fling October 8, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 12, 2005

Diane L. Christy

ADAH Volunteer

800-227-1711

Something to Sing About

“West Wing Fling” offers a version of the Antiques Roadshow

along with traditional Alabama music.

The Alabama Department of Archives and History will celebrate the opening of its new wing on October 8, 2005 with activities for all ages. Among them will be The Antique Corner, an identification, evaluation, and preservation service and performances of traditional bluegrass, gospel, and blues music.

You’re invited to carry your Aunt Tillie’s glass vase to the basement of the Department from 9:30-3:00 where museum curators, a professional archeologist and private appraisers will be available to identify your treasures. The ADAH preservation officer will make suggestions on how to preserve them. Limited appraisals will be offered on items such as manuscripts, rare books, Indian artifacts, photographs, portraits, furniture, old farming implements, vintage costume jewelry, old coins, antiques silver, porcelain and other decorative arts.

The Alabama Traditional Music tent will be filled with sound starting with The Sullivan Family at 9:30 and 11:45, the Birmingham Sunlights at 10:30, and Sacred Harp (shape note) singing at 12:45. Lil” Jimmy Reed will finish the day with down-home juke joint blues beginning at 2:00.

The Sullivan Family has been singing bluegrass gospel music since 1939 and has had two long-running radio programs as well as one on television. The Birmingham Sunlights have performed all over the world, including five African countries, the Caribbean and Australia under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Information. They’ve also performed their a capella gospel music on Garrison Keillor’s radio programs on NPR. Master of the blues Leon Atkins appears as Lil’ Jimmy Reed. The self-taught musician from Enterprise picked up guitar and harmonica from nightclubs near his home, emulating the style of Jimmy Reed. He has opened for Bobby Blue Bland and plays many festivals, including the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. The Sacred Harp singers come together from all over Alabama, to take part in the tradition of shape note singing, which has gained interest recently as part of the soundtrack for the film “Cold Mountain”.

Following three years of construction, the new west wing of the Department of Archives and History in downtown Montgomery is opening for the public with the West Wing Fling celebration on October 8, 2005. Ribbon-cutting will be at 9:00 am and events will conclude at 4:00 pm. Other events of the West Wing Fling include children’s activities, living history encampments, lectures and books by Alabama authors, and of course, tours of the new west wing. The Department of Archives and History was created in 1901, the first department of its kind in the country, and it served as a model for other states. The department’s mandate is to preserve historic documents and artifacts, to provide educational opportunities, and to maintain resources for research. The west wing remains a work in progress and will grow and develop as an educational and research center for Alabama.

The media is invited to a preview event on Friday, September 30 at 10:00 AM. Unable to attend? Request a media kit after September 16 by calling Sherrie Hamil at 334.353.4712 or at sherrie.hamil@archives.alabama.gov.

www.archives.state.al.us