http://www.wvculture.org/ The mission of the West Virginia Division of Culture and History is to identify, preserve, protect, promote, and present the ideas, arts, and artifacts of West Virginia's heritage, building pride in our past accomplishments and confidence in our future en-us The Old Brick Playhouse Apprentice Program at the Old Brick Playhouse in Elkins, W.Va., has received the 2009 Coming Up Taller Award from the President's Committee on Arts and Humanities. The program is one of 15 youth arts and humanities programs to receive the prestigious 2009 award. Missy Armentrout McCollam, executive director of The Old Brick Playhouse accepted the award earlier this month at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. The West Virginia Archives and History Library of the West Virginia Division of Culture and History will continue its series of after hours workshops on Tuesday, Dec. 1, from 6 - 7:30 p.m. The session, entitled "A Glimpse at some Lesser-Known Prominent West Virginians," will focus on 12 individuals who, in some way, impacted West Virginia's past and present. The lecture will be led by Dr. Kenneth R. Bailey, historian and retired dean of the College of Business, Humanities and Sciences at WVU Institute of Technology. The program will take place in the library at the Culture Center, State Capitol Complex in Charleston. All sessions are free and the public is invited to attend. The library will close at 5 p.m., and reopen at 5:45 p.m. for workshop participants only. The Martin Luther King, Jr. West Virginia Holiday Commission is seeking nominees for the "Living the Dream" awards to be presented as part of the national Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday observance. The public is invited to nominate candidates for the awards. The holiday will be celebrated on Jan. 18, 2010. The Commission will present five awards to individuals who best exemplify, through action or personal traits, the principles and ideals characterizing the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in his pursuit of social change. The West Virginia Division of Culture and History (WVDCH) and the West Virginia Commission on the Arts (WVCA) will present the statewide Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest, now in its fifth year, on March 6, 2010. The program is administered by state arts agencies across the country. The contest is open to all West Virginia students in grades 9 - 12. The West Virginia Division of Culture and History will present its "Second Saturday" program of museum activities on Nov. 14, from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. The theme this month is the Civil War in West Virginia. The free program is geared for children of all ages. The West Virginia Division of Culture and History has opened two new exhibits entitled, Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the West Virginia Juried Exhibition and Quilts of Award, Celebration and Commemoration, at the Culture Center, State Capitol Complex in Charleston. An opening reception will be held on Monday, Nov. 2, from 6 - 8 p.m. The exhibits and reception are free and the public is invited to attend. Museum in the Park at Chief Logan State Park will sponsor a Frontier Days Weekend on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 7 - 8. Activities will take place from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., on Saturday and 1 - 6 p.m., on Sunday. The event is free and the public is invited to attend. The West Virginia Commission on the Arts (WVCA) of the West Virginia Division of Culture and History will hold its annual public comment meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at the Lakeview Resort in Morgantown from 1 - 3 p.m. The meeting is open to the public and is timed to coincide with the state's 2009 Arts Assembly. The Southeastern Museums Conference (SEMC) held its annual meeting in Charleston this month from Tuesday, Oct. 13, through Thursday, Oct. 15. SEMC, begun in 1951, is a nonprofit membership organization that serves 12 states across the southeast, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia, as well as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The group holds its annual meeting one of three week/weekends in October. It has been approximately 20 years since SEMC met in West Virginia. The West Virginia Archives and History Library of the West Virginia Division of Culture and History will continue its series of after hours workshops on Tuesday, Nov. 3, from 6 - 7:30 p.m. The session, entitled "Bastard Battalion: A History of the 83rd Chemical Mortar Battalion in World War II," also will include a discussion on researching military records from the Civil War to the present time. The workshop will be conducted by Terry Lowry, noted military author and historian for archives and history. The program will take place in the library at the Culture Center, State Capitol Complex in Charleston. All sessions are free and the public is invited to attend. The library will close at 5 p.m. and reopen at 5:45 p.m. for workshop participants only. Local groups with an interest in history or genealogy are invited to participate in the 14th West Virginia History Day on Thursday, February 18, 2010, at the State Capitol Complex in Charleston during the regular session of the West Virginia Legislature. Local historical groups are expected to provide displays and reenactments in the Rotunda of the State Capitol. The West Virginia Division of Culture and History and the West Virginia Commission on the Arts will host "Arts Day at the State Capitol" at the State Capitol Complex, Charleston, on Monday, Jan. 25, 2010, from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. The event celebrates the vitality of the arts in West Virginia; the impact the arts has on cultural growth, economic development and education; and how the arts brings together artists, arts organizations and art enthusiasts from across the state. The West Virginia Division of Culture and History is introducing two new monthly programs for young children to increase access and encourage exploration of the West Virginia State Museum. "Museum Mondays" will take place on the first Monday of every month and "Second Saturdays" will repeat the activities on the second Saturday of the month. The programs are geared for children in preschool through kindergarten, but kids of all ages are invited to attend. Gov. Joe Manchin has named scholars and historians from around the state to the West Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission. The 13-member commission includes representatives from the Legislature and key state agencies who will serve through 2015. Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex in Moundsville will celebrate archaeology with family-oriented activities on Saturday, Oct. 3, and Sunday, Oct. 4, from noon - 4 p.m. each day. The weekend events are timed to coincide with West Virginia Archaeology Month. All activities are free and the public is invited to attend. The theme for this year's Archaeology Weekend is "Come and See What's New at the Mound." West Virginia Independence Hall in downtown Wheeling will be closed to the public next Monday, Sept. 21, due to a planned power outage because of the ongoing work to upgrade the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system (HVAC). The facility will resume normal operating hours on Tuesday, Sept. 22. Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex in Moundsville will change its operating hours effective Oct. 15. The new hours of operation will be Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon - 5 p.m. Access to the mound and gift shop closes at 4:30 p.m. daily. The facility will be closed on Mondays. The West Virginia State Museum in Charleston and West Virginia Independence Hall in Wheeling will be two of more than 1,000 museums participating in the fifth annual Smithsonian Museum Day on Saturday, Sept. 26. Across the country, museums will offer free admission on the day, reflecting the Smithsonian magazine's spirit of celebrating culture, learning and knowledge. The West Virginia Division of Culture and History will have the West Virginia Theme Motorcycle on display in the Great Hall of the Culture Center, State Capitol Complex, Charleston through Wednesday, Sept. 9. The motorcycle was designed and built by Robert "Bear" Parsons, with Temple Street Choppers. The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) of the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, in collaboration with the Second Creek Historic Landmark Commission, is offering a historic landmark commission training session on Saturday, Sept. 19. The free session will be held at the Second Creek Church on Second Creek Road off Rt. 219 in Monroe County from 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Lunch will be provided. Members of historic landmark commissions, interested government officials and the general public are encouraged to attend. The West Virginia Division of Culture and History in collaboration with the West Virginia Commission on the Arts will continue its free statewide listening tours in Huntington and Charleston in September. The Huntington meeting will be held Wednesday, Sept. 2, at the Huntington Museum of Art, 2033 McCoy Road, from 1 - 2:30 p.m. The Charleston meeting will be held Friday, Sept. 4, at the Culture Center, State Capitol Complex, from 1 - 2:30 p.m. Applications are now being accepted for historic preservation survey and planning grants through the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) of the West Virginia Division of Culture and History. Approximately $80,000 is earmarked for this grant program, which is funded with money appropriated by the U. S. Congress for preservation efforts through the National Park Service Historic Preservation Fund. Celebrate the Labor Day weekend with the Museum in the Park at Chief Logan State Park at the fifth annual "Aunt Jennie's Festival." The celebration will include two outdoor concerts on Saturday, Sept. 5, from 4 - 10:30 p.m., and Sunday, Sept. 6, from 1 - 6 p.m. The concerts will be held in the park's Liz Spurlock Amphitheater, located about one-half mile from the museum. The West Virginia Archives and History Library of the West Virginia Division of Culture and History will continue its series of after hours workshops on Tuesday, Sept. 1, from 6 - 7:30 p.m. The session, entitled "Put Your Family's Memories in a Scrapbook," will be conducted by local craftsperson Lynn Barney. The program will take place in the library at the Culture Center, State Capitol Complex in Charleston. All sessions are free and the public is invited to attend. The library will close at 5 p.m. and reopen at 5:45 p.m. for workshop participants only. Barney's workshop will focus on how to incorporate family photographs and mementoes into scrapbook pages. Session participants will have the opportunity to create their own pages. Gov. Joe Manchin III presented the Archives and History section of the West Virginia Division of Culture and History with an $80,000 grant to provide funding to restore, refurbish, repaint and/or replace damaged or missing highway historical markers throughout West Virginia on Tuesday, Aug. 11, during a ceremony held in the Great Hall of the Culture Center, State Capitol Complex, Charleston. The grant was funded through the Transportation Enhancement Program of the Federal Highways Administration and is administered by the West Virginia Division of Highways. The 20th Appalachian String Band Music Festival at Camp Washington-Carver in Clifftop, Fayette County, wrapped up Sunday, Aug. 2. During the event, some of the nation's finest string band musicians and old-time dancers won prizes in four old-time "traditional" contests - fiddle, banjo, string band and flat-foot dance - plus one "neo-traditional" string band contest. In addition, ribbons for best original song and best original tune were awarded in the neo-traditional band category.