Joe Wilson of Fries, VA, former National Council on Traditional Arts chairman, knows more about traditional music than almost anybody else.
This is where country music really got invented. Every third house has a good musician in it.
Anthony Flaccavento is an organic farmer and a founder of Appalachian Sustainable Development.
Little towns have farmers markets, and those markets are growing.
Betsy White supervised research for the Cultural Heritage Archive, and is author of two books, "Great Road Style" and "Back Country Makers."
I fit in as the storyteller . . . I always see the maker.
Billy Wagner's extraordinary baseball career began at Tazewell High School. He has pitched for the Astros, Phillies, Mets, Red Sox and Braves.
Everything is just easy-going, but a little bit of intensity thrown in there.
Billy Heck interprets the historic character, Col. Joseph Martin, at Martin's Station at Wilderness Road State Park.
The most beautiful valley I had ever laid eyes upon. There we made a settlement.
Bob McConnell is a board member of the Daniel Boone Wilderness Trail Association, and a frequent colonial re-enactor.
I can't talk to my ancestor George, but I can relate to him as a re-enactor.
Bud Phillips is a former high school principal who served as a delegate in the Virginia General Assembly for many years.
The mountains, if you're born here – it's a special place in your heart and your blood. ... It's home.
James I. Bud Robertson, Jr., longtime professor at Virginia Tech, has written many books and produced documentaries about the Civil War.
That railroad during the Civil War was literally the umbilical cord of the Confederacy.
Charlie McConnell is president of the Lays Hardware Center for the Arts, and specializes in pencil drawings of people and events.
Emigrants from all over Europe came here, and they brought all their cultures.
Charlotte Whitted is the executive director of the Crab Orchard Museum in Tazewell. She lives in Burke's Garden.
The second I come over the valley, I just exhale, and realize that I am home.
Donnie Turner is Carroll County's tourism director and owner of Blue Cat on the New outfitters.
The wonderful float from Foster Falls to Blue Cat – just you, the trees, and of course all the fish.
Doug Ogle, retired professor of biology at Virginia Highlands Community College, is a naturalist, photographer and local historian.
“We probably have more public land here than any part of the state.”
Ellen Shankin has 30 years experience in throwing, altering and glazing pots. Her studio Shankin Pottery is located near Floyd.
Floyd, Friday night, the Jamboree, music spilling into the street, and all our friends and neighbors...
Frances Davis of Rocky Mount is a Virginia Folklife Master Artist who specializes in hoecakes and fried apple pies.
My thing is giving … You know, this is my domain. It's what you make and how you make it.
Frank Kilgore of St. Paul is a longtime activist for Clinch River protection and recreation.
There's so much that needs to be preserved, biologically or historically or both.
Jack McClanahan has played every male role in Trail of the Lonesome Pine, Big Stone Gap's long-running outdoor drama.
It's home to a lot of people, and a lot of people who wish it were home.
Jane Henderson is president of Virginia Community Capital and loves to ride along Southwest Virginia's many horse trails.
There are treasures just tucked away in the mountains, and not accessible by a road.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) is a longtime proponent of Southwest Virginia development.
We're going to be able to show to the rest of the world the beginning of a great 21st century.
Mary Stuart is a longtime resident of Southwest Virginia and a supporter of the arts in Abingdon.
We have the best of all worlds here in Abingdon and in Southwest Virginia.
Ralph Stanley is a legend in country music who performed for many years with his brother Carter as the Stanley Brothers.
You can't beat the people in Southwest Virginia, so come on down and be with us.
Richard Kretz is a photographer and master naturalist who maintains a website about the Pinnacle Natural Area Preserve, conducts hikes and teaches classes in nature photography.
My great joy is being able to share our natural beauty and to educate others.
Richard Lomax, born in the coal camp of Osaka, is a founding member of the Evangelistic Choralaires of Big Stone Gap.
Born in a mining camp. Everybody looked after each other.
Richard Rose is artistic director of the Barter Theater in Abingdon.
People make friends and those friends become friends for a lifetime.
Shawn Hash is a fishing guide on the New River. His firm, Tangent Outfitters, is headquartered in Pembroke.
I've just had a very long and good relationship with this river.
Stan Bentley of Pulaski is author of the definitive guide to Southwest Virginia orchids, and an avid nature photographer.
All you have to do is look around and you'll see why people come to Southwest Virginia.
Stevie Barr runs the fiddle shop in Galax started by his father, and is a virtuoso banjo player who performs solo and with the group No Speed Limit.
The Carter Family Fold brings back the chills, seeing all the old memories.
Wayne Henderson is a legendary luthier and guitar picker who hails from Rugby, population 7.
Wonderful people live here, true mountain people … they have to live here because they love it.
William C. Wampler Jr. served as first chairman of the Southwest Virginia Cultural Heritage Commission and is a member of the Virginia State Senate.
That tradition of music lives on today – musicians and artists, making music, making crafts.
Joe Wilson
A Stunning Place for Music
Anthony Flaccavento
Great local food
Betsy White
Craft Traditions
Billy Wagner
A tie to the land
Billy Heck
Life on the frontier
Bob McConnell
Frontier history
Bud Phillips
A tie to the land
Bud Robertson
The railroad
Charlie McConnell
Coal and Coeburn
Charlotte Whitted
Burke's Garden
Donnie Turner
New River at Blue Cat
Douglas Ogle
Our Southwest Virginia
Ellen Shankin
Downtown Floyd
Frances Davis
Traditional food
Frank Kilgore
Sugar Hill on the Clinch
Jack McClanahan
Big Stone Gap
Jane Henderson
Heritage and horses
Mark Warner
A New 21st Century
Mary Stuart
Historic Abingdon
Ralph Stanley
and the Clinch Mountain Boys
Richard Kretz
Pinnacle Natural Area Preserve
Richard Lomax
Gospel in Big Stone
Richard Rose
The Barter Theater
Shawn Hash
New River relationship
Stan Bentley
Nature and Photography
Stevie Barr
Barrs Fiddle Shop
Wayne Henderson
Whitetop and music
William Wampler
SWVA Traditions
This is where country music really got invented. Every third house has a good musician in it. - Joe Wilson
