STEPHENVILLE, Texas — The Texas Folklore Society, a partner of the College of Liberal and Fine Arts at Tarleton State University, will host its 106th annual meeting April 17-19 at the Radisson Hotel Fort Worth North-Fossil Creek.
The event will feature five sessions of folklore-related papers, two evening hootenannies and more.
“We are excited to be hosting a meeting so close to our home office at Tarleton,” said TFS Executive Director Dr. Kristina Downs. “It offers us a unique opportunity to highlight the culture and heritage of the area while honoring our mission of collecting, preserving, and sharing the practices and customs of the people of Texas and the Southwest.”
Award-winning storyteller Deecee Cornish will entertain at the Friday evening banquet with tales of Fort Worth, the city known by many names including Panther City, Cowtown and Funky Town.
Grammy-award winner Sunny Sauceda, who also serves as the director of music and heritage at Texas Folklife, will present “The Story Is in the Song.” In his role at TFS, Sauceda spotlights the voices, stories and sounds that define Texas’s rich cultural landscape. During his annual meeting presentation, he will explore the ways in which various music traditions of the Lone Star State carry the stories and songs of Texas communities.
The presenter lineup includes two Tarleton State professors with musical musings. Dr. Moumin Quazi will share experiences resurrecting the name, music and notoriety of the “Father of Western Swing” Milton Brown. Jeri Martin will share memories of her family’s history with western swing music and her grandfather’s Stradivarius fiddle.
Presenters also include John Lomax III, grandson of TFS co-founder and pioneering musicologist John Avery Lomax, will entertain and inform with a presentation on the Lomax women during Friday’s celebration luncheon. In the New Voices in Folklore student panel, undergraduates will share research on folktales, hallucinogens in Mesoamerican indigenous groups and policymakers’ narratives of homeless peoples.
For more information about the Texas Folklore Society’s 106th Annual Meeting, including a preview of the full program, registration details and hotel reservation information, read the pre-conference newsletter here.
ABOUT THE TEXAS FOLKLORE SOCIETY The Texas Folklore Society — a 501c3 nonprofit organization, member organization, and partner of Tarleton State University College of Liberal and Fine Arts —collects, preserves, and shares the practices and customs of the people of Texas and the Southwest. The oldest state folklore organization in the United States, The Society was organized in 1909 after folklorists John A. Lomax and Leonidas W. Payne met at the Thanksgiving Day football game between the University of Texas and Texas A&M University. Members include student scholars, academics, researchers, preservationists, folklorists, folklore enthusiasts and laypeople.
A founding member of The Texas A&M System, Tarleton State University is breaking records — in enrollment, research, scholarship, athletics, philanthropy and engagement — while transforming the lives of approximately 18,000 students in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Bryan and online. For 125 years, Tarleton State has been committed to accessible higher education opportunities for all while helping students grow academically, socially and professionally through programs that emphasize real world learning and address regional, state and national needs.