Mission
- To encourage wider understanding and practice of artistic expression found in local regional and ethnic traditional folk cultures.
- To document, promote, encourage, and nurture West Virginia’s folklife and folkways.
- To accomplish the above through workshops, apprenticeships, publications, and public presentations.
About Us
Augusta was the historic name of West Virginia in its period of earliest settlement. In 1973, "Augusta Heritage Arts Workshops" was the name given to a summer program that was set up to help preserve the Appalachian heritage and traditions. In 1981, Davis & Elkins College became the sponsor of the program, renamed Augusta Heritage Center. In the years since then, it has flourished and grown. Augusta Heritage Center is a non-profit organization known nationally and internationally for its activities relating to traditional folklife and folk arts of many regions and cultures.
Augusta Heritage Center is best known for intensive week-long workshops that attract several hundred participants annually. Thousands more attend our public concerts, dances, and festivals. Augusta’s full-time staff, plus volunteers, seasonal staff, and work-study students, produce a great variety of quality workshops. These world-renowned workshops and festivals have brought together master artists, musicians, dancers, craftspeople, and enthusiasts of all ages.
