Seniors Stop In “Folksie Berea”

Berea, Kentucky is unique. I know, I’ve been there. This senior conducted a computer workshop at Berea College, which is part of what is so unique about the town. Its most prominent institution is the college which owns a substantial percentage of the city’s land.

The College, founded by ardent abolitionists and radical reformers, continues today as an educational institution still firmly rooted in its historic purpose “to promote the cause of Christ.” Students, faculty, and staff at Berea are engaged in a continuous learning environment.

This environment encourages all workers to be active learners, workers, and servers, in a place where the Christian values of human compassion, dignity, and equality are expressed and lived. At Berea College everybody works.  I found that amazing.

 Senior Visitors Enjoy Folk Arts & Crafts Capital

Berea lives up to its calling as the “Folk Arts & Crafts Capital of Kentucky.”  More than 50 professional artisans call it home.

Today the area in Bluegrass country boasts over 30 studios, galleries and shops dedicated to crafts. Berea is home to a thriving population of weavers, instrument makers, furniture artisans, jewelry designers, glass workers, potters, painters, sculptors, and musicians.

Start your visit in Old Town, where you’ll have a good chance of seeing artists actively at work in their shops. Senior visitors will find superbly crafted glass, pottery, metal and forged steel, sculpture, note cards, works from wood, fine furniture, and jewelry, as well as fiber and paper, specialty foods, music and books.

First Interracial College in the South

The story of Berea’s artisan community is interwoven with the historic Berea College, the first interracial and coeducational college in the South. Berea has a longstanding tradition of diversity, social justice, environmental responsibility, and community service.

Both college and town are committed to the practice of sustainability and conservation. Berea is situated in southern Madison County near the edge of central Kentucky’s Blue Grass Region. Boasting a small town atmosphere and rich cultural and historic roots, Berea is an ideal place to live, work and play with a population of 14,000.

Whether your interest is writing for children, playing the dulcimer, or blacksmithing, the Berea Festival of Learnshops (July 11-27 2014) has something for senior visitors.

Select among workshops that last from two hours to five days to pursue your interest in sustainable living, culinary arts, collage, painting, Appalachian crafts, fiber arts, jewelry, glass, storytelling, literary arts, theatre, music, dance, Native American folk arts, bonsai, woodworking, or professional development for educators.

The Festival is family friendly, so bring your kids and grandkids, enroll them in the children’s activities or join an intergenerational class and create together. Southern Living Magazine labeled Berea as the “Best Small Town In Kentucky.

When you are in Kentucky, don’t miss Berea where ‘Art’s Alive’.  jeb