SHEILA KAY ADAMS TO BE FEATURED
IN LUNCHTIME PROGRAM AT WESTERN

Shelia Kay Adams

Storyteller and balladeer Sheila Kay Adams will open the spring Appalachian Cultural Lunchtime Series at Western Carolina University's Mountain Heritage Center on Wednesday, Feb. 8.

Adams will speak about her book “ Come Go Home With Me” during the presentation, set for 12:15 p.m. in the museum auditorium.

Written under the direction of novelist Lee Smith, Adams' book includes stories about her childhood and the Madison County community in which she was raised. Published by the University of North Carolina Press, “Come Go Home With Me” was the 1997 winner of the North Carolina Historical Society's award for historical fiction.

For seven generations, Adams' family has maintained the tradition of passing down the English, Scottish and Irish ballads brought to America by their ancestors in the late 1700s. Adams has performed at major festivals and on college campuses across the United States, and has toured in England. She is married to traditional musician and performer Jim Taylor, and has three children.

Adams received the prestigious North Carolina Folklore Society's Brown-Hudson Award in recognition of her valuable contributions to the study of North Carolina folklore in 1998.

The Mountain Heritage Center and Ron Rash, Western's Parris Distinguished Professor of Appalachian Cultural Studies, sponsor the lunchtime series, which includes a 30-minute presentation followed by an opportunity to meet with the presenter. Future programs will feature storyteller and author Gary Carden of Sylva and South Carolina novelist Mark Powell.

Attendees are encouraged to bring their lunch. The Mountain Heritage Center is located on the first floor of Western's H.F. Robinson Administration Building. For more information, call the museum at (828) 227-7129 or click on the Web at www.wcu.edu/mhc .