Traditional Arts in Upstate New York (TAUNY) will host a 40th Anniversary Celebration and Living Traditions Awards Ceremony on Friday, January 16 from 7-10 pm at The TAUNY Center in the North Country town of Canton, NY.
The evening will consist of live music, special artists, a silent auction, cash bar and reception, and the reactivation of its North Country Living Traditions Awards (NCLTA).
TAUNY was founded by folklorist Varick Chittenden in 1986, and its central work has been to document and present ongoing and emerging cultural practices in the North Country and foster strong social networks through engagement with regional living traditions.
Originally The Center for the Study of North Country Folklife, Chittenden, a folklorist and professor in the Humanities Department at SUNY Canton, served as the first Executive Director of Traditional Arts in Upstate New York (TAUNY), following the closing of The Center and establishment of TAUNY as a non-profit.
Early TAUNY programs were based on results of surveys completed by The Center for the Study of North Country Folklife, and aimed to focus on showcasing the living traditions and folk culture of our region.
Featured musicians at the 40th Anniversary Celebration and Living Traditions Awards Ceremony include The Carriage House Quartet, Dan Duggan & Peggy Lynn, Tyler Dezago, Barb Heller & Gretchen Koehler, and the Atkinson Family Band.
The evening will also recognize one recipient of the North Country Living Traditions Awards (NCLTA), a TAUNY program which ran for over 20 years but was paused due to the pandemic.
As part of the evening, a “Memory Mailbox” will be available for participants to share their stories and memories of TAUNY from the past 40 years, inspired by the Tuba Mailbox in The Center made by local folk artist Fred “tuba-man” Morgan.
The public is invited to celebrate TAUNY at this free evening. There are a limited number of seats and pre-registration is required at www.tauny.org
This event is supported by the Sweetgrass Foundation & the Northern New York Community Foundation (NNYCF) Thompson-Weatherup Family Charitable Foundation (Research & Documentation). Traditional Arts in Upstate New York programs are also made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
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