GREENSBORO PUBLIC LIBRARY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE      Contact: Beth Sheffield – 373-3617

GREENSBORO, NC (October 9, 2008)
         
One City, One Book - Penland Road Trip

Library Plans Coach Tour to Penland School of Crafts
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Bus departs at 9 am

Penland School of Crafts is a national center for craft education located in the Blue Ridge Mountains and is featured as a setting in our 2008 One City One Book selection, The Pleasure was Mine by Tommy Hays.

Penland was founded by Miss Lucy Morgan, a teacher at an Episcopalian school located near Spruce Pine in Mitchell County, North Carolina. In 1923, she organized the Penland Weavers at the former school grounds. The Penland Weavers provided looms and materials to local women and marketed their hand-woven goods. She invited guest instructors to teach weaving, and when requests for instruction began to come from other parts of the country, Penland School was born.

Since that time, Penland has grown to encompass about 400 acres and 41 structures. Today, over 1,200 people come each year seeking instruction in ten craft media.

Cost for the trip is $40 per person – due by Friday, October 17. Price includes bus and tour. Please bring money for lunch. Due to unstable gas prices there may be a gas surcharge. Once we arrive at Penland there is a walking tour so please wear comfortable shoes.

If time allows, a stop at The Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway showcasing the finest in traditional and contemporary craft of the artists of the Southern Appalachians. It houses the Southern Highland Craft Guild’s Craft Shop & the Guild's Permanent Collection.

To register, you can email Beth Sheffield or call 373-3617 for more information.

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