The Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program at The Institute for Community Research (ICR) will offer a five-session training course for people interested in exploring the history, traditions, and cultural practices of diverse communities in Connecticut. Workshop sessions will take place starting Saturday, September 17 at ICR, 2 Hartford Square West, Suite 100, Hartford.

Course participants will learn how to document the cultural assets of their communities and develop public programming based on their findings. Training will be given in areas such as identifying and highlighting local cultural resources, cultural documentation and archiving, oral history collection, use of recording equipment, and creation of programs and activities to bring community heritage to wider audiences. For teachers, the course will also address ways to incorporate learning into lesson plans. As part of the training, participants will develop individual plans for a public activity in their community. Resource guides and other materials on folklife and community documentation will be given to participants as well.

The course will be of interest to teachers, artists and arts organizations, students of urban and ethnic studies, librarians and media specialists, museum staff and educators, local historians, community scholars, cultural leaders, and anyone interested in the state¹s cultural heritage, diversity, and community relations. CEUs may be available for those attending all sessions.

"This new training course has been designed to bring together a mix of folklore scholars, educators, artists, and community cultural specialists in a highly interactive process of learning and cross-fertilization across disciplines," says Lynne Williamson, director of the Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program and course developer. "I see this process as a way to gather information and develop greater understanding of the wonderful cultural, historical, and artistic assets and resources that exist within Connecticut¹s neighborhoods and cultural groups. We also hope to stimulate ideas for local programming to showcase these resources, and will provide participants with the tools to do that."

The course schedule begins on Saturday, September 17 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm with Taking Stock of Your Community: Cultural Assessment Methods. On Wednesday, September 28 from 5:00 to 8:30 pm, the topic will be Methods and Issues of Cultural Documentation. The next session will be Thursday, September 29 from 5:00 to 8:30 pm, on Preserving Your Materials. On Saturday, October 8 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm the workshop topic is Reaching and Teaching Others About Your Heritage, and the final session on Saturday, October 29 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm will focus on developing participants' own projects. The sessions will take place at the Institute for Community Research, 2 Hartford Square West, Suite 100, Hartford.

Course faculty includes folk arts specialists and archivists from throughout New England who are experienced in both documentation and designing public programming in community settings. Kathleen Mundell has worked with many ethnic and occupational communities on cultural assessment projects in Maine. Greg Sharrow is a folklorist at the Vermont Folklife Center specializing in education programming. Andrew Kolovos is Archives Manager at the Vermont Folklife Center. Michael Bell¹s folklore and oral history projects in Rhode Island have included exhibits, neighborhood walking tours, library programs, and local historic preservation initiatives. Lynne Williamson will lead the course and work directly with participants on their individual projects.

Participants can attend one or more sessions, or all five. The fee for each session will be $30, or $115 for all five. During the day-long sessions, a lunch of local ethnic foods will be available for a small additional charge. Workshop space is limited. Advance registration is required.

The training course is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, with support from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism. For more information about course registration or the Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program, contact Lynne Williamson at 860-278-2044 ext. 251.