The Center for Cultural Preservation, WNC’s Documentary and History Center will hold a Moonshine Tasting Party and a film screening to raise the finishing funds to produce its seventh documentary film, Moonshining in the Mountains. Moonshining was part of the fabric of Western North Carolina since it was originally settled, as a source of needed funds to help poor farmers make it through after the harvest and it was a form of currency to buy or barter for things that they couldn’t grow like coffee, sugar and salt. To celebrate our area’s moonshine history, the Center will offer locally handcrafted (legal) moonshine produced by Howling Moon Moonshine in Woodfin and South Mountain Distillery Company of Burke County. Live music will be provided by the Apple Country String Band, tasty homebaked treats will be on hand, Cordy Bradford, a fifth generation moonshiner and owner of Howling Moon will discuss his family’s moonshine history and the Center will show a premiere of its brand new short film, THEY WHO OVERCAME, Stories of Hope and Resilience. The film focuses on how elders in our region coped with major challenges that came their way in the past, from pandemics to Great Depressions and how they and their families rose to meet them head-on.
According to Center director and filmmaker David Weintraub, “When people think of moonshine history, they often have the image of the grizzly drunken mountaineer holding a XXX jug. The reality is that moonshine built much of WNC. It helped poor farmers tide themselves over during lean times, it put their kids to school, it built many churches and it was of course a way to relax and celebrate after a hard day in the fields. Understanding the creative ways that generations here survived under difficult circumstances helps provide us some hope and comfort that we can overcome our own difficult circumstances.”
The Center’s Moonshine Tasting Party will be held at the Flat Rock Bistro and Cinema in downtown Flat Rock which has been open and operating for some time as a fully licensed restaurant. In order to observe all health and social distancing requirements, this event’s capacity will be extremely limited and tickets are expected to sellout quickly. For those who want to support the film but would rather not attend a live event, a separate “video replay” date has been set so that attendees can listen to the music, watch the film and hear Cody Bradford’s talk in the comfort of their own home.
The live Moonshine Tasting Party event will take place on Sunday, October 25 at 4PM at Flat Rock Cinema, 2700D Greenville Highway, across from the Flat Rock Bakery. The Party’s video replay evening will be Thursday, October 29 at 7:30 PM. This event is an educational fundraiser for the Center and ticketbuyers can choose how much they want to give to support the Center’s work. Once they make their donation, “replay” donors will be provided with a link to access the event on October 29th. To register for either version of the Moonshine Tasting Party and film screening, log on to SaveCulture.org or call the Center at (828) 692-8062.
The Center for Cultural Preservation is a cultural nonprofit organization dedicated to working for mountain heritage continuity through oral history, documentary film, education and public programs. For more information about the Center contact them at (828) 692-8062 or www.saveculture.org
