WPPR Podcast

The Friends of the Clarkesville-Habersham County Library Program Coordinator Ann Willis, Mrs. Nancy Kollock and Guest Speaker author and documentarian Emory Jones discuss a tribute to beloved Clarkesville artist and author John Kollock, for their annual Book and Author Luncheon on Saturday, March 5th at noon in the new Commons Building on the campus of Piedmont College in Demorest, Georgia.

The Tri-County Beekeepers association will have a short beekeepers course for novice and beginning beekeepers on February 27, 2016  from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. at the Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Maysville, Georgia. Tri-County Beekeepers President Bobby Chaisson discusses the organizations background, mission and upcoming event.

The Piedmont College Theatre Department presents the technically challenging stage adaptation of H.G. Wells’ novel The Invisible Man on February 11-13 at 7:30 p.m. and February 14 at 2 p.m. in the Piedmont College  Swanson Center Main Stage Theater. Adapted by playwright Len Jenkins, the play transports the audience to a small town in 1957, where a family running a quiet motel confronts a mysterious scientist who has found the secret of becoming invisible. The family’s young son, Jim, discovers how scientific experimentation can raise serious ethical questions and that people are not always as they seem. The play’s director, Kathy Blandin, PhD., and two of the main cast Matthew Bramlett portraying the role of Jim Winters and Michael Cox portraying the role of Jack Griffin/The Invisible Man share some of the behind the scene makings of The Invisible Man.  

Committed to the conservation of Georgia’s natural habitat, The State Botanical Garden of Georgia provides valu­able resources and edu­ca­tion for chil­dren, stu­dents and the gen­eral public by promoting  the impor­tance and the won­der of a healthy envi­ron­ment. As a Public Ser­vice and Out­reach unit of the Uni­ver­sity of Georgia, the Botanical Garden pro­vides the public of all ages and UGA fac­ulty and stu­dents oppor­tu­ni­ties for recre­a­tion, events, research and learn­ing through its nat­u­ral areas, dis­play gar­dens and build­ing space. Director of the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, Wilf Nicholls PhD., highlights the many programs and special events the garden offers throughout the year to the general public. For more information log on to http://botgarden.uga.edu/

The University of Georgia Director of Environmental Ethics Certificate program and author Dorinda Dallmeyer, PhD. along with Landscape Architect, artist and author both join me to discuss their collaborative works on The Southern Frontier, Landscapes Inspired by Bartram’s Travels and Bartram's Living Legacy: The Travels and the Nature of the South.T

Hiking isn’t just for summertime fun! Author Jonah McDonald  shares some popular hiking locations from the well-known Chattahoochee River and Stone Mountain to pristine Arabia Mountain and secluded Hahn Woods. McDonald also discusses ways hikers may experience the many native birds, wildflowers, historic sites, and champion the sentinel trees of the city, along  important safety tips from his book Hiking Atlanta's Hidden Forests: Intown and Out.  

Piedmont College will present a concert by artist-in-residence Dr. Jeri-Mae G. Astolfi, featuring works by guest composer Dr. Ed Martin, including the world premiere of Martin’s composition, “Variations” on Tuesday, Jan. 26,  7:30 p.m., in the college Chapel in Demorest. In addition to “Variations,” Astolfi and Martin will perform Martin’s “Swirling Sky” for piano and electronics. The concert will also include solo piano works by J.S. Bach and Franz Schubert. Dr. Martin will also present a public talk about a wide range of classical electronic music from the early 20th century to the present, concluding with a discussion of his composition “Swirling Sky.” From 2–3:30 p.m., he will conduct a composition master class for Piedmont music students, which is also open to the public. They both join me in the studio to discuss this upcoming event.  

A new documentary based on the Foxfire book, “Memories of a Mountain Shortline—A History of the Tallulah Falls Railroad,” will be shown at the Swanson Center on the campus of Piedmont College at 2 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 19.  This 57 minute documentary is a combination of video and still images featuring the art, voices, and on-camera appearances of 18 prominent northeast Georgians. Instead of a single narrator, co-producers, David Greear and Emory Jones used the voices, faces and art of the people who know this railroad and the surrounding area best. “That decision made this a community project, with lots of local involvement and support, which I think is wonderful,” says Brian Boyd, Director of Communications for Tallulah Falls School, local historian, author, and one of the documentary’s narrators. “The scope of this reaches far beyond just the railroad,” says Boyd. “It also includes tales of Tallulah Falls, Clayton and goes into the building of the dams that created Lake Burton and Lake Rabun and the develop

Junior Appalachian Musicians, also known as JAM is an after-school program for middle and high students which introduces music through small group instruction on instruments common to the Appalachian region, like fiddle, banjo and guitar. Jackson County North Carolina JAM Program Director Dusk Weaver discusses the history and legacy the Junior Appalachian Musicians are creating in their communities by infusing traditional dance, songs and storytelling from the rich cultural heritage of the Appalachian people. 

The protection and conservation of Georgia Wildlife affects every aspect of maintaining balance within the state’s ecosystem. To discuss the habitat and nesting patterns the American bald eagle is DNR wildlife biologist Todd Schneider.

Currently  approximately 60 percent, of children in the foster care system have no access to a CASA volunteer. That’s an estimated 400,000 children living without hope of having their voices heard or long-term needs met.   To  discuss CASA’s mission and upcoming Superhero Fun Run are NEGA CASA Executive Director Melissa Mitchell, and Board Members, Piedmont College Mass Communications Professor Dr. Janice Moss and Susan Smithpatrick.

A metallurgist and historical blacksmith by trade, White county resident Will King discusses why he began pirate re-enactments to help a local non-profit Back Pack Buddies, provide food and clothing for children in local northeast Georgia communities.

In an effort to increase awareness of marine life and oceanic conservation through her novels, Stephens county author CJ Matthew discusses her new paranormal romance suspense series, Dolphin Shore Shifters book one Blood Tide, which features a pod of shape shifting dolphins that pose as humans to protect the oceans at any cost.  

Back in the Game Physical Therapy is a family owned and operated orthopedic physical therapy clinic located in Flowery Branch, Georgia. Owners Brendon Blake MSPT./ Cert. DN, and Gina Blake MSPT, discuss their unique approach in providing a bridge between injury and recovery to assist patients in gettting back to pre-injury status as quickly as possible.

History is in the making at Piedmont College, where the play “Lillian Smith’s Strange Fruit” is returning to the stage 70 years after its Broadway premiere.  The play is based on Smith’s bold debut novel as it follows an interracial relationship in a small 1920s Georgia town and speaks to the effects of hate and separation on the lives of people and their communities.  Thom Fogarty, Artistic director of the New York repertory theatre company 360repco, revised and restored the play to as close a representation of the original as possible.  He joins me in the studio to discuss the play’s rebirth and upcoming performances on October 1-3 at 7:30 p.m. and October 4th at 2 p.m. in the Swanson Center Mainstage Theater on Piedmont College Demorest Campus.