Laura Byrne

Performing with the Old Bay Ceili Band in honor of Joe Byrne.  

ALTA AWARDS HONOR PILLARS OF MARYLAND HERITAGE
Ceremony and concert link Marylanders to living cultural traditions
Maryland Traditions, the Folklife Program of the Maryland State Arts Council, today announced the ALTA (Achievement in Living Traditions and Arts) Award recipients for 2012. The awards recognize outstanding stewards of living traditions in the State of Maryland and will be presented to three recipients at a Dec. 1 free awards ceremony and concert.

The ALTA (Achievement in Living Traditions & Arts) recognizes outstanding stewardship of Maryland's living traditions. This year's recipients include the Carroll County Ramblers (celebrating 51 years as a family bluegrass band), Sparrows Point Steel Mill and its Communities, and J. Gruber's Hagers-Town Town & Country Almanack (founded in 1797).

The evening includes a special performance of Irish traditional music from the Old Bay Ceili Band in honor of the late Joe Byrne, proprietor of J. Patrick's Irish Pub in Baltimore and 2008 ALTA Award recipient. The Carroll County Ramblers will perform their signature bluegrass sounds. A short documentary film about the Hagerstown Almanack will be debuted, and there will be a round of storytelling from former steelworkers at Sparrows Point.

The night will be capped off with a tribute to Mike Auldridge. Mr. Auldridge is a Silver Spring resident and Montgomery County native who received the National Heritage Fellowship in 2012 - the nation's highest honor given to traditional artists - from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Join us after the concert for a reception honoring Mr. Auldridge and the 2012 ALTA Award recipients!

This event is presented by the Cultural Arts Center at Montgomery College and Maryland Traditions, and is produced by the National Council for the Traditional Arts. Maryland Traditions is the folklife program of the Maryland State Arts Council, with additional funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Photo copyright Jennie L. Scott, courtesy of the NEA.
Questions? Contact the Cultural Arts Center!
If you have any questions about reserving your tickets please call the Cultural Arts Center's front of house staff at 240-567-5793 or maggie.walker@montgomerycollege.edu