West Virginia native and current New Yorker Cheyenna Weber has put out the call for submissions to Wild: New Writing from Appalachia. In Cheyenna’s words, Wild is:

a proposed anthology of essays and poetry from native West Virginians ages 18-35 who have lived outside the state. The collection will address the many issues West Virginia’s young people face from emigration and submissions should consider questions of identity and place. The book is broken into three sections: Leaving, Gone, and Coming Home. Writers should feel free to tailor their submission to one of those phases of the emigration process, but it is not essential.

Deadline: 1 October 2008

Essays should be no more than 5000 words and should be submitted in Times New Roman, 12pt font, with 1 inch margins, and the author’s last name and title of the piece on every page.

Poetry should be no more than 40 lines and should include the author’s last name and title on every page.

Send submissions, questions, etc. to wild_anthology@yahoo.com

Cheyenna tells us that the anthology has grown out of her West Virginia Expat experience living in NYC over the last 5 years. She has written about this extensively, and recently a good friend and fellow WV Expat (who’s living in DC after years in Uganda and grad school in Boston) encouraged her to put together a longer project. (He’s living in DC after years in Uganda and grad school in Boston.) Help a West Virginia Expat writer out by telling your writerly friends about this project!

The Charleston Area Alliance will be hosting its next Business After Hours networking event at the Comfort Inn-West in Cross Lanes on August 21st.  Tickets are $10 for members and $20 for non-members.

Registration is available by clicking here

Generation Charleston will be hosting a panel discussion on Community Involvement on Wednesday, August 27, 2008 at the Schoenbaum Family Enrichment Center on the West Side.

Find out how you can assist nonprofits and community agencies. Panelists will talk about volunteer opportunities, nonprofit board service, and other opportunities. Come to this exciting panel discussion and find out how you can best serve your community! Everyone has a skill or talent that they can utilize…come out and find a volunteer opportunity that best fits your time and talents.

For directions, click here.

With more people using bikes to save gas, I have been thinking a lot about bicycling lately. Not just cycling, but cycling safely.

This morning I followed a guy, who was not wearing a helmet, weaving down Capitol Street. Over the past few weeks I have almost been hit by bicycling citizens on Capitol Street. Almost all of them are not wearing helmets and are riding ill-fitting bikes showing they care as much about their safety as they do yours.

Before everyone thinks I’m a cycling hater, I’m a avid mountain biker who has many miles under his belt. I advocate biking in a safe, civil manner.

In the interest of educating riders, I point to the State of West Virgina Bicycling Safety page which includes sections on helmets, bike size, hand signals, and first aid.

First there is the helmet. It’s for the riders safety, and it should fit correctly. If you decide not to wear a helmet, that’s fine. It’s your head. On one occasion a helmet probably saved my life. I know it saved my head. I kept the cracked helmet around for a number of years as a reminder to always wear one.

Second there is the bike size. A good bike is like a good suit. Getting it sized correctly, while you might have to make a few adjustments, it will serve you for many years.

Third there is hand signals. Without signal lights and brake lights you really need to let cars, walkers, and other bikers know what you are doing.

Last there is first aid. If you ever take a header, you needed to know how to patch up yourself or your friends. Hopefully you will never need to use it, but you should learn it.

As well as endangering themselves, some riders might be breaking the law. The WV Code sections on bicycling addresses who must wear a helmet and the duties of the person riding a bicycle on public roadways.

§17C-11-2. Traffic laws apply to persons riding bicycles. Every person riding a bicycle upon a roadway shall be granted all of the rights and shall be subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this chapter, except as to special regulations in this article and except as to those provisions of this chapter which by their nature can have no application.

§17C-11-5. Riding on roadways and bicycle paths.(a) Every person operating a bicycle upon a roadway shall ride as near to the right side of the roadway as practicable, exercising due care when passing a standing vehicle or one proceeding in the same direction. (b) Persons riding bicycles upon a roadway shall not ride more than two abreast except on paths or parts of roadways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles. (c) Whenever a usable path for bicycles has been provided adjacent to a roadway, bicycle riders shall use such path and shall not use the roadway.

§17C-11-7. Lamps and other equipment on bicycles. (a) Every bicycle when in use at nighttime shall be equipped with a lamp on the front which shall emit a white light visible from a distance of at least five hundred feet to the front and with a red reflector on the rear of a type approved by the department which shall be visible from all distances from fifty feet to three hundred feet to the rear when directly in front of lawful upper beams of head lamps on a motor vehicle. A lamp emitting a red light visible from a distance of five hundred feet to the rear may be used in addition to the red reflector. (b) No person shall operate a bicycle unless it is equipped with a bell or other device capable of giving a signal audible for a distance of at least one hundred feet, except that a bicycle shall not be equipped with nor shall any person use upon a bicycle any siren or whistle. (c) Every bicycle shall be equipped with a brake which will enable the operator to make the braked wheels skid on dry, level, clean pavement.

§17C-11A-4. Requirements for helmet use. (a) It is unlawful for any person under fifteen years of age to operate or be a passenger on a bicycle or any attachment to a bicycle used on a public roadway, public bicycle path or other public right-of-way unless at all times when the person is so engaged he or she wears a protective bicycle helmet of good fit, fastened securely upon the head with the straps of the helmet. (b) It is unlawful for any parent or legal guardian of a person under fifteen years of age to knowingly permit such person to operate or be a passenger on a bicycle or on any attachment to a bicycle used on a public roadway, public bicycle path or other public right-of-way unless at all times when the person is so engaged he or she wears a protective bicycle helmet of good fit, fastened securely upon the head with the straps of the helmet.

This Saturday, run the largest road race in West Virginia– the Parkersburg News & Sentinel Half Marathon. The race starts at 8am and will be a lot of fun! Registration closes on Wednesday, August 13, and there is NO race day registration.

The rolling course will take you out of the city and into the scenic surroundings of West Virginia before looping back into the commercial area.

You will finish the race to the cheers of thousands of spectators lined up on Market Street prior to the Parkersburg Homecoming Festival Parade. Minimum age to participate in the Half Marathon is 15.

Twenty-something gallery staffers Dane Klingaman and Andrea Anderson curate an exhibition of rising regional and local artists. Gallery founder Callen McJunkin had travel plans for the month of August, and so had considered opening the gallery by appointment only for that month. Instead she made a progressive, and daring move and suggested the two interns in her employ put together a show of their contemporaries.

University of Charleston graduate Dane Klingaman has some experience with organizing art shows; he premeditated the Hansford Art House exhibitions in his house/studio space on Hansford Street, which featured a full spectrum from art-school veterans to local young street artists.

Meanwhile Andrea Anderson, who fairly recently completed her MFA at Ohio University, has a history of collaborative interdisciplinary efforts with other artists, focused primarily on new and non-traditional media, such as video, installation, and performance.

Between Dane’s inside knowledge of the burgeoning art community in Charleston, and Andrea’s edgy reputation, this exhibition could shape up to be an interesting gamble for an established traditional gallery. However, the two fledgling curators take very seriously the pledge of quality that is attached to the Callen McJunkin Gallery, and so have hand picked a group of artists they feel meet the standard set forth.

Since some of the work is not expected to be of a traditional commercial nature, they have proposed that artists create customized one of a kind t-shirts as a way of generating sales. They also invited several of the participants from the Hansford show to create shirts as a way of broadening the field and offering opportunities to those who may not otherwise have a chance to show their work.

Callen McJunkin GalleryThe Loft at 219 Hale Street, Charleston, WV 25301

304.342.5647 www.mcjunkingallery.com art@mcjunkingallery.com

Contact: Dane or Andrea at 612.251.2119 or 740.590.9456

Create WV will be hosting their second annual conference at Snowshoe resort on Oct 20-22, 2008.  The conference is dedicated to the development of the creative economy here in WV.  Details available www.createwvevents.com

You can also follow Create WV events at their blog: createwv.typepad.com

The Habitat for Humanity ReStore, which we love, has just been approved to paint a big, beautiful mural on the side of their building (located at 815 Young Street over near Green’s Feed & Seed).  Now they’re calling for applications for area artists and aspiring muralists to propose designs for the mural.  If you’re interested in applying, download the application and submit it to Amy McLaughlin at the Habitat ReStore by August 29th at noon. Here’s some more information about the project:

The mural will be titled “Home is Where the Art Is” and be comprised of 9 individual components. Each of the 9 components will fit into a 7 1/2’ x 10’ or 15’ x 12’ house shape. The house shapes will be lined up to present the appearance of a community skyline. The title of the mural will appear across the top of the building.

Individual artists and teams of artists are welcome to apply for a space (house shape) by completing the project application. Ultimately, 9 applicants will be chosen by a Habitat selection committee.

Rob McNurlin & the Beatnik Cowboys are playing the Empty Glass on Thursday, August 10th at the Empty Glass.  Don’t know Rob?  He was raised in eastern Kentucky, and tours all over the region as a “cowboy troubadour” writing songs inspired by Cash, Dylan, Woody Guthrie, and Hank Williams.

The show starts at 10pm,  cover is $3 to $5.  410 Elizabeth Street.  345-9893

As part of the Clay Center’s monthly lecture series, Charleston-area nature photographer Steve Payne will be giving a free lunchtime lecture at the Clay Center at 12:15 p.m. on August 13th. Steve will be talking about “Photography in the Digital Age.” Here’s what the Clay Center has to say about the event:

Join West Virginia native Steve Payne, known for his fine art landscape and nature photography, for an extensive look at his work. His images of the meditative elements of rocks, water, leaves and trees in eastern West Virginia are finding homes around the world.

Following the lecture, attendees can view (free) the Clay Center’s current exhibit on The Best of Photography and Film through the George Eastman House Collection. From the Clay Center website, here’s more information about the exhibit:

This comprehensive exhibition of more than 200 images will take visitors on a journey through the history of photography and film, beginning with William Henry Fox Talbot’s 1845 salted paper print of lace to Jeff Mermelstein’s 9/11 photo of the Statue of Liberty. From the Eastman House’s world renowned photography collection, The Best of Photography and Film includes iconic images such as Mathew Brady’s portrait of Abraham Lincoln, the first photograph of lightning by William Jennings, Alfred Stieglitz’s The Steerage, Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother, Edward Weston’s Pepper No. 30, and Ansel Adam’s Moonrise Hernandez.

Representing motion pictures are film clips such as Peter Pan (1924), The Lost Horizon (1925), The Phantom of the Opera (1925) and The Fall of the House of Usher (1928); thirty celebrity portraits of legends such as Greta Garbo, Elizabeth Taylor, Spencer Tracy and James Stewart; and a timeline of the career of Buster Keaton. The exhibition is organized by the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film in Rochester, NY.