Convening The Fellows

Edwin George receives his Ohio Heritage Fellowship
plaque from OAC Board Member Sharon Howard
at the 2011 Cityfolk Festival.

One of the nice moments at the 2011 Cityfolk Festival was Ohio banjo master Tony Ellis making the trip in from his home in Circleville on Sunday, July 3 to be there when his friend, Navajo painter and storyteller Edwin George, was awarded one of this year's Ohio Heritage Fellowships (OHF). The day before, two previous OHF Awardees--Doug Unger and Rick Good-- flanked fellow banjo man Tom Duffee for a session on the Sound Effects workshop stage at the Festival.

Kanniks Kannikeswaran

The Ohio Heritage Fellowships were created in conjunction with the Ohio Arts Council in 2004 to honor lifetime achievement in the folk arts in Ohio. Performing and visual artists and advocates who have preserved and vitalized a globe spanning array of traditions while living in the state have all been honored. This year's awardees are Edwin George and Indian composer Kanniks Kannikeswaran, whose new recording Vismaya beautifully fuses Indian and Celtic traditional music.

Edwin's paintings and his unique storytelling were both displayed at the Cityfolk Festival. Unfortunately, Kanniks had already booked a trip to his native India and could not be there. They both will be honored on Thursday, July 28, at the Ohio State Fair with the presentation of the OHF Awards at 4 PM at the Natural Resources Park Amphitheater

In a fitting capper to the ceremony, their fellow OHF awardee Tony Ellis and the Musicians of Braeburn will follow the ceremony with a performance. Ellis, one of America's premier banjo players and a beacon for the deep traditions of bluegrass in the state of Ohio, received one of the inaugural OHF awards in 2004.