Blue Ridge Institute & Museum - BRIM

09/01/2026

Thanks to Southwest Virginia & Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation for hosting the "Blue Ridge Rising" Summit at the Biltmore! It was the ideal opportunity to learn from all 29 county representatives bordering the gorgeous Blue Ridge Parkway. Pictured below are (left to right) Grace Cooper, Patrick County Tourism Marketing Manager, Bethany Worley, Executive Director of the BRIM, and James Houchins, Economic Director & Tourism Director for Visit Patrick County, VA

07/17/2026

Check out these small signs (18x20) now for sale in our giftshop😍! The BRIM is a major venue along The Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail due to the recordings and photos in our amazing archive🤩!

07/09/2026

Throwback Thursday! Here's our dear friend and co-worker, the late Charlie "Cotton" Atkins assembling a still for "educational purposes only" 😂!

07/02/2026

Thank you for always being so good to us, Emma❤️. Our dear friend and volunteer, Emma Perdue Parcell, left this world on Monday. She was a helper--either helping to make loaves of bread in the bake oven at the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival or seen here, making our front entrance flower bed so special🌺. You will be missed😔.

06/26/2026

Don’t forget—the farm museum at Ferrum College is open every Saturday, 10-4, until Labor Day!

06/25/2026

We love when grandparents bring their grandkids to visit🥰!

06/24/2026

Excited to participate this Saturday!

Step back in time at the Redwood Community Farmers Market and experience a day filled with heritage, history, music, and homemade favorites in Franklin County, Virginia's Shining Gem.

Join in on the fun this Saturday, June 27, from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM for blacksmith demonstrations, live bluegrass music, local history exhibits, delicious old-fashioned cooking, fresh-squeezed lemonade, fried apple pies, pork rinds, a classic cake walk, and more.

Bring a lawn chair, gather the family, and enjoy a day of simple pleasures, good food, and community spirit.

📍 Redwood Community Farmers, 3421 Old Franklin Turnpike, Glade Hill, VA 24092
🕘 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Featured guests include:
• Forge In the Holler Blacksmith Demonstrations
• Common Ground Bluegrass Band
• Ferrum College's Blue Ridge Institute & Museum - BRIM
• Franklin County, VA Historical Society

Come make new memories while celebrating the traditions that helped shape our community.

06/19/2026

The living farm museum at Ferrum College is open Saturday, 10-4.

06/16/2026

Undoubtedly, the very best part of our job at Virginia's only folklife museum is getting to know all of the special people who come into our lives. They become our friends and we rely on them to show up year after year, doing what they can to help us pull off one of the largest and most authentic festivals in SWVA in October, the legendary Blue Ridge Folklife Festival at Ferrum College
Today we are mourning the loss of the one and only Roy Johnson, of Gladys, VA. His story is downright inspiring and humbling; Roy started working with Border collies after he lost his hands in a hay baler accident in 1984. He shared his expertise and personal journey with festival crowds as he maneuvered a flock of sheep using a whistle and arm motions with his collies. He was a regular at the festival for many years, recently pausing to care of his wife, Debbie, who traveled with him and who he adored. Roy had hoped to return to the festival this year. We mourn our festival colleague and friend and will keep his wife and family close to our hearts❤️.

05/30/2026

The 1800 farm museum is open today from 10-4. Drop by for a tour and see what’s cooking on the open hearth😊.