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Thursday, April 7, 2011

Cultural Values

This week I was reading my copy of Mother Earth News and was intrigued by an article called "Great Places You've (Maybe) Never Heard Of." One of the six places jumped out at me: Floyd, Virginia because I had just visited Virginia a few days before.

The town, with a population of 432, has become a preserver of American folk music. Why not become a propagator of Rap or string quartets or Euro-electronica?

American folk has influenced all the music we now export around the world, and deserves to be preserved. But Floyd's choice wasn't random or based on the mayor's personal taste. Floyd lies in the heart of the region where mountain music started. It is what they are good at doing. They've cultivated themselves as a center, and now people gather at the Floyd Country Store on Friday nights for the music jamboree.

What are some folk culture traditions unique to your region? Are you preserving them? Can you create a business that does this?

If your business is in tourism or entertainment, then stick with something authentic to the area. Tourists and potential high-value residents love authenticity.


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