Anna library to host presentation featuring fiddler ‘Pappy’ Wade Ray

Stinson Memorial Public Library District is planning to host a free presentation in May featuring country and western swing fiddler “Pappy” Wade Ray.

The event is being presented as a part of the Illinois Humanities Road Scholars program.

The presentation, “Play That Hot Fiddle: Old Time Radio, Rural Music, and the Life of Southern Illinois Swing Fiddler ‘Pappy’ Wade Ray,” is set for 3 p.m. Monday, May 8, at Stinson Memorial Public Library in Anna. The library is located at 409 S. Main St. in Anna.

Musician, educator and scholar Dennis Stroughmatt will present a live performance of Wade Ray on the fiddle.

Stroughmatt will share the history of Old Time Radio and present a live video of Ray himself, as well as memorabilia from the Wade Ray collection.

The event will be co-produced by the Illinois Humanities Road Scholars Speakers Bureau.

The speakers bureau invites Illinois authors, artists and educators to share their expertise and enthusiasm with people throughout the state.

The program enables local nonprofit organizations to present free-admission cultural programs to their communities.

A question-and-answer session is planned following the presentation, which will be about an hour long.

The event is free and open to all ages, and will take place in the library’s downstairs auditorium. 

More information can be found on Stinson Library’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/StinsonLibrary.

The library also can be contacted  by email at contactus@stinsonlibrary.org or by phone at 618-833-2521.