Morgantown Crankie Festival
Saturday and Sunday, May 30–31, 2026
at the Monongalia Arts Center (MAC)
​107 High Street, Morgantown, West Virginia

​What is a crankie?

A crankie (sometimes called a moving panorama) is a handmade, scrolling artwork that can be painted, printed, cut, or sewn and is performed live, usually accompanied by music, song, or spoken story. The images move from one spool to another as the performer turns a crank, revealing a narrative over time. Crankies have deep roots in folk and community storytelling traditions from around the world and continue to be reimagined by artists today. 

Morgantown Crankie Fest celebrates crankies as both an art form and a community practice, where visual art, music, poetry, and storytelling meet to make low-tech magic. 

About the festival

Morgantown Crankie Festival is a new, community-centered festival bringing together local and visiting artists who create and perform crankies. Hosted at the Monongalia Arts Center, the festival will feature:

• Multiple public crankie performances across the weekend
• A mix of locally-made crankies and work by guest artists visiting from out-of-town
• Crankie-making gatherings and workshops

Festival schedule (draft)

Friday, May 29
• Artist load-in & dress rehearsal​ (time TBD)

Saturday, May 30
• Evening crankie performance (time TBD, probably around 8 pm)

Sunday, May 31
• Afternoon crankie performance (time TBD, probably around 4 pm)
• Evening crankie performance (time TBD, probably around 8 pm)
​
A detailed schedule, artist lineup, and ticket information will be announced closer to the festival.

Leading up to the festival

​Morgantown Crankie Fest isn’t just a weekend—it’s a whole season of crankie activity.

• Crankies at First Friday (April 3, 2026): Crankies will be featured as part of Morgantown’s First Friday events at the MAC, offering an early taste of the festival and inviting community members to get involved.
• Literary + crankie night (April 9, 2026): A special literary night featuring published authors, opened by Carol Denney whose work intersects with crankies, visual storytelling, and song. 
• Community crankie-making sessions: We're hoping to organize informal gatherings in the MAC maker space for artists and curious newcomers to work on their crankies together.

Want to make a crankie for the festival?

• We have limited time/space available for the actual performances, so let Annick know as soon as possible! Contact here. 
• No prior experience with crankies is required. We're looking for local Morgantown artists who make or are curious about crankies, including musicians, poets, storytellers, and visual artists. This could be for you if you love folk traditions or community-based creativity. Check out two large playlists of crankies on YouTube and Vimeo to get some inspiration. ​

We're still adding to the list, but here are some of the artists and performers planning to join this year:

• Annick Odom 
• Barbara Walks
• ​Carol Denney
• Christie Slingluff​ 
• ​Denise & Richard Warren Smith​

• ​​Emily Lehr
• Hannah Standiford (and Wake Robin)
• Jo Ann Dadisman
• Linda Durrett
• Olivia Perske
• Peter Stevenson

About the organizer

​The Morgantown Crankie Festival is organized by Annick Odom, a Morgantown-based performer, composer, and community artist whose work brings together Appalachian folk traditions, storytelling, and contemporary performance. Annick has been involved in crankie-making and performance for many years and has previously participated in crankie and cantastoria events in the US, including Detroit and across West Virginia, and as far away as Festival Herbe Bleue in France.

Stay connected

More details (including artist announcements, workshop registration, and ticket information) will be shared soon. 📧 Questions or interest in participating? Contact Annick using this contact form (or email/text if you already have her number). 

Follow along on our Facebook or Instagram account or by subscribing to Annick's newsletter (at bottom of this page) for updates as the festival approaches.