History will roll before one’s very eyes at the Midwest MidBEST Crankie Fest, a new event that brings crankies – an art form that combines music and panorama storytelling – to Springfield on June 8. The festival is the only one of its kind in the region, organizers say, and offers a chance to see an art tradition that dates back centuries.
But first — what exactly are crankies?
A crankie is a moving picture show set to music. Ozarks artists will share their crankies on June 8 in Springfield during the first Midwest MidBEST Crankie Fest. (Courtesy of Sandi Green Baker)
You might compare crankies to old-fashioned movies. But instead of a film, one watches a long scroll that’s covered with images in a story. That is “cranked” in time to music that narrates the tale.
“Crankies are my dream project as an artist,” says Sandi Green Baker, a retired art teacher organizing the festival who is leading the emergence of crankies in the Springfield area. “The art form is a combination of all my passions – storytelling, illustration, theater, shadow puppetry and live music.”
Like An Appalachian Drive-In Movie Theater
The crankie-creating process (Courtesy of Sandi Green Baker)
While Crankies have found a growing, if limited, presence in other parts of the country in recent years, Sandi says they had largely disappeared in the Ozarks — if they were ever here to begin with.
“Crankies began thousands of years ago in India and Indonesia as scrolls were used to tell the stories of religious epics,” notes information published by the Walters Art Museum. “Because most people could not read at that time, they could follow the story by looking at the images on the scroll.
“Over time, story scrolls were used across the world. Storytellers decided to make a box-like contraption with dowel rods so they could more easily roll (or crank) the paper out instead of doing it by hand as they were telling their story. This storytelling form became known as a crankie. In recent years this kind of storytelling has been revived by artists around the world.”
Sandi Green Baker is the founder of the Midwest MidBEST Crankie Fest.
Sandi is one of those artists reviving the tradition. After she discovered the art form several years ago, she was hooked on understanding — and sharing the crankie tradition with others.
“I was just kind of scrolling through the internet, especially on YouTube, and I was listening to some traditional Ozarks music and this art project just kind of caught my eye,” she told Ozarks Alive in 2021. “Of course I was enjoying the music, but to see this combination of old-time music and illustration and storytelling and puppetry — those are all my loves — I just thought, ‘Maybe I have found the type of art that’s meant for me to do for the rest of my life.'
“It was very impactful.”
In the years since, Sandi has traveled across the country to learn more about crankie tradition, including time at the famed John C. Campbell Folk School on the East Coast.
Her first crankie was “Lady Margaret,” the story of a troubled Sir William who is haunted by his late girlfriend — a song that is part of the famed Child Ballad collection and dates to the 1600s.
Sandi spent months creating the imagery, which features shadow puppets, symbolism and is secured in a cabinet. (You can watch it above.) She’s finished another for the Ozarks band Sad Daddy, and is currently completing one for the Creek Rocks.
“I liken them to an Appalachian drive-in movie theater because they’re secured in a box like you’re watching a show in an old television cabinet,” she says of the crankie.
Ultimately, Sandi decided that the Ozarks needed a crankie festival. Early organizing predated the COVID-19, which ultimately paused because of the pandemic. But now, plans are back for the festival – and the featured crankies come from right here in the Ozarks.
The crankie-creating process (Courtesy of Sandi Green Baker)
That’s through a grant from the Advanced Creative Aging Through State Library Leadership Initiative distributed by the Springfield-Greene County Library District. The grant funded Baker’s eight-week class for senior citizens to make their own crankies. It’s those creations that will comprise the first festival, which Sandi says she hopes becomes an annual event.
Participants range from folks in the Springfield area to outlying communities as far as Gentryville, a rural stop in Douglas County.
“I actually have no experience with art, except with quilting,” notes Kitty Ledbetter, a quilter, musician, retired radio personality and college professor who participated in the class. “I think I was the only one in class who didn't have art experience. I stuck with what I know and used fabrics to accent my crankie. Sandi Baker was happy to help me with the rest.
“These are completely original projects that most anybody can make. They're fun to watch with friends in a group.”
Crankies take the stage at the Shoe Tree Listening Room
Those classes – and the festival itself – are tied to another Ozarks effort worth knowing about: The Shoe Tree Listening Room, an alcohol-free music venue also led by Baker and her husband, David Baker, that hosts musical acts from all over the country.
With a house-concert vibe — that’s actually where the Shoe Tree began years ago — the events bring people together in a way that they can hear and appreciate the music in an intimate environment.
The Shandies, a musical duo from Springfield, represent a local group that has appeared at the Shoe Tree. More often, the alcohol-free listening venue hosts acts from across the country.
Funds from the festival benefit the Shoe Tree, which is tied to the nonprofit Arrow Creative Reuse, an art supply thrift store led by Baker’s daughter, Re Baker-Dietz.
“It’s great for building community – not just people who are in the class, but for people who are going to attend,” Sandi says of crankies. “I hope people realize that something old can be new again and really worth revisiting. And they’re something that everyone can do, regardless of their talent or lack of talent.”
Midwest MidBEST Crankie Fest on Sunday, June 8 features two identical shows at 3 and 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 and are on sale here (scroll down to find the link to purchase).
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