Arts

WHEELING, W.Va. — Long before Dolly Parton‘s name began arriving on packages of children’s books in West Virginia homes, the young country singer was coming to the Mountain State to perform. Parton’s documented associations with West Virginia span 57 years, beginning with appearances alongside Porter Wagoner at Wheeling‘s WWVA Jamboree in 1969 and continuing through … Read more

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — Long before bottles of detergent and wrapped bars of soap became fixtures in West Virginia homes, some families made a cleaning agent from two things they already had—wood ashes and leftover animal fat. According to an account by late Parkersburg journalist Cordelia Moellendick, preserved in volume 11 of the W.Va. Heritage Encyclopedia, … Read more

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — After a two-year tour that introduced museum visitors from New England to the Mid-Atlantic to the work of one of America’s pioneering modern artists, the largest exhibition ever assembled of West Virginia native Blanche Lazzell is returning home. The Art Museum of West Virginia University will reopen “Blanche Lazzell: Becoming an American … Read more

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia filmmakers have reached a milestone few would have imagined a decade ago. Earlier this year, two films produced by the Morgantown-based Allegheny Image Factory—Gaslit and The Bad Guardian—simultaneously ranked among Netflix’s five most-watched movies in the United States, an achievement that producer Jeff Tinnell believes is unprecedented for a homegrown … Read more

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Visitors traveling to Charleston this Independence Day weekend for West Virginia’s America250 Capital City Celebration can experience one of the nation’s most enduring patriotic stage productions when the Charleston Light Opera Guild presents the final performances of 1776, the Tony Award-winning musical that dramatizes the birth of the United States. The production … Read more

GRANDVIEW, W.Va. — Most visitors come to New River Gorge National Park and Preserve to hike its rugged trails, paddle its legendary whitewater, or stand in awe at the sweeping views from Grandview. But on Tuesday evening, attention turns from the landscape to the people whose songs, stories, and traditions have echoed through these mountains … Read more

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — For generations, West Virginia’s steep mountainsides posed one of the state’s greatest challenges for homebuilders. Deep hollows, narrow ridges, and rugged slopes left little level ground for construction, so communities developed along river bottoms and broader ridge tops, where building was easier. Homes climbed hillsides only when necessary, and the state’s dramatic … Read more

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Thirteen new West Virginia film festivals have emerged in recent years, reflecting growing momentum in the Mountain State’s film industry as advances in technology and rising interest in Appalachian stories create new opportunities for filmmakers. Dave Lavender of the W.Va. Film Office in Charleston said two major forces are driving the growth … Read more