Arts

KEYSER, W.Va. — One of America’s most enduring holiday songs—and the animated television specials it inspired—has roots that trace back to the snowy Allegheny Mountains in West Virginia.Though its lyrics never name a place, “Frosty the Snowman” was co-written by a native of northern West Virginia, and its origins are closely tied to the winter … Read more

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The W.Va. Department of Tourism has announced plans for a 2026 Veterans Art Show, inviting West Virginia veterans to help commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary through original works of art.The exhibition, part of the statewide America250 celebration, will open on May 9, 2026, in the West Virginia Culture Center Museum Gallery in Charleston, where … Read more

FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. — This winter, the small mountain town of Fayetteville, perched at the edge of the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, will swap its usual crowd of rock climbers and whitewater paddlers for a different kind of adventurer—artists.In January 2026, Fayetteville will launch “Fayetteville Creates,” a month-long, town-wide artist residency inviting painters, … Read more

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — On a typical Saturday night in the 1930s, when coal dust and church bells marked the rhythm of daily life, radios across the Ohio Valley crackled with music that echoes like the hills themselves.The signal came from WWVA in Wheeling, a small but powerful West Virginia station whose Saturday night broadcast — … Read more

MILTON, W.Va. — Breece D’J Pancake soared like a meteor through the American literary universe in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Kurt Vonnegut wrote of him, “I give you my word of honor that he is merely the best writer—the most sincere writer I’ve ever read.”Who was Breece D’J Pancake? A rising voice in … Read more