Fairs, festivals, and events in West Virginia provide an authentic way to experience the state’s rich Appalachian culture, warm hospitality, and vibrant community spirit, especially as the remote-work revolution brings new residents from big U.S. cities seeking connection and local experiences. From lively music festivals and traditional craft fairs to food and heritage events, West Virginia’s year-round calendar brings people together to celebrate local art, music, food, and history. These gatherings support small businesses, showcase talented local artists and musicians, and create fun, family-friendly entertainment for both longtime residents and newcomers. For remote workers and new residents, attending West Virginia’s fairs and festivals is a wonderful way to meet neighbors, make memories, and feel at home in the Mountain State while enjoying its unique charm and sense of community.
Organizers of the 57th annual art and craft fair at Ripley, West Virginia, have returned the landmark event to the July 4 weekend, during which the town and fairground become one of the most celebrated destinations in the Mountain State. After a two-year experiment during which the fair was held in September—a move intended to … Read more
It may have been more than 200 years since the thunder of native drums echoed across the vale of the Cheat River in the Allegheny Mountains. That will change October 5-6 when organizers of the “We Are Still Here” pow-wow welcome what they expect to be hundreds of guests to celebrate West Virginia’s Native American … Read more
Boasting fairies, mermaids, unicorns, and a real elephant, the West Virginia Renaissance Festival is ideal for families with children, according to organizers who say they’re expecting traffic to double during this, its second year. Set for four weekends in June in the Greenbrier Valley near Lewisburg, West Virginia, the 2019 festival is set in an … Read more
The Easter Bunny will work overtime Sunday morning in Weston hiding more than 12,000 eggs on the lawn of the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, a museum and tourist attraction that’s gained national notoriety as a classroom for the history of U.S. healthcare. More than 400 children from six states are expected to attend the 12th annual … Read more
The organizer of one of West Virginia’s longest-running outdoor-recreation festivals says the Mountain State is an ideal travel destination and is encouraging its communities to explore tourism as an economic option. Wayne Lesperance, a veteran marketer from Harrisburg, Pa., who’s organizing the 20th annual “Waynestock” in Fayetteville, says West Virginia has everything it needs to … Read more
Is your organization sponsoring a ramp feast or festival in 2019? More than 30,000 readers used West Virginia Explorer’s 2018 guide to ramp feasts to locate ramp-dinner locations in West Virginia in 2018 Traffic is expected to double in 2019 as the site’s staff reaches out to more potential customers, according publisher David Sibray. “We’re … Read more
Rural West Virginia will be an ideal place from which to observe the largest super-moon of 2019 — the Snow Moon, which on Feb. 19 will bring the moon closer to Earth than it will be all year. If you missed January’s remarkable Wolf Moon (which featured an eclipse that appeared to turn the moon … Read more
January’s Wolf Moon recalls a time when wolves roamed the hills of West Virginia. Though the idea may seem as remote as the dark forests through which wolves roamed, West Virginia’s rugged interior was the final eastern stronghold of the Canis lupus in the eastern U.S. As far as is known, the last wolf that lived … Read more
Three holiday light displays near Point Pleasant, West Virginia, are attracting sightseers to one of the most scenic sections of the Ohio River valley. Exhibits at Point Pleasant’s Krodel Park, at the West Virginia Farm Museum, and at Gallipolis City Park in Gallipolis, Ohio, have become part of the circuit of displays favored for their … Read more
It’s beginning to look like Christmas at the Blennerhassett Museum of Regional History in Parkersburg, West Virginia, where the “Trees of Our Heritage” display is underway through Dec. 23, 2018. The annual event features 36 Christmas trees representing cultures around the world and memorials and holiday themed displays on the museum’s three levels. A new … Read more
