West Virginia culture is a captivating blend of rich Appalachian traditions and vibrant high culture infused with the jazz of surrounding U.S. cities like Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. The state is renowned for its deep-rooted Appalachian heritage, which is showcased through folk music, storytelling, and traditional crafts such as quilting and woodcarving. Visitors can experience this authentic culture at local festivals and heritage museums throughout the Mountain State. At the same time, West Virginia also embraces high culture, with world-class performances at the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, acclaimed theater productions at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre, and art exhibitions at the Huntington Museum of Art. This unique mix of mountain traditions and refined artistic offerings makes West Virginia a true cultural gem in the heart of Appalachia.
GASSAWAY, W.Va.— Is West Virginia monster lore going corporate? A new commercial app that features the Mountain State’s most famous monsters suggests it could become big business. Long the subject of campfire stories, the monsters that allegedly haunt the West Virginia hills may have gone fully mainstream with a new rewards system instituted by GoMart, … Read more
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Gov. Jim Justice is inviting all West Virginians to the state culture center at the capitol complex in Charleston, West Virginia, at noon today for a day of fun in celebration of West Virginia’s 160th birthday. The first 160 people to arrive will receive a limited edition 160th birthday commemorative gift handmade … Read more
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — “King Coal,” a feature-length documentary by West Virginia-raised and Academy Award-nominated filmmakers Curren Sheldon and Elaine McMillion Sheldon, makes its home-state premiere at the West Virginia Culture Center in Charleston, West Virginia, on July 8 at 6 p.m. The West Virginia International Film Festival presents the event and will feature the 75-minute … Read more
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Nearly 30 years after Patricia Bright was first introduced to the artwork of modernist Blanche Lazzell, she and her husband, Bill Bright, are helping to bring the state native’s work home with a $1 million gift to West Virginia University. The Brights’ contribution supports a $1.5 million fundraising effort to expand the … Read more
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Ideal locations are key to creating good film and television content, say the organizers of a two-day workshop for location scouts and managers in the Mountain State. West Virginia is increasingly becoming a location for television and movie making, according to the W.Va. Film Office and W.Va. Filmmakers Guild, which is teaming … Read more
RICHWOOD, W.Va. — Ramp dinners in West Virginia are growing in popularity, and their non-profit hosts are benefitting from the burgeoning interest in all things West Virginian, says the publisher of West Virginia Explorer Magazine. “Ramp dinners have become a much bigger thing all of a sudden,” says David Sibray, whose online guide to the … Read more
FAYETTEVILLE, W. Va. — America’s newest national park is also a classroom for Black History, says a spokesman for an adventure resort bordering the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. Observed each February in the U.S., Black History Month traces its roots to groundbreaking historian and scholar Dr. Carter G. Woodson, who long ago … Read more
If you’ve had the benefit of seeing your business profiled in the news, you know how immediate and far-reaching the impact can be. Nothing boosts a business like a news story, and thanks to the Internet, news stories can be broadcast further and faster than ever. West Virginia Explorer Magazine now provides a news-profile service … Read more
Winter in West Virginia is a delightfully varied season. The Ohio and Potomac lowlands and sheltered southern valleys witness only a few blanketing snowfalls, though the Allegheny Mountains, rising to more than 4,000 feet above sea level, are practically Canadian in climate and can be beset by blinding squalls long into spring. Photographer Rick Burgess … Read more
BECKLEY, W.Va. — Former West Virginians are increasingly interested in art that recalls the past in the Mountain State, says an artist launching a series of Christmas sketches he created more than a quarter-century ago. Seay Earehart, who is perhaps best known as the artist who creates monsters in the Stranger Things television series, says … Read more
