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.
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 Mountain … 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 shoveled … 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 he … Read more
RIPLEY, W.Va. — A community known for its events—including the state’s premiere arts-and-crafts festival—the City of Ripley is ushering in the Christmas season with a line-up that expands well beyond the usual. A two-mile race, a classical ballet, an old-fashioned parade, a World War II Christmas play, and a prize-filled “snowball drop” in the town’s … Read more
BECKLEY, W.Va. — Hosted by the West Virginia Storytelling Guild, story-tellers Linda Durrett, Karen Vuranch, Mikalena Zuckett, and Jodi French-Burr will weave tales on Saturday, November 19, from 2-3:30 p.m. at Tamarack at Beckley, West Virginia. The four speakers, who are widely known for their skills, will perform in concert with the worldwide observance of … Read more
BECKLEY, W.Va.—Organizers of a third annual oddities fair being celebrated September 24 in historic downtown Beckley say things are about to get even odder.Sponsored by the Beckley Arts and Entertainment Exhibition, otherwise known as BEX, the Oddities and Curiosities Fair, will host the expanded open-air market with more than 40 artists and vendors, including mystics, … Read more
An enigmatic stone face carved into mossy sandstone along the rim of the New River Gorge in southern West Virginia is attracting increased attention as tourism grows in the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. Though its origins are popularly regarded as a mystery, the bas-relief countenance was likely carved in the 1950s, and … Read more
The term “moundbuilder” is often used to describe two ancient cultures that archaeologists now know as the Adena and the Hopewell. These peoples lived in eastern North America from approximately 500 B.C. to A.D. 500. Their monumental earthworks captured the imaginations of explorers and continue to fascinate us today. Many mounds remain throughout West Virginia … Read more
