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.
It begins with an errant wind on a balmy day. Leaves on trees turn upward, revealing their silvery undersides and a rolling cushion of cloud builds in a darkening sky. Suddenly, a jagged light flashes, and rumbling thunder answers. The show begins. As a storm chaser and photographer, I’m enthralled by lightning! At the hint … Read more
Three Rivers Avian Center will present its popular “Wings of Wonder – Birds of Prey” program at 12 West Virginia state parks in summer 2017, introducing audiences across the Mountain State to live birds of prey. The avian center’s programs have been park favorites for more than 20 years, said Sissie Summers of the Parks and Recreation Section of … Read more
The tale of the Green-Harrison Tragedy is among the most enduring legends handed down from the settlement of the lower Kanawha Valley region of West Virginia. As far as most sources are concerned, in 1813 settlers Charles Green and Alexander Harrison died while hunting bear on the upper waters of Eighteenmile Creek in Putnam County, West Virginia, … Read more
An estimated 25,000 are expected to turn out this weekend to celebrate regional culture at the West Virginia capitol during the 41st annual Vandalia Gathering in Charleston. The Mountain State’s annual celebration of traditional arts, the free festival’s blend of ethnic and mountain heritage has earned it a reputation as one of the region’s hallmark events. … Read more
Set for June 10, the Celebrate Princeton! Street Fair in Princeton, West Virginia, continues to grow in attendance, attracting thousands of visitors to the community’s historic Mercer Street district annually, according to organizer Lori McKinney. This year the 10 a.m.-5 p.m. event presented by the Princeton Renaissance Project will feature performances by the Cirque-de-Vol Aerial … Read more
The new Hatfield-McCoy Country Museum at Williamson, West Virginia, on the Kentucky border, features the world’s largest collection of artifacts of the world-famous Appalachian feud, a resource bound to help draw more visitors to the region. A stream of news outlets began touring the site as soon as its doors opened, according to Professor Bill … Read more
Coming off its successful first year, Greater Huntington launches its second season of weekday family festivities during “Funington” in June and July. The region-wide program provides discounts and specific scheduling to help area families arrange family-fun events, according to Anna Adkins, spokesman for the Cabell-Huntington Convention and Visitors Bureau. Adkins said the program was so … Read more
Adventures on the Gorge has been named one of the top five Mother’s Day destinations in the U.S. by national travel and realty magazine World Property Journal. Noting the resort’s recent ranking by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top adventure resorts in the country, author Steve Winston suggests active moms “might … Read more
For more than a year after this iconic photograph of the New River Gorge hit social media, West Virginia Explorer editor David Sibray spent countless hours attempting to find its then-unnamed source, Wendy Parks Scott. Scott had published the popular image without a watermark, and the image went viral, so it appeared the editor might never get … Read more
Photojournalist Anne Johnson on May 1 stopped on the flank of Powell Mountain in central West Virginia to visit its regionally famous inhabitant — a solitary, free-range goat that for 17 years has called the high-ground home. Johnson, whose 2015 video of an encounter with the white, wary herbivore has picked-up steam on social media, reports … Read more
