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.
JOLO, W.Va. — On a warm Sunday in late May 2012, a locally well-known Pentecostal pastor named Mack Wolford invited friends and family to what he billed as “a homecoming like the old days,” a day of music, prayer and the spiritual “signs” drawn from the King James Bible—speaking in tongues, healing by the laying … Read more
THURMOND, W.Va. — High above the abandoned rail town of Thurmond, West Virginia, a weathered stone face gazes silently across the New River Gorge. Known as McKinley Rock, this haunting natural profile has been a source of local legend since its accidental creation in 1901 — the very day President William McKinley was shot. Though … Read more
MARTINSBURG, W.Va — The prosperous manufacturing town of Martinsburg in Berkeley County, West Virginia, was thrust into turmoil at the outset of the Civil War, and its citizens had to decide where their allegiance lay. As the secession movement gathered steam in Virginia in the early months of 1861, most of the county’s residents opposed … Read more
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — National Hunting and Fishing Day 2025, the state’s largest annual celebration of hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation, will return to Stonewall Resort State Park in Roanoke, West Virginia, on Saturday, September 6. Hosted in partnership with the West Virginia Wildlife Federation, the family-friendly outdoor festival will run from 9 a.m. to 6 … Read more
QUNNIMONT, W.Va. — The New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in West Virginia is a treasure trove of sights, where forested mountain walls conceal ghost towns, industrial ruins, and lost historical gems. An overlooked monument in the gorge Some sights require more effort to find than others, however, though travelers on WV-41 passing through … Read more
GAULEY BRIDGE, W.Va. — Though beautiful, the following tale of Kanawha Falls in West Virginia may not have originated with the Shawnee, as its unknown author purported, but around the campfires where storytellers practiced their art. The tale appears to show up in no other circumstance in Mountain State lore.* Kanawha Falls and nearby Cathedral … Read more
WESTON, W.Va. — Nothing speaks to West Virginia tradition quite like a homemade pie, and this year’s jubilee at Jackson’s Mill is serving up plenty of homestyle flavor with its much-anticipated annual pie contest. Scheduled for Saturday, August 30, 2025, near Weston, the annual bake-off promises a friendly-yet-fierce competition celebrating traditional West Virginia ingredients and … Read more
SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. — The eastern panhandle of West Virginia reaches more than 100 miles across the eastern U.S. from the quiet springs of the Potomac River in central West Virginia to the urban edge of Washington, D.C. How did this oddity come to be? More than anything else, according to a resident historian of the … Read more
WEIRTON, W.Va — West Virginia’s remarkable shape is partly defined by its odd northern panhandle, a finger of land that extends northward more than 60 miles from the central region of the state. The early history of the northern panhandle of West Virginia Home to its first capital, at Wheeling, the origins of the northern … Read more
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — August in West Virginia is a time of celebration. Its hills and hollows awaken to a season steeped in rituals of music, harvest, craft, and community. Old‑time Mountaineers historically marked August as a time of summer’s end and a season of festivals, fairs, and regional traditions passed down through generations. Summer’s Yield: … Read more
