Randolph County
People gather from all over the world for Helvetia’s Fasnacht celebration, which takes place on the Saturday before Ash Wednesday. This Swiss enclave comes alive for a unique party complete with a mask-wearing square dance and a parade that ends around a bonfire, where patrons burn OldManWinter. The Augusta Festival is an annual celebration of traditional music, dance, and craft, the grand finale for the August Heritage Center’s world-renowned traditional arts preservation summer programheld at Davis & Elkins College. This July event includes a juried craft fair featuring the best regional artisans, livemusic, workshops, craft demonstrations, jamsessions, and theWest VirginiaOpen Fiddle &Banjo Contest as well as children’s activities. If you like extravagant, rare automobiles, you’ll be right at home at the annual Mountain State Street Machines Auto Extravaganza held every July 4th weekend. Cars old and new start to roll in on Friday, traveling through downtown Elkins for the main event. Nearly 600 participants parade slowly past eager onlookers to showcase their special cars. The town of Beverly relives its heyday the last weekend in July with the celebration of Beverly Heritage Days . The historic town will come to life with costumed interpreters, period demonstrations, music, food, crafts, and other activities worthy of its colorful past. Summer may be winding down in August, but the fun in Beverly isn’t over yet. Say farewell to summer with local craft brews, West Virginia wines, and great local music at the Beverly Heritage Center SummerWine and Brew Fest . The Mountain State Forest Festival paints Elkins in festive fall colors. Randolph County and the City of Elkins open their streets to accommodate 125,000 visitors each year around the first week of October. Withmore than 100 events, the annual nine-day gathering packs the town and then some. The highlight of the festival is the crowning of Queen Silvia—the deity of the forest—and the pageantry is something to behold. In late winter in our mountains surrounding Pickens, when nights are freezing and days begin to warm, it’s maple sugaring time. Every year during the third full weekend inMarch, the Pickens Historical and Improvement Society puts on the Maple Syrup Festival . The annual Ramps and Rail Festival takes place in late April. This Elkins festival celebrates the region’s pungent wild vegetable. Participants try ramp-themed dishes, take the first train rides of the season, and enjoy live music and craft vendors. EVENTS NOT TO BE M I SSED
An Arts-Based Culture and Community The Gandy Dancer features
The Augusta Heritage Center of Davis &Elkins College is known nationally and internationally for its activities relating to traditional music, folklife, and folk arts of many regions and cultures. These world-renowned workshops and festivals have brought together master artists, musicians, dancers, craftspeople, and enthusiasts from all over the world. Thousands more attend the center’s public concerts, dances, and festivals. The MountainArts District is a network, a resource for artists, and, online, it is a directory for all people and events in the mountain counties. Its purpose is to promote the unique arts and culture of north central West Virginia. The works of more than 20 local artists are featured at Artists AtWork in Elkins. The shop features pottery, artisan jewelry, woodworking, fiber art, paintings, photography, andmore, all hand-crafted by local artists who staff the cooperative gallery.
outstanding cuisine and the finest in live entertainment in a beautiful 11,000-square-foot dinner theatre. Patrons receive a full dinner and dessert and enjoy a high-energy, state- of-the-art live music show. Shows at the Gandy Dancer are family-friendly, featuring a variety of music and comedy from the ’50s to the ’90s from country, Motown, gospel, patriotic, and legendary performers. The Old Brick Playhouse in downtown Elkins serves as headquarters for a professional touring theater company. During the summer, the Old Brick Playhouse offers a series of performance camps and plays serving students from age 5 to age 20. The Old Brick Playhouse also presents vaudeville-style entertainment similar to that found during the age of the Silo Circuit, popular during the railroad era in many small, rural towns like Elkins. The Myles Center for the Arts , located on the campus of Davis & Elkins College, serves the community and the region as the largest performance venue in the area and has recently undergone a significant transformation. During the summer, the auditorium comes alive with the exciting sounds of the Concert Series hosted by the Augusta Heritage Center, the college’s internationally recognized center for traditional arts andmusic.
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