8/2/2011
Huntington Rib & Music Festival: Aug. 11-14, Harris Riverfront Park, Huntington The Rib & Music Fest features mouthwatering, fall-of-the bone ribs and barbecue chicken, prepared by some of the best “Ribbers” in the United States. Bring the entire family out and enjoy the long festivities with everything from rib eating contests to national entertainment to carnival rides. Additional activities include a climbing wall, interactive video games, a mist tent, basketball toss and more. Musical entertainment includes Hotel California (a salute to the Eagles) on Thursday, The Return (Beatles tribute band) on Friday, and Joe Diffie (country hit maker of the ’90s) on Saturday. On Sunday there will be a Texaco Country Showdown brought to you by WTCR. Hours are 5 to 11 p.m. Thursday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and noon until 5 p.m. Sunday. Contact 304-696-5990 or visit
http://www.huntingtonribfest.com for additional information.
Augusta Heritage Festival and Craft Fair: Aug. 12-13, Elkins The 2011 Augusta Festival Juried Craft Fair will be held Saturday, Aug. 13 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Elkins City Park, a wooded site with pavilions, picnic tables, and a playground adjacent to Davis & Elkins College on Sycamore Street. In addition to the craft fair there will be music performances, a kids’ tent with activities for the young ones, dance workshops, craft demonstrations and food vendors. The craft fair is part of the Augusta Festival weekend of Aug. 12- 14. The festival begins with a dance Friday evening, followed by the craft fair and an evening concert on Saturday. The festival culminates with a Sunday morning participatory gospel sing. Visit
http://www.AugustaHeritageCenter.org or contact 800-624-3157 ext. 1209 for more information.
Murder Mystery Dinner Theater at Adaland Mansion: Aug. 12-13, Philippi “A Wedding to Die For” is a comedy written and directed by Karen Vuranch of Fayetteville. The audience will participate in solving the mystery of a character’s death. The wedding planner is Marion Amore (Karen Vuranch) who will preside over the event with a cast of characters who will be portrayed by our own local talent. A full buffet dinner is available on the pavilion or in the dining rooms of the house with the live theater presented on the pavilion after the dinner. Reservations are required. Tickets are $35 each for dinner and the show. Pavilion is outdoor covered seating in the yard of the mansion house. Contact 304-457-1587 or visit
http://www.adaland.org for additional information.
11th Annual Heritage Music Blues Fest: Aug. 12-14, Heritage Port, Wheeling This festival gets raves from coast to coast! The festival features two stages, a main stage with Blues Music Award winners and up-and-coming IBC solo duo and band winning acts, and a Second Stage dedicated to local and regional artists from West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. Reasonably priced food and beverages are for sale at the festival. Visit
http://www.heritagemusicfest.com or contact 304-238-6064 for tickets and additional information.
The State Fair of West Virginia: Aug. 12-20, Fairlea Whatever you are looking for, “It’s All Here” at the State Fair of West Virginia! There’s more music, animals, agriculture and entertainment than you can imagine! Attractions and activities include: West Virginia Farm Fresh Pavilion, free family attractions, food, heritage village, fair parade, harness racing, center stage entertainment, grounds entertainment, carnival rides, horse show, barnyard animals, national and local entertainment and much, much more. For more information, including a complete list of special events, contact the State Fair of West Virginia at 304-645-1090 or visit
www.statefairofwv.com.
62nd Annual Magnolia Fair: Aug. 15-20, Magnolia Park, Matewan This annual festival is the largest and oldest continuously running festival in Southern West Virginia, and includes carnival rides (this year supplied by Casey Shows), great food, live entertainment, Magnolia beauty pageants, homemakers’ exhibits, hot wing eating contest, dunking booth, door prizes, and plenty of family fun. Nightly concerts at 9 p.m. feature local and national entertainment, including Hammer Down, Exile, Brother Satch, Backroad Southern Band and Joe Diffie. Additional information can be obtained by calling the Matewan Museum and Welcome Center at 304-426-6275, as well as on Facebook (Magnolia Fair).
19th Annual Jefferson County African-American Culture & Heritage Festival: Aug. 19-21, Ranson and Charles Town The festival kicks off with a Tri-State Gospel Festival Friday at 7 p.m. in the Betty Roper Auditorium of Wright Denny School in Charles Town. A parade on Saturday will start at 10 a.m. in Ranson and end in Charles Town. Additional activities include art and craft vendors, food vendors, health fair and exhibits. Activities will close with the Niagara Pilgrimage and memorial service on Sunday at Harper’ Ferry National Historical Park. For more information, contact 304-725-9610.
29th Annual Parkersburg Homecoming Festival: Aug. 19-21, Point Park and Downtown Parkersburg Always held the third full weekend in August, this festival features the area’s largest fireworks! Additional activities include a car show, half marathon, grand parade, talent show, Zumba, dog show, magician Stephen Dixon, pretty baby contest, waiter/waitress challenge, square dancing, beach wrestling, chess tournament, cornhole tournament, soap box derby, rubber ducky race and much more. For the music lovers, national and local entertainers will include Kansas, Colt Ford, Rock Solid Puppet Band, Reverant Skye, Johnny Staats and the Delivery Boys, Valerie Gabehart, No One You Know, Billy the Kid and The Regulators and the Texaco Country Showdown West Virginia State Finals. Point Park will be the site of local entertainment on Saturday from 2 to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 2 to 6 p.m. Visit
http://www.parkersburg-homecoming.com or contact 304-482-5275 for more information.
4th Annual Stonewall Jackson Lake Triathlon: Aug. 20, Stonewall Jackson Resort State Park This USA Triathlon sanctioned race will take racers for a 1,000-meter swim in Stonewall Jackson Lake, a 26-mile bike ride along country roads and a 4-mile run around the Stonewall resort State Park boundaries. A great for race participants and spectators! For additional information on the race, visit
http://www.setupevents.com/?fuseaction=event_detail&eventID=1649 or contact 888-278-8150 or visit
www.stonewallresort.com.
The West Virginia Division of Tourism produces this media advisory with the help of other agencies and tourism businesses across the Mountain State. If you would like additional information about coming events in the Mountain State or if you are an event organizer or promoter and would like to have your event considered for inclusion in the Adventure Advisory, please contact Andrea Bond at
Andrea.B.Bond@wv.gov.
Contact Information
Andrea Bond
304-957-9347
Andrea.B.Bond@wv.gov