Bigger and better this year. Last year the WVSF was impacted with COVID19 concerns. This year the…read moreWVSF went full tilt with a food court and a carnival-like section highlighted with a farriswheel in addition to all the usual events and happenings. Of course on this 80th anniversary, strawberry foods and drinks were in abundance as always.

If you are fortunate to be in West Virginia and in Pocahontas county the last Saturday of…read moreSeptember, the town of Marlinton should be your destination. This festival has been going on for awhile but when Andrew Zimmern from the show "Bizarre Foods" featured the festival on his show, it got a boost in attendance. My better half and I decided to drive 4 1/2 hours and explore what the 2019 WV Roadkill Cookoff and Fall Festival was all about. Husband is a hunter/ fisherman and adventurous eater. He has no hesitation when it comes to something "different." While there was no possum, groundhog or squirrel on the menus, there was bear, deer, boar offered. We arrived early Saturday morning and learned there are a number of events. A biscuit bake off was going on at the Opera House and a race called the possum run, music at the gazebo and the cookoff. The main street through town was blocked off and lined with a number of booths with crafts and food for sale. Husband was itching to see where the cookoff was and we were guided to the edge of town where the competitors were distributing their special dishes. We purchased wrist bands for $5 each and that would entitle us to taste test. We were also given tickets to vote for our favorite dish. We were surprised to see that there were only 8-9 competitors. We had expected more participants, but after seeing all the work put in to their food, presentation and booth decoration, i admire those who entered and competed. Small portions were handed out, but we had a lot of fun going from booth to booth. My favorite was the bear goulash and corn muffin. Husband liked the wild boar and venison. It's a small town festival with lots of locals who were very friendly. The music was my favorite thing of all. I would go back again next year just to sit by the gazebo and listen to old time and bluegrass music. PS - at the end of the day, we made our way back to our car only to discover we had a flat tire. As my guy started to fix it, several locals came over to help and see if we needed anything. They offered a portable air compressor to put air in the tire to see where the leak was. Then they stayed with us until we got back on the road to our motel. This wouldn't happen in my hometown. I came away from the weekend loving this part of West Virginia. The mountains and the people are amazing.

Knowing my penchant for eating weird stuff, the hubby suggested we go to the roadkill festival…read more Always down for an adventure, and wanting to check squirrel off my "to try" list, I was in. Here's how it works (theoretically, at least). For a very small admission fee ($3) you get to sample all of the roadkill offerings, and vote for your favorite by casting your "golden ticket" ticket into your chosen chef's ballot box. Sounds simple, eh? As with many things in life, it got unnecessarily complicated. Although the festival is by no means new (it's been going on for 25 years), my guess is that the festival was suffering from some growing pains after getting some national exposure on the Travel Channel. With the exception of the guy who made boar chili, we waited for 30-45 minutes to sample EACH item. Sometimes, we had to wait for the food to be cooked; othertimes, the distribution was simply inefficient and painfully slow in relation to the large crowd. I never got to try one participant's food AT ALL, because the participant simply ran out of food. What the hell? Inevitably, I gave my ticket to the boar dude, mostly because he was the only one who didn't aggravate me. In addition to the roadkill samplings, they had a section with various vendors selling crafts and food, including local wineries, boy scouts, FFA, etc. By the time we were done spending several hours waiting in lines, much of the non-sample sized food (smoked pork, lamb, etc.) was completely sold out. Again, I believe that more people showed up than they anticipated. Would I go back? Maybe in a couple of years, after they get come of their bugs worked out.

This is a GREAT venue. The pavilion is large but not too large. The acoustics are great. They…read morealways have top notch musicians and for a very reasonable price. The location is in a beautiful setting, on the grounds of Shrine Mont in Orkney Springs, VA..in the Shenandoah valley. There's no big huge crowds, traffic jams...it's a small venue with a lot of class. You get a close up intimate performance by some excellent, outstanding musicians. In fact, this evening when we arrived to see Bruce Hornsby and his band perform, we were walking towards the pavilion and we practically bumped right into Bruce Hornsby while he was walking towards the stage to perform!

This is our second time coming to this Arts & Crafts Festival... what a nice drive from Richmond…read more I love Crozet, it's a cool area. They have this festival twice a year, spring and fall. Last fall we had a blast here. This year, in May, was a different story... but I'll get to that later. This festival is smaller that most I've been to but I like it because you can see everything in a short time. Plenty of parking. It's not expensive to get in, $7. There are door prizes given away every 1/2 hour (last year I won a quilt!) It's designed well, food trucks in the back, lots of picnics tables and seating under a large tent, and an even bigger tents housing all the artisans booths. Nice for those hot days like today. The band was good! Three guys and a gal playing accordion. We dug it! Cool songs. Now for the not so great... you know, you don't want to compare, but sometimes it's appropriate. So last year we spent a pretty penny and left with a load of cool crafts... handmade soaps, food stuffs, plants, jewelry (earrings $10), greeting cards, art work, etc. This year we left with nothing! Why? The prices were exorbitant. We noticed that this year all the booths we bought from last year were gone. In their place were expensive booths. Now I understand that creativity has its price, but these are local folks selling their crafts and art, it's not a museum. I won't belabor the point or delineate the number of times we were in sticker shock, suffice it to say we were disappointed. We all agreed to come back one more in the fall and see if the difference is a seasonal thing. If not, I highly doubt we will be venturing to the Crozet Festival again. I'll keep you posted and revise my review then. Empty handed and dismayed, we headed off to a nearby winery to drown our sorrows!! (Wink, wink)

From the owner: Juried Art and Craft Festival featuring over 100 professional handcrafters in a variety of media…read moreincluding fine art, jewelry, furniture, personal care items, and more! Great food, Virginia wine and draft beer, live music, craft demonstrations, and special children's activities make this bi-annual Festival a family-friendly weekend destination. The Festival, held in May and October each year, benefits Claudius Crozet Park - a registered non-profit owned and operated by the community of Crozet. The Park is located a scenic 20 minutes west of Charlottesville and the University of Virginia, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Always the 2nd full weekend in June, Heritage is always a lot fun! Located on beautiful and…read morehistoric Washington Street and Downtown Cumberland, it 's full of arts, crafts, yummy food, musical and other entertainment, plus tours of museums and the old tunnels under the Emmanuel Episcopal Church! It's not summer in Cumberland until Heritage Days!

August, 2025. Clarksburg, WV. We are neither Italian-American nor from West Virginia, but we had a…read moreGREAT time at the 46th Annual West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival! Held mostly on Labor Day Weekend (this year, August 29, 39, & 31), there are food and activities galore to keep you and your family busy for a good part of August! But, it all started with Pre-Festival Events, the first of which was the Bocce Tournament on August 16th. Saturday, August 23rd was a "Pasta Day", with a Pasta Cook-Off that featured not only sauce tasting and judging, but also the homemade wine contest, canned pepper contest, hot pepper eating competition, Run for the Rose, and raffles and entertainment. There was also a Pasta Palooza, at the same venue with all-day and evening entertainers. An Authors Forum was on the evening of the 26th. The 27th brought both the Golf Classic and the Elimination Dinner. Previously unfamiliar to me, the latter is a social, fund-raising event, with a cocktail hour and a buffet dinner including a filet carving station. But, there's also a raffle-style drawing to award $5000, (and smaller prizes), with ticket holders being "eliminated" from the big drawing when their numbers are called. Finally, the Honorees Award Ceremony was held on the evening of August 28th. Congratulations to this year's honorees: Joseph "Rocky" Romano and Sara Brunetti Aman, as Italian-American Man and Woman of the Year, and other honorees in other categories. On the main weekend, highlights included: * Full days of ENTERTAINMENT on the Main Stage on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. This included HEADLINE entertainment, including Frankie Avalon; 7 Bridges (an Eagles Tribute Band), local favorite AMICI, with a repertoire spanning American classic top-40, country, and Italian favorites; and Analisa and John Gallo, the music duo from Nashville. The stage was also the setting for the coronation ceremony of Regina Maria XLVI, local singers, jazz ensembles, dancers, an outdoor mass, and even a meatball eating contest. Amazingly, the festival provides all entertainment free of charge to the public, with bleacher seating available in front of the Harrison County Courthouse Plaza. * The Grand Feature PARADE, that really had a hometown feeling with local marching bands, local celebrities and politicians, firetrucks and snazzy cars, and, of course, participants throwing candy to the waiting kids on the sidelines. * FOOD & ARTISAN VENDORS. A shout-out to the Glen Elk Boys Italian Kitchen's food truck for their amazing Eggplant Parmesan sandwich. You also gotta try the local favorite, fritti, which can best be described as fried dough rolled in sugar. My husband also picked up a festival T-shirt, and is proudly showing off his green, red, and white pride. And, not to be forgotten: * CORONATION RECEPTION * BINGO. * MORRO CONTEST. * PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST. * KIDS ZONE. * 50/50 DRAWING.

Nice campgrounds. Price is right. Great people run this place. Very mellow. I highly recommend this…read moreplace

Coming in from the GAP trail - found this as a place to stay in Meyersdale. For $20, we got…read moreelectricity, running water, hot showers, fire pits and lunch tables, and some wonderful places to pitch the tent. Felt safe the entire time - 5/5

Awesome festival for adults and families! A great way to spend a weekend when it's held, for a fun…read moretime. There are band lineups all weekend, and vendors with food and beer. Plently of activies for kids as well, such as their inflatable jumping pad. Misty Mountain is also an excellent place to camp, with cabins, camper spots, and plots for tents. The entrance fee is donations for a food pantry. The best part is all the friendly people! Highly recommend if you are in the area when it's held!

OMG! One of best pumpkin patches ever! They have everything they have giant gift shop plus lots of…read morefood and snacks and drinks for all ages and tons of activities for all ages and lots so super cute farm animals you can pet and feed them and it is absolutely so beautiful breathtaking view! Large pumpkin patch you get any size pumpkins or they have an area with tent you can extra pumpkins in boxes all sizes shapes and colors and you buy ticket online or buy your tickets when you get there and the service is super awesome the people are so friendly happy and caring helpful and so kind and super helpful and they have super fun shop food and fun goodies it is really adorable everything is very organized clean and always sanitary and everything hers restocked always. Plus everything they are sale is home made fresh from the farm and the ground I appreciate the farmers so much for working 24/7 and 7 days a week making sure we have fresh food products! The farmers deserve have an day decided to them and or month and unbelievable people and they deserve extra credit for everything and their needs to farm fairs to celebrate them and plus they have family and all generations learning the tricks of treads of the farm life and thank you so much for bringing us joy and happiness and with all ur incredible work support for the community! YOU ARE HEROES OF THE WORLD! I am coming back here all year and every year as a tradition. Happy fall everyone! From Lauren

I had heard good things about their pumpkin patch last year and wanted to check it out this fall…read more The pumpkin patches I've visited in the past didn't have an entrance fee and $10 felt like a bit much to pay per person (especially for a 2 year old!) But now that we've been I think that the amount and variety of activities justifies the price. It's also nice that everything inside is included in the admission fee. My three kids had a blast exploring all of the grounds with various cute playground structures, swings, and slides. Several gardens, a tug of war station, a zip line, a small petting/feeding area, bunnies to watch, giant jenga and connect four - all generously spaced out with plenty of shaded areas and seating for parents and grandparents to relax. The corn maze is large but not TOO large. We took a photo of the maze map and were able to make our way out in 15 minutes (we took our stroller in without a problem). The tractor ride up to the pumpkin patch was a lot of fun for the kids and the views are very pretty. They did a great job of sanitizing in between rides as well. You can pick your pumpkins from the fields or from the store - both options are $0.50/lb). One thing I wouldn't recommend is their food. While very reasonably priced ($3.50 for hamburgers, $2 for hot dogs, and $2 for fries) the line was excessively long, the food took forever to arrive, and also wasn't very good. (Have you ever had over-fried funnel cake? So sad.) Next time we'll pack our own lunch. *just a note: this year due to COVID19 there are no pig races and no train rides