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ELKINS -- A summertime tradition for local musicians is set to return next week when Pickin' in the Park begins its summer sessions at Elkins City Park on June 7.
Margo Blevin-Denton will once again spearhead this year's jam sessions, which first began back in the late 1980s when she was the director of Augusta Heritage Center. The Center and Elkins Parks and Recreation co-sponsors the weekly event.
"Pickin' in the Park started out very low key and then it just continued to grow each year," Belvin-Denton told The Inter-Mountain. "It's been going on for a long time and it's been very popular among local musicians."
Belvin-Denton said COVID-19 had an impact on Pickin' in the Park the last several years, but she feels things will return to normal this year with the virus now seemingly in everyone's rearview mirror.
"COVID affected how many people came out the last few years," she said. "People can't sing with a mask on and a lot of people didn't go anywhere, especially the older people. We have a man who is in his 90s who has been coming every week and every year. He just stopped coming last year because he was too afraid of COVID at his age.
"It was never completely empty, but a lot of the time many of the people who always come were not there. It was not what it used to be. But I expect a lot of things to get back to normal this year."
Starting with the opening session next week, Pickin' in the Park will be held each Wednesday through the summer and the month of September. There will be two sessions held each Wednesday evening, beginning with a Country Music Jam at 4:30 p.m in the small pavilion at the park. The second session will be an Old-Time Jam in the raised Sycamore Street pavilion beginning at 7 p.m.
Both events will run for at least two hours. All acoustic instruments are welcome, as well as singers, dancers and listeners. No amplifiers or sound systems are permitted.
The final day of the winter jam sessions being held at the Boiler House Theatre on the campus of Davis & Elkins College will conclude today.
"In the summer we have so many people come out to our jam sessions," said Belvin-Denton. "Many of them come out just to listen to all the great music being played. People bring their kids and it's just a wonderful time. We are looking forward to a great summer of music and fun."