Augusta Festival set for Saturday
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ELKINS -- Since its inception in the early 1970s, the Augusta Festival has continuously been one of Elkins' biggest events of the summer. That tradition will continue on Saturday when Elkins City Park comes to life with crafts, food, art, music and more.
The 2024 Augusta Festival and Craft Fair will get underway at 10 a.m. and conclude at 5 p.m., just hours before the celebration moves to Kerens Avenue for a massive block party that will be held in the street from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.
"Saturday is going to be incredible," Augusta Heritage Executive Director Seth Young told The Inter-Mountain. "There's going to be 40 craft vendors with handmade goods selling the best of West Virginia, who are all juried-in artisans. And there will be activities throughout the day for both kids and adults."
The festival has become a beloved summertime tradition in Elkins and is a fitting finale to three weeks of educational programming, concerts, and dances from the Augusta Heritage Center. Storytelling with Barbara Seels will help kick off the festival, with one of her two sessions slated to run from 10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The second session will be from noon to 12:30 p.m.
Live music and workshops will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will feature the Dulcimer Jam, a Watercolor Workshop, Interact Children's Museum and more. Artisan demonstrations will take place throughout the day and will give visitors an opportunity to learn about the art of screen printing, felting, weaving, quilting, and more.
"We have a bunch of jam activities planned in many tents and stations for adults who want to play old-time bluegrass or classic country music," Young said. "And we will have kids' activities ongoing all day. We are also partnering with the West Virginia Storytellers Guild and we have an incredible storyteller doing slots that are a half-hour long. There's going to be something for everyone -- it's going to be a wonderful, vibrant day at the park."
One of the highlights of the festival will be the West Virginia Open Banjo and Fiddle Contest, which will be held during two different time slots at 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m.
"I would recommend entering it if you can, or just coming out and watching it," Young said of the Banjo and Fiddle Contest. "Augusta's Old Time Week is on campus this week, so some of the best old-time musicians in the country are here, and oftentimes they go down and enter the contest. Watching some of these players is just truly amazing."
While taking in everything the Augusta Festival and Craft Fair has to offer, Young recommends visitors come to the event hungry.
"There are going to be some wonderful food options available at the festival," said Young. "Everything from Beander's Food Truck to Gingrollsandpancit, there's going to be a host of vendors on site. And also across the street, the Randolph County Community Arts Center will be having their annual fundraising Bowl Fest. They typically make some sort of noodle dish that they serve in handmade pottery bowls that you get to take home with you when you're done with the meal."
The Augusta Block Party will cap things off as the sun sets, featuring live performances from the Shoats and the Annie Neeley Band.
"The block party is going to be incredible," said Young. "We will have some Big Timber on tap and some of the best bands in West Virginia today. The Shoats are a high-energy, fiddle-driven, old-time band, while the Annie Neeley Band is a vocal-driven, authentic independent country sounding band.
"We will also have sets from the winners of the Fiddle and Banjo Contests and there's going to be dancing in the street with probably a 100% chance of a square dance breaking out at some point. It's just going to be a really incredible event to cap off the three weeks of learning at our summer program on the campus of Davis & Elkins College."
For more information on the Augusta Festival and Craft Fair, visit augustaartsandculture.org or the organization's Facebook page.