The Inter-Mountain file photo A volunteer with the Kiwanis Club of Elkins prepares ramp burgers during a past Ramps and Rail Festival at the Elkins Railyard Depot. This year’s festival is scheduled for Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

ELKINS — The Elkins Railroad Depot and Town Square will come to life on Saturday with the 15th annual Ramps and Rail Festival.

The widely popular event will get underway at 10 a.m., and continue throughout the afternoon until its official conclusion at 4 p.m. A record number of food and craft vendors from around the state and beyond will highlight the festivities.

“The Ramps and Rail Festival continues to get bigger and better every year,” said Anne Beardslee, executive director of the Elkins Depot Welcome Center CVB. “We usually don’t cut off registration for the event until a week ahead of the festival, but this year we had to cut it off seven weeks early because we had so many vendors signing up.”

Due to ongoing construction at the new Event and Conference Center behind the depot, Beardsley said she had to rearrange where many of this year’s vendors will be set up for the festival.

“We are going to have vendors set up in front of the depot this year,” Beardslee told The Inter-Mountain. “We are going to be blocking off streets around the depot and using the parking lot at Davis Trust for some of the vendors. I love that there are so many people wanting to participate.”

Beardslee said there will be 25 more vendors at this year’s festival, which will put the total amount at Ramps and Rail to 75. All but a handful of the food vendors will be set up behind the depot.

“I have had vendors tell me that they have dropped other festivals because others have told them that the Ramps and Rail is the one to go to,” she said. “Hopefully it will stay that way for years to come.”

Those attending will have the opportunity to enjoy many ramp-themed foods such as ramp burgers, ramp-eroni rolls, ramp chili, and ramp risotto with shrimp.

The non-food vendors will have an array of different handmade items for sale. No-ramp food items will also be available for visitors. 

“We originally started this event as a way for local vendors to make money,” Beardslee said. “We wanted to do something that kind of gave back to the community and allowed people to get some extra income by participating in the festival. And that’s still our goal.”

The event will also feature a pair of train rides, as well as live music on the Rotary Amphitheater Stage. The train rides will be for one hour each and are scheduled for 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The State Birds will be the first band to play and will take the stage from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Crandall Creek will follow from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

“In addition to the two great bands we have playing, Augusta has a group of young musicians that will be performing in front of the depot,” said Beardslee. “They’re only going to be doing a few songs, but it is going to be great to have them out in the public performing and showcasing their program.”

Beardslee said that she wants everyone to remember to vote for their favorite crafts and top food dishes while visiting the festival. She added that train ride tickets are going fast.

“If someone wants tickets for the train rides, they need to get them now, because they are going to be sold out soon,” she said.

For tickets or more information on this weekend’s event, visit mountainrailwv.com.