File photo The Upshur County Baton Corp performs during a past Coalton Days celebration. This year's event is set for Saturday.

COALTON – The town of Coalton will come to life Saturday when visitors from near and far gather for the 31st annual Coalton Days celebration.    

The event, which continues to be popular among locals, former residents and those from surrounding areas, will kick off at 8:30 a.m. with the Vince Ross 5K Walk. The 5K will start at Coalton Park, with registration beginning at 8 a.m.       

“We started Coalton Days in 1995 during our Centennial and we fell under Gov. (Gaston) Caperton’s homecoming,” Coalton Mayor Jim Rossi told The Inter-Mountain. “We have been doing it every year since and we missed just one year because of COVID. It has continued to grow every year and we expect another good turnout this year.”     

Ross said the annual event serves as a reunion for many former Coalton residents who have moved away.   

“This is the one event where you can expect to see people that you haven’t seen for a long time,” Rossi said. “We have several families that have family reunions during the weekend of Coalton Days. People from all over the country come back to West Virginia for this event. It’s just an old-fashioned homecoming and a renewal of some old acquaintances. We don’t have it to make money, we do it to make friends.”   

The Coalton Days Car Show will begin at 9:30 a.m., and food will be served on the front lawn of the home of Mike Ross at 10 a.m. Free rides and activities for children will also open at 10 a.m.    

“We work with Mike (Ross) a lot and he has entertainment and food on the lawn at his house,” Rossi said. “We like to prepare enough food for a lot of people and there will be a lot of things for kids to do at Mike’s house, like carnival rides, bounce houses, climbing wall, face painting and other fun stuff for kids to do.”   

The food being served will be prepared by the St. Patrick’s Guild of Coalton, and will include spaghetti, meatballs, Italian sausage and more. Coalton Days usually features a special guest who shows up to mingle at the Ross house. In the past, former WVU coach Bob Huggins was a frequent visitor to the event.    

“I’ve heard that someone is coming in, but I can’t confirm who it will be,” Ross said. “We will have to wait and see who shows up.”       

There will be a cornhole tournament in the park at 11 a.m. and the annual Coalton Days Parade will begin at 3 p.m. Those participating in the parade, which is typically 45 minutes long, can begin lining up at 2 p.m. at East End Broadway. The parade will feature floats, fire trucks, businesses, twirlettes, dance groups, tumblers, scouts, politicians, bands, clubs, youth centers, athletic teams, mascots, clowns, cars, and the Coalton Days Pageant Queens and Runners-Up.   

The day will be capped off by a Country Music Concert featuring Tommy Wood at 6 p.m.    

“Tommy played Coalton Days back in 2017 and we are happy to have him back,” Rossi said. “He really puts on a good show, he’ll sing some old country. He’s a little bit of Conway and Hank. He’s from Virginia and he performs up and down the East Coast, playing a lot of the resorts.”   

For more information on Coalton Days, call 304-406-2111.