On Saturday, Sept. 12 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the 11th Annual Freshwater Folk Festival at the White Sulphur Springs National Fish Hatchery on East Main Street will be in full swing. The festival is a combination of music, art, dance and hands-on nature activities on the beautiful hatchery grounds. There will be plenty of food for sale by commercial vendors and the 4-H Club, and there will be crafts vendors at the festival.
The musicians and dancers come from Greenbrier, Alleghany, Pocahontas and Randolph Counties. As the day unfolds, their musical genres will generally transition from the contemporary, to late 20th century, to good old time music of the mountains. The hills will be alive.
A performance by Ari Vaughn and Travis Farley will open the entertainment at the hatchery amphitheater at 10 a.m. with songs of contemporary country and gospel music. A lively clogging performance by the Kountry Kickers of Covington will take place right after that.
The Rush Run Philharmonic from Hillsboro will be heard from noon till 2 p.m. Patrick Gabbert and Phil Rolleston, are veteran musicians who have performed folk music as soloists or band members at venues in most of the states in the eastern United States. Ginger and Bob Must provide standup bass and vocal music that rounds out this mighty fine band.
Michael and Carrie Kline of Elkins will be next at 2 p.m. On Mar. 27 of this year, they were a hit as part of the Floyd Radio Show at Carnegie Hall in Lewisburg. Carrie and Michael perform tight, high mountain harmonies of traditional Appalachian music and some contemporary songs with guitar and voice.
Hands-on activities, demonstrations and displays relating to the appreciation and preservation of freshwater habitats and nature in general are essential components of the festival. That includes watershed organization exhibits, Roy Moose’s WV Snakes, hatchery tours at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., Jessica Levine’s art activities, Sharon Ginsburg and origami, a Lost World Caverns exhibit, Trout Unlimited fly-tying and casting activities, Avian Center of Appalachia birds and Guided Tree-Identification Walk on Twin Fawns Loop Trail at the Hatchery at noon and 2 p.m.
Parking for the festival will be in the northwest corner of the hatchery grounds reached by entering via Hemlock Drive about 100 yards west of the main hatchery entrance.
The event is presented by the Friends of the White Sulphur Springs National Fish Hatchery and sponsored by businesses, several individuals and couples, the WV Division of Culture and History, the Greenbrier County Commission, and the Greenbrier County Conventions and Visitors Bureau. For more information see www.freshwaterfolkfestival.org or call 304-646-0602.
