On Saturday, Sept. 6, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the grounds of the White Sulphur Springs National Fish Hatchery will be the site for the 19th annual Freshwater Folk Festival.
The sounds of folk music and music genres derived from it will come from the amphitheater stage. Interesting exhibits, demonstrations, and hands-on activities related to our understanding, enjoyment, and conservation of streams, forests, wild animals, and nature in general will be featured in a huge tent. Hatchery tours guided by US Fish and Wildlife Service professionals at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. will provide behind-the-scenes access to the many parts of the hatchery operation. The magnificently designed Hatchery Visitors Center situated in the middle of the festival action will be another site of special interest with its many displays and live aquatic animals.
The music program on the stage will commence at 10 a.m. with a two-hour performance by Common Ground featuring singer DeAnna Delp and five other musicians. They have been playing together at least seven years at festivals and other venues mostly in Fayette, Summers, and Raleigh Counties. Their lively show will feature a wide variety of bluegrass, classic rock, and country music.
From noon to 2 p.m., Jim Snyder, his son Sam (known in the music business as Samuel James), and Bob Riggleman will play together. Jim has described their repertoire as a “mix of contemporary folk mixed with a splash of R&B and classic acoustic rock”.
At 2 p.m., Roy Moose of the Cranberry Mountain Nature Center will bring some of his Snakes of West Virginia reptiles from his booth in the big exhibitor’s tent to the stage for a special showing. Following that, Larry Two Rivers Brown of the Appalachian Americans of West Virginia will give a presentation which will include his thoughts about their respect for the earth and nature. He will also play the Native American flute. He was a dancer with other members of the organization at the first Freshwater Folk Festival many years ago.
The exhibitors in the big tent will be the White Sulphur Springs National Fish Hatchery, Roy Moose’s Snakes of West Virginia, Sigma Xi Scientific Research Honor Society’s Science Activity Table, Hanging Rocks Raptor Observatory, Susan Ryan (with iNaturalist app demo), WV Cave Conservancy plus Greenbrier Grotto cavers, Katheryn Lehotsky’s Exhibition of her Fish and Wildlife Paintings, Jessica Levine’s Art & the Environment Activities, Astronomer Michael Rosolina with Solar Telescopes, Greenbrier River Watershed Association, Southeastern WV Beekeepers, Longspur Tracking, Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, Appalachian Headwaters, Project Healing Waters, WV Department of Natural Resources, Greenbrier River Trail Association, US Fish and Wildlife Service Field Office, Greenbrier Valley Sportsman Alliance, and Pheasants Forever/Quail Forever.
The “lawn bass fishing” and Touch A Truck activities for children and former children will both be available again this year. The vehicles and personnel will come from the WV State Police, the White Sulphur Springs Fire Department, Lynch Construction (a dump truck), Boone Tractor (a skid steer), and a local rescue service.
The food vendors will include Nana B’s BBQ, the Civil Air Patrol selling hotdogs, Country Roads Pickles, J.J. Choo Choo’s with baked goods, Serendipity’s Italian Ice and Giant Pretzels, Real Whorled Ice Cream, and Em’s Cake Corner.
Folks will be welcomed to the festival by members of the Friends of the White Sulphur Springs National Fish Hatchery in a tent near the Hatchery Visitors Center. Brochures with festival information and Hatchery Friends’ membership forms will be available. T-shirts with the hatchery logo will be sold there.
The festival receives Arts and Rec funding from the Greenbrier County Commission and Fairs and Festivals funding from the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History.
