The Vandalia Gathering is a popular festival devoted to old-time and

bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as ''traditional music'', ''traditional folk music'', ''contemporary folk music'', ''vernacular music,'' or ...

, as well as related arts such as

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

quilt A quilt is a multi-layered textile, traditionally composed of two or more layers of fabric or fiber. Commonly three layers are used with a filler material. These layers traditionally include a woven cloth top, a layer of batting or wadding, a ...

making, and cooking, which takes place each summer on the

state capitol This is a list of state and territorial capitols in the United States, the building or complex of buildings from which the government of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia and the organized territories of the United States, exercise its ...

grounds in

Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It was established in 1977. It is held on

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

weekend in May. The festival features solo competitions, whose winners are awarded cash prizes. Performers at the festival have included

Lester McCumbers Lester McCumbers (August 15, 1921 – January 26, 2015) was an American old-time fiddler from Nicut, West Virginia. His students included Erynn Marshall and Jake Krack. He also made fiddles, sometimes using local woods. He utilized the " ...

Dwight Diller Dwight Diller (August 17, 1946 – 14 February 2023) was an American banjo and fiddle player and teacher. He was considered one of the most prominent exponents of the clawhammer banjo tradition. Diller lived in Hillsboro, West Virginia, and then ...

Ginny Hawker and Tracy Schwarz Ginny Hawker and Tracy Schwarz are an American folk music duo known for performing traditional music from the early American canon of bluegrass, gospel, and old time music. The duo, however, on occasion does record original songs and music by con ...

, and Everett Lilly and the Lilly Mountaineers. There was no gathering in 2020 as officials cited the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

as grounds for cancellation.

Vandalia Award

The Vandalia Award is an honor given by the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History to recognize individuals "for their lifetime contribution to West Virginia and its traditional culture." The annual Vandalia Award ceremony occurs at the start of summer and typically on

weekend, and held at the Normal L. Fagan State Theater at the West Virginia Culture Center in Charleston.

References

External links

Official site
Folk festivals in the United States Festivals in West Virginia Old-time music festivals Bluegrass festivals Charleston, West Virginia Tourist attractions in Kanawha County, West Virginia Music festivals established in 1977 1977 establishments in West Virginia {{music-festival-stub

Vandalia Award

See also

References

External links