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I'm glad you all enjoyed the area. You need to visit in the summer time too, and enjoy the crisp luke warm evenings. Also you should check out the Mountain State Forest Festival. It's a showcase of the West Virginia Wilderness.. Here is a link to it, check it out see if its something you and your families would be interested in.
Hey I was checking out the site and I can't wait till October! I have a question: What is the "royalty" tradition? I notice every year there is a Queen and Princesses, etc. What is the story behind that?
It's kind of like the Queen of the Rose Festival in Pasadena, or Homecoming Queen in HS or college. A number of young ladies are nominated to become the Queen of the Festival, and a contest is held to crown the winner. The one who gets the most votes becomes the Queen (duties include riding on the Queen's Float in the festival parade), and all the rest are her Princesses.
I'm glad you all enjoyed the area. You need to visit in the summer time too, and enjoy the crisp luke warm evenings. Also you should check out the Mountain State Forest Festival. It's a showcase of the West Virginia Wilderness.. Here is a link to it, check it out see if its something you and your families would be interested in.
Hopefully, we will be experiencing those crisp warm evenings soon. We are meeting with our realtor on Wednesday...we are ready to place the house on the market. So if you know anyone interested in moving to Jacksonville, Florida, send em this way. We are ready to head north.
I looked at the website...it is definitely something my family would enjoy. Hopefully, we will be there this fall to enjoy it. Thank you for all the hints and tips. Any you have are always appreciated.
Actually... In order to be Maid Sylvia or Queen Sylvia after the coronation you have to kind of have money, and have really great connections. I've heard some years it has gotten up to as high as $200,000. Then their are the Maids Of Honor. Then there are like 50 princesses. Several of my girl friends and friends have been princesses. Then there jesters, and woodly the elf, trumpeteers, and there is also a childrens court. There is no contest to choose the queen. There is a contest though to choose the Woodly the Elf, all 4th or 5th grade students across the county draw Woodly the Elf and the winner is chosen and gets to be Woodly the Elf. But to be Queen it basically comes down to how much money you have and your parents connections. Aside from that though I've always loved the forest festival, as well as over 100,000 other people every year.
Actually... In order to be Maid Sylvia or Queen Sylvia after the coronation you have to kind of have money, and have really great connections. I've heard some years it has gotten up to as high as $200,000. Then their are the Maids Of Honor. Then there are like 50 princesses. Several of my girl friends and friends have been princesses. Then there jesters, and woodly the elf, trumpeteers, and there is also a childrens court. There is no contest to choose the queen. There is a contest though to choose the Woodly the Elf, all 4th or 5th grade students across the county draw Woodly the Elf and the winner is chosen and gets to be Woodly the Elf. But to be Queen it basically comes down to how much money you have and your parents connections. Aside from that though I've always loved the forest festival, as well as over 100,000 other people every year.
Wow that's interesting.
I hear about these different festivals in WV and I can't wait to go to one. I've heard of the Strawberry Festival too, I think it was in Buckhannon. Are they pretty family-friendly? I have a 1 and 2 year old and my husband and I are christian so we'd like a family-friendly festival --- my impression is that most of them are because in speaking to WV folks most of them are strong in their Christian values.
I think family-friendly would be an excellent description for all of these festivals. (Don't forget the ramp and maple sugar festivals in the spring, and the Buckwheat Festival in the fall. I think Marlinton has a Road Kill Cookoff in the summer.) Mind you, it's been 40 years since I made the circuit of most of those festivals in my high school band, but I doubt they've changed much.
We're not talking about Mardi Gras in New Orleans, or Gasparilla in Tampa. It's arts and crafts, funnel cakes and kettle corn, sno-cones and hot dogs, pancakes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It's high school bands playing marching music and pretty girls on floats.
I was at the Maple Sugar Festival in Pickens on the 17th. Highlights were a log chopping contest, the ham and bean dinner, and a square dance that night.
Yea, the forest festival literally has something for everyone. Fun for younger children, carnival rides, arts and crafts, photography exhibits, the caberet, and there are also some activities at night that sell alcohol for those that want it. I believe the caberet has wine as an option to drink too. But like Snorpus said its not like Mardi Gras or anything. I have actually only been to the Strawberry festival once when I was really little shockingly. Its shocking because Buckhannon is only a half hour away from my home in Elkins and I have to drive through it to get back to school. But from my interpretation of it, it seems to be a nice festival, its much smaller than the Forest Festival though, but I'm sure its worth checking out
I just read that Elkins is one of the most overcast places in US - is this true?
I am looking for somewhere that is pretty & cloudy & cooler in the summer, I hate sun. It looks really pretty. Is it just cloudy in that pocket area for some reason? How far to the nearest major cities? How about insects? Is there water to speak of around?
Thanks....
It is probably more overcast than a lot of places. There is usually plenty of sun though in the summer. I think its usually cloudy either because it rains further west and then the fog rises and has to rise a lot to get over the mountains east of Elkins so that probably has something to do with it. The nearest major cities are Pittsburgh and the D.C. area. Some smaller closer cities include Morgantown WV, Harrisonburg VA, Charleston WV, and there are a few more. Insects; the only complaint I can think of in that department has been in emergence of the lady bug within the past 10 years. Its actually an Asain cousin to the American lady bug, they swarm and pretty much attack our house in the summers. But my house is 12 miles outside of Elkins and my grandma lives right in the middle of Elkins and she doesn't seem to have them, or as bad. But nothing an exterminator, or a vacume cleaner cannot fix. Water to speak of around? I'm not sure what your meaning here sorry, do you mean like lakes? rivers? There are a few lakes around, Tygart Lake, Spruce Knob Lake... They are not in Randolph county but they within an hours drive
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