Fairs, festivals kept things light through the years

While steep slopes, fertile streams and abundant game enticevisitors to West Virginia, so do home-grown celebrations.

Over the decades, at least 200 fairs and festivals have sprungup.

Some, like the Buckwheat, Black Walnut, Pumpkin and numerous rampdays, celebrate harvest and plenty.Others focus on music or competition, like the plethora of art andcraft fairs, the Woodchopping Festival in Webster Springs, VandaliaGathering and Charleston's Sternwheel Regatta.Still others were contrived to enliven slow seasons (Festival ofthe Waters in Berkeley Springs) or to remind people of the state'shistorical significance (Fall Festival Weekend at Prickett's Fort).But why so many fairs and festivals?Catherine Henderson, who wrote the book "Fairs, Festivals &Funnin' in West Virginia," credits the state's mountainous terrain."People met at a crossroads to share their produce or make applebutter," Henderson said. "Because of our topography, there were moreof those. People couldn't travel long distances."It's difficult to assess how long the observances have existed.Many disappeared during the World War II, Henderson said.However, Buckhannon's Strawberry Festival may well be one of theoldest, starting in 1936.And the get-together that draws the most people, the MountainState Art and Craft Fair, happens to be one of the newest.West Virginia tourists certainly flock to holiday activities. Butstate natives who have moved away come back in droves, Hendersonsaid."It seems a lot of these events are particularly milestones forpeople who no longer live in West Virginia," Henderson said. "Likethe Ramp Festival in Clay County. You see an increased number ofout- of-state licenses. West Virginians are loyal, more so thanother people."For a list of state festivals, check the Web site atwww.state.wv.us/tourism/Writer Therese S. Cox can be reached at 348-4874.-30