“By closely observing Mother Nature, I know when the birds come and go, how deep the river is, if the buds are coming out on the trees, and the clean freshness of the morning air reminds me that each new day in the life of man is as clean and unsoiled as a sheet of newsprint without ink.” – Calvin W. Price

Calvin W. Price was a leading figure in the early Conservation Movement and served as the first president of the West Virginia Wildlife Federation, so it’s only fitting that the Pocahontas County, WV grant program bearing his name, the Calvin W. Price Appalachian Enrichment Series, is one of the sponsors of this year’s Wild Edibles Festival at the Hillsboro Public Library in Hillsboro, WV on Saturday, April 20th.

This year’s festival will also include an educational walk on the Greenbrier River Trail to identify
wild edible plants, demonstrations, tastings, door prizes, and a potluck.

If you’ve ever wondered what in the way of wild edibles might be growing naturally in your back yard, in the forest, along the Greenbrier River Trail, or anywhere else your walks, bicycle rides, or hunting and fishing expeditions might take you, then this is the event for you. Hosted by Friends of the Hillsboro Public Library Members Mary Dawson and Gwen Balogh, this year’s event will feature Dr. Rebecca Linger, PhD as the speaker. Linger, the Assistant Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Charleston, will lecture on folk remedies and reliable edibles in the Appalachian region.

Get there on time. It fills up and will be a truly unique and wonderful experience.

This year’s festival will also include an educational walk on the Greenbrier River Trail to identify wild edible plants, demonstrations, tastings, door prizes, and a potluck. There will be a lunch break from noon until 2:30 p.m. too, in which participants, if they so choose, will be able to head over to the Pretty Penny Café for lunch specials consisting of local, wild edibles and musical accompaniment by Alex Culberth and The Dead Country Stars (formerly of The Parlor Soldiers). The Pretty Penny Café has been featured in magazines like WV Living and Southern Living, so if you’ve never been there before, here’s your chance to support an eating and music establishment that focuses as much as possible on serving home cooked-style meals made from locally grown and raised food.

The Wild Edibles Festival starts at 9:00 a.m. I went last year, and I highly advise getting there on time. It fills up and will be a truly unique and wonderful experience.

– Michelle Evans, LBSPY #30 (April 8-22nd, 2013)