On the month of September, Marlinton, Pocahontas County and its Opera House will be exploding with old time music. The action kicks off on Saturday, September 2nd with the Black Mountain Bluegrass Boys and their traditional sound, based on  the styles of Bill Monroe, the Stanley Brothers and Jimmy Martin.

The weekend of September 15-16 the Mountain Music Trail will present THREE events at the Pocahontas County Opera House. Friday there will be a concert featuring Mountain Music Trail member bands The River Drivers, Rebecca Wurdaski, Juanita Fireball and  Continental Drifters and Born Old. All performers are donating their time to this fundraiser in support of the Mountain Music Trail.

Saturday afternoon there will be a fiddle and banjo contest, crafting demonstrations, and ice cream making, followed by an old fashioned bean and cornbread dinner and a square dance. You can find out more about these events at mountainmusictrail.com

Friday, September 29 there’s a square dance at the Opera House, and Saturday September 30, the Opera House presents the Hammons Musical Heritage Celebration, in honor of the legendary family from the Williams River country who are the root source of much of West Virginia’s traditional music heritage. Many performers from across the Eastern United States will join local pickers in honoring this amazing family. More info is available at pocahontasoperahouse.org/event/hammons-musical-heritage-celebration-2/

The Celebration caps off  a day featuring Marlinton’s Autumn Harvest Festival and its world famous Road Kill Cook-off, both  happening earlier on Saturday. You don’t want to miss the food! Last year’s roadkill fair featured many delicous dishes including: Smashed Pota “doe” Patties, Chinese Chef Boar R – D Noodles, T-Boned Elk over Grits, One Ton Won Tons, Thumper Bumper over Grits by Janet Mitchell and Paul Wong’s East Meets West Virginia (pictured above); Meatballs made with venison, duck, pheasant, quail, and pork by T’Ain’t EZ Bein Green. The meatball was buried under a “green pasture” sauce of cilantro, chile, golden raisins, ginger, and mint!;

Iguana Nachos prepared by You Hit ‘em We Spit ‘em (pictured above); Buttermilk Battered Frogs Legs by The Market on Courthouse Square in Hinton;

Charcoal Fired Dried Venison by The Coal Hollow Brothers (pictured above); Deer, Bear, and Turkey Chili by April Maes Cafe; and so much more! This year’s Roadkill Cookoff will again bring thousands of people into to the town of Marlinton to enjoy kids’ activities, vendors, and lots of great music! During the daytime hours primo local groups the Black Mountain Bluegrass Boys, Mud Hole Out of Control and the Bing Brothers will play outside in the downtown area. See Hashtag agenda for time listing.

Other events along the Mountain Music Trail (US 219) in September include:

Saturday September 2 – Aurora Celtic at Art in the Park Watoga State Park and Rush Run Philharmonic at The Greenbrier Valley Brewing Company in Maxwelton.

Thursday September 9 – Todd Burge at the Purple Fiddle in Thomas

Saturday, September 9 – Square Dance at the Helvetia Fair in Randolph County

Friday, September 15 – Kathy Mattea at Carnegie Hall in Lewisburg.

– Gibbs Kinderman, Hashtag #93. September 2017.