By Christina Edwards
The roots of Monroe County families run deep! Similar to plants, a strong root system forms the basis for a plentiful harvest. Every year, the peaceful West Virginia town of Union has the Farmer’s Day Celebration to mark the beginning of the harvest season and to bring together friends and family for a break from their labors. The 68th annual Farmer’s Day will be celebrated on June 2 and 3 with the theme “Wild and Free.”
The celebration kicks off with a street dance and kids’ activities by Hillbilly Fun. As the sun goes down, the lawn chairs and dancing shoes come out. Buddy Allen & The Cheat River Band will play a variety of musical genres for the audience, including country, southern rock, bluegrass, traditional country, 50s style, rock n roll, and blues. They cite Charlie Daniels, Lynrd Skynrd, Jerry Lee Lewis, and B.B. King as influences, according to Buddy Allen. For additional information, visit @cheatriverband on Facebook.
Come satisfy your taste buds at the Union Senior Center’s Farmer’s Day Pancake Breakfast from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Sausage patties, biscuits & gravy, and hot, savory buck wheat pancakes will all be available in abundance. Additionally, this breakfast is donation-only, with all revenues going to the Christmas Food Box Program, which supplies 250 families in need with Christmas dinner food boxes.
If fitness is more your vibe on a Saturday morning, grab your sneakers and partake in the Farmer’s Day 5k, 10k, and Fun Walk starting at 7:45 a.m. at the Courthouse. Visit the Monroe County Historical Society Museum at 10 a.m. to take a journey through history and discover more about frontier settlement, family customs, and other topics. More info at monroewvhistory.org. Also held at 10 a.m., Royalty and Scholarship Presentations will be on the main stage.
Kicking off at 11 a.m., the Grand Parade is always one for the books. Expect to see lots of floats, antique cars, horses, rescue vehicles, and Beni Kedem Shriners in this lengthy spectacle.
After the parade, it’s time to enjoy food and vendors throughout the town as well as the Cruise In over at NAPA. Bring your kiddos to Todd Belcher Insurance parking lot for the Monroe County Shriners’ Kiddie Tractor Peddle Pull held at 1:30 p.m. Registration for this event will be with yours truly at the New York Life booth. I will also host the New York Life Cookie Stacking Contest (a 30-year tradition by Ana and Joe Lusk w/ Lusk Farms at Autumn Harvest Festival) in conjunction with the Shriners’ peddle pull. Medals and plentiful lollipops will be awarded for both of these events! Learn more @monroecountyshriners + @edwardsnyl on Facebook.
The Union Pool opens at noon and there will be a Horse Shoe Tournament at 1:30 p.m. (sponsored by Kalico Kitchen). There’s also the annual Horse Show (sponsored by Southern WV Trail and Show Club) at Hinkle Farm on Willow Bend Rd at 1:30 p.m.
At 7 p.m., make your way back to Union for live music on the main stage featuring Brandon Laxton and Tulepo Drive w/ Caden Glover. Laxton is an up-and-coming singer-songwriter from Greenbrier County and at just 24 years young, he released his first original single, “Ruint Without You” which has amassed over 50,000 streams throughout all the major music streaming platforms since February 2022. Brandon pulls musical influences from country rock and blues and cannot wait to share his unique sound with you. Follow Laxton @brandon.laxton.79 on Facebook. Learn more about Caden Glover @caden.glover.509 on Facebook.
Festivities will conclude with a BANG w/Fireworksfrom Green Hill at 10 p.m.
Tickets are now on sale for the Farmer’s Day Raffle. The Grand Prize currently stands as $10,000 cash. 2nd Place is $2,500 cash; and third prize is an Oklahoma Joe Longhorn Black Triple Function Combo Grill donated by the Monroe Daycare Center. There are twenty-three other prizes up for grabs. They include cash, a Wild Boar Hunt at Mountain Meadow Hunting Preserve, A Winchester 10-Gun Fireproof Safe courtesy Sibold Excavating, Vortex Crossfire HD 10×42 Binoculars courtesy Greenbrier Valley Outdoors, a pair of Muckmaster Boots donated by Mountaineer Farm Center, an Oral B 10 Technology Professional Toothbrush Bundle by Kilcollin Dental, and so much more! At only $25/ticket and $100 for 5 tickets, why not take a chance on over $23,000 in prizes! The Drawing will be held on June 3rd at 7 p.m. This special event is a fundraiser for the Union Area Chamber of Commerce. Funds raised support special events like Farmer’s Day, Christmas festivities, scholarships, and other community programs.
New Farmer’s Day events are being added daily, stay in the loop by visiting farmersdaywv.com and “liking” the Union Area Chamber of Commerce Facebook page. Contact the Chamber at unionchamberwv@yahoo.com or request more info at 304-667-2584.
HASHTAGWV ART & ENTERTAINMENT Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, Christina Entenmann-Edwards has been a WV resident since September 2008. She was born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, and is no stranger to hard work and the entrepreneurial spirit. In 2006, she graduated from Quinnipiac University (Hamden, Connecticut), Cum Laude, with a B.A. in History. In 2010, she graduated with an M.B.A. from Liberty University (Lynchburg, Virginia). In February 2012, Christina launched HashtagWV as the area’s first full-color, free arts and entertainment tabloid + online platform. Christina completed the Leadership West Virginia class of 2021, which is an innovative program that grows, engages, and mobilizes leaders to ignite a life passion to move West Virginia forward.