The Pocahontas County Chamber of Commerce will once again host the Autumn Harvest Festival and West Virginia RoadKill Cook-off Saturday September 26, 2015 in downtown Marlinton according to Chamber president Mike Holstine. “Autumn provides the perfect setting for an old-fashioned harvest celebration,” said Holstine. “This festival showcases not only our fine arts and crafts but also our knack to have a good time.”
Highlights of this year’s festival will include dozens of West Virginia craft vendors with handmade crafts and art, a 5K Possum Trot 5K Run/Walk, Strut Your Mutt Dog Show, horseshow tournament, the WV Biscuit bake-off and the famous (or infamous) WV RoadKill Cook-off.
Music for this year’s event is straight from the heart of West Virginia featuring Mud Hole Control from 10 a.m. to noon, The Black Mountain Bluegrass Boys from noon to 2 pm and The Bing Brothers with Jake Krack from 2 to 4 pm.
Come on down to the Pocahontas County Opera House Friday evening from 7 to 9 pm for the Rockin’ Redneck Square Dance. Called by Mack Samples with Mud Hole Control providing the music; this first-time event will feature cash prizes for costumes for both men and women.
The festival is built around the wild game cook-off, animals you might find along the roadside. Prizes for the best recipes are: 1st place $1200.00; 2nd place $600.00, 3rd place $300.00. There are also cash prizes of $150 each for Showmanship and the People’s Choice. A $5 ticket allows you to taste each of the wild game entries. If your stomach doesn’t enjoy wild game, there’s dozens of booths which feature fair type food including walking tacos, kettle corn, hot dogs and hamburgers, fudge, pizza and much more.
On Saturday bakers from around the region will compete for the blue ribbon and bragging rights to the best biscuits in West Virginia. Biscuits are a very common staple on the dinner table in the Appalachian Mountains. The bake-off features three categories: traditional, sweet, and savory. Biscuits are judged on appearance, taste and texture.
The day ends with a special tribute to the Hammons Family with the Hammons Musical Celebration at the Opera House in Marlinton. You can find all the information, rules and registration forms and start times for the RoadKill cook-off, the biscuit bake-off, and the Possum Trot 5K Run/Walk on the web at wvroadkillcookoff.com
– Gail Hyer. September 2015.
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.