CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Dozens of West Virginians were on hand Friday at the state Culture Center to celebrate the state’s 151st birthday.
First Lady Joanne Tomblin and Secretary of Education and the Arts Kay Goodwin cut several large sheet cakes with the state symbol and ‘Happy Birthday’ written in icing. They handed out pieces of cake to those gathered for the birthday celebration.
Tomblin explained what the party was all about.
“To celebrate our state, to celebrate our people, to celebrate the great place in which we live and work.”
Events were scheduled all day at the Culture Center and at Independence Hall in Wheeling. But the scope of the party paled in comparison to last year’s sesquicentennial four-day celebration that included a 3-D movie projected onto the facade of the capitol, a parade, three nights of fireworks and dozens of other activities.
Tomblin said this year’s celebration is much smaller but still very important.
“It’s a birthday and everybody likes to celebrate birthdays. I think we need to celebrate the good folks we are, the good state we live in and the good people we have here,” the First Lady said.