MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The annual celebration of the state’s heritage is underway at West Virginia University with the 72nd annual Mountaineer Week.
“Mountaineer Week is our way of exposing all of our students on campus to the traditions and rich culture that we have here in West Virginia,” WVU Arts & Entertainment Marketing and Advertising Manager Kristie Stewart-Gale said. “So they have an idea where our Mountaineer heritage comes from.”
The event includes mountain music, wool spinning, beekeepers, broom making, woodworking and even moonshine making and history.
“We have Mark Hatfield in town who is a descendant of one of the key members of the Hatfield and McCoy Feud and he’s going to talk about moonshine distillation,” according to Stewart-Gale.
Students will also have the opportunity to taste authentic mountain comfort food like venison stew and soup bean and corn bread and give them a little history about why those are comfort foods here.”
Students will also participate in the PRT cram to how many can get into a PRT car. The record is 97 that was set in the year 2000.
The celebration concludes during halftime of the Texas Tech football game with the crowning of Mr. & Ms. Mountaineer. Kristie Stewart-Gale says the royalty is determined through an application process.
“Mr. & Ms. Mountaineer are students who not only excel academically but also in service to the community and to the university,” Stewart-Gale said.