RIPLEY, W.Va. –An over 60 year Appalachian art and craft tradition is again making its way to the Mountain State, but this time its adding something new specifically for scholars of the arts.
The 61st year of the Mountain State Art & Craft Fair will return to the grounds of the Cedar Lakes Conference Center, where its been the site of the fair since its inception in 1963, however, this year the fair has incorporated the Mountain State Art and Craft Fair Scholarship Fund to the mix. The scholarship and grant fund is way to continue to grow appreciation of visual art, heritage music and dance education in West Virginia, and qualified participants are given the opportunity to academically explore those arts.
“This is a tradition that started back during the state centennial I believe, and it has been a larger event at times and a smaller event at times, and we’re still going,” Vice President of Publicity and Advertising for MSACF, Buddy Davidson told MetroNews.
After taking a year off from the event during the peak of Covid, Davidson said MSACF made a full comeback last year for its 60th anniversary.
Now it returns with the same traditional crafts, including wood turning, stained glass and pottery making, basket weaving and even kite making for the kids.
Davidson said the fair has become popular over the years because people are not only given a firsthand look at how the Appalachian art and craft is made, but they get to participate in making it.
“What makes our event special is that people can come and see some of the best artisans and crafters around actually making the products they sell, and we also have a lot of opportunity for people to come in and actually take part in making the craft themselves,” he said.
Davidson said they expect to have up to about 70 different artesian vendors alone.
However, along with that, a number of food vendors, a quilt show, chances to win raffles, cooking demonstrations and more will be dispersed throughout the three-day event. Davidson said the West Virginia Marketplace will have a tent set up selling many locally-grown products.
In addition, he said some of the best bluegrass pickers and heritage music throughout Appalachia will also be performing during the entirety of the event.
Davidson said while it’s a juried show and the artisans must meet quality requirements to sell their products, he said it’s also about taking it back to the basics and appreciating where and how these crafts came to be.
“The items that you’ll see there are of the highest artistic value, but this is also a heritage event, this is a way we preserve the traditional ways of making things that we relied on in years past,” Davidson said.
The fair will take place from June 30 through July 2 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Admission to the fair is $5 for people 12 years and older and free for kids 11 years and younger. Free parking is also available.
People can find out more by visiting MSACF on its website, where applicants of the scholarship fund can also visit a page there to learn more about that program. Applicants must be 18 years or older and a resident of West Virginia to apply for the scholarship program.