Grow out the beard, tune up the banjo and warm up the apple butter. West Virginia University’s 79th annual Mountaineer Week kicks off Monday in Morgantown, and for seven days the campus turns into one big celebration of the mountain traditions that made this state what it is.
The week runs November 9 through 15, packed with old-time music, storytelling, handmade crafts, regional food and friendly student competition, all built around honoring Appalachian heritage.
It all starts at noon Monday with one of the longest-running traditions on campus: the Beard Growing Contest in the Mountainlair Food Court. The contest dates back to 1949. Six WVU students got professional shaves back in September and have been growing ever since, and now they’ll find out who earns the title of best beard on campus.
Traditional craftsmanship shows up all week long. Fiber artist Kathryn Robinson will demonstrate weaving November 9 through 11, and visitors can lend a hand on a community loom project. Printmaker Blaire Phillips will demonstrate her craft November 9 and 10. On Tuesday, November 10, a quilting workshop invites participants to decorate fabric squares that will be pieced together into a quilt for display at the WVU Career Center.
Thursday night, November 12, belongs to the storytellers. “Out of the Woods: Echoes, Mimics, and the Unknown” begins at 6 p.m. in the Mountainlair’s Gluck Theatre, featuring Adam Booth, the 2022 West Virginia Governor’s Arts Award Folk Artist of the Year, along with Larry Jent, Fran Kirk and Jo Ann Dadisman.
The big crowd-pleasers arrive at the end of the week. The Arts and Crafts Fair fills the second floor of the Mountainlair with pottery, jewelry, books, hand-knitted scarves, photography, candles, food and bath and body goods from artisans chosen through a juried process. Across campus, the Country Roads Quilt Guild presents the Quilt Show in Elizabeth Moore Hall. Both are open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, November 13 and 14, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, November 15.
Bring your ears, too. Scheduled performers include Al Anderson, The Hillbilly Biscuits, the WVU Bluegrass Band and Matthew Keatley, better known as the “Banjo Guy,” plus hammered dulcimer players Pat Harper and Jeff Fedan.
There’s plenty more to sample along the way, including Appalachian food tastings, an apple butter demonstration and sale, and a presentation from the Avian Conservation Center of Appalachia. Five seniors will be honored as Mountaineers of Distinction at halftime of WVU’s November 14 home football game against Kansas.
The celebration wraps up Sunday, November 15, with a 2 p.m. white-line printmaking workshop at the Art Museum of WVU, inspired by the work of West Virginia-born artist Blanche Lazzell.
If you’ve ever wanted a week that feels like a front-porch visit with the whole state, this is it. Make the drive to Morgantown, bring the family, and come see why these traditions are still worth celebrating 79 years in.