The Vandalia Gathering is a popular festival devoted to old-time and

bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Bluegrass has roots in African America ...

, as well as related arts such as

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

quilt A quilt is a multi-layered textile, traditionally composed of two or more layers of fabric or fiber. Commonly three layers are used with a filler material. These layers traditionally include a woven cloth top, a layer of padding, batting or w ...

making, and cooking, which takes place each summer on the

state capitol A capitol, or seat of government, is the building or complex of buildings from which a government such as that of a U.S. state, the District of Columbia, or the organized territories of the United States, exercises its authority. Although m ...

grounds in Charleston,

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It was established in 1977. It is held on

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. It i ...

weekend in May. The festival features solo competitions, whose winners are awarded cash prizes. Performers at the festival have included Lester McCumbers,

Dwight Diller Dwight Diller (August 17, 1946 – 14 February 2023) was an American banjo and fiddle player and teacher. He was considered one of the most prominent exponents of the clawhammer banjo tradition. Diller lived in Hillsboro, West Virginia, and then ...

, Ginny Hawker and Tracy Schwarz, and Everett Lilly and the Lilly Mountaineers. There was no gathering in 2020 as officials cited the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

as grounds for cancellation.

Vandalia Award

The Vandalia Award is an honor given by the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History to recognize individuals "for their lifetime contribution to West Virginia and its traditional culture." The annual Vandalia Award ceremony occurs at the start of summer and typically on

weekend, and held at the Normal L. Fagan State Theater at the West Virginia Culture Center in Charleston.

References

External links

Official site
Folk festivals in the United States Festivals in West Virginia Old-time music festivals Bluegrass festivals Charleston, West Virginia Tourist attractions in Kanawha County, West Virginia Music festivals established in 1977 1977 establishments in West Virginia {{music-festival-stub

Vandalia Award

See also

References

External links