Shepherd University

Featuring WV Vandalia-award winning fiddler Dave Bing, Steve Martin Banjo Prize-winning artist Jake Blount, and percussive dancer, scholar and square Dance Caller Becky Hill

Shepherd University’s Appalachian Heritage Festival is now celebrating its 30th anniversary celebrating the culture, music, history, and living traditions of our region in the heart of Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Over that time, thousands of community members, schoolchildren, and students have been introduced to the diverse culture of Appalachia and our state through workshops, lectures, and concert performances by our region’s most outstanding artists, historians, and cultural ambassadors.

Thanks to the support of the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation’s Central Appalachia Living Traditions grant program, the 30th anniversary festival is ENTIRELY FREE and will feature folklife workshops about African American contributions to the string band tradition, the music and legacy of the Hammons family of WV, literary reading and writing workshop, percussive dance demo and documentary film, an old-time square dance, and a showcase concert as well as open jams. We have joined forces with our community partners including Experience Shepherdstown, Alma Bea Restaurant, the Jefferson County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Four Seasons Books, the Shepherdstown Opera House, and a variety of wonderful community donors to build a weekend packed with free events.

The Appalachian Heritage Festival is made possible by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation’s Central Appalachia Living Traditions program.

The Festival is FREE but pay-what-you-can donations are gratefully accepted.

For more information, contact Rachael Meads at rmeads@shepherd.edu.

PARKING INFORMATION:

FREE parking is available in all Shepherd University parking lots after 4 pm on Friday. Visitors are welcome to park in any of the campus lots on weekends (no permit needed). Corporation of Shepherdstown parking info is also available HERE.