Festival Fridays
Festival Fridays in Jawbone Park, downtown Buckhannon. / My Buckhannon file photo

Everyone’s favorite Friday evening activity will return to Buckhannon starting June 3

BUCKHANNON – Festival Fridays will make its return this June after cutting its season short last year.

CJ Rylands, the president of Create Buckhannon, said the weekly gatherings will help usher in the summer starting June 3 and continue through August 6. Each event will run from 5 to 8:30 p.m. at Jawbone Park.

“The original intention was to create an opportunity for folks in the community to come out and spend time together in public spaces, at no cost,” Rylands said. “There’s free entertainment, vendors and the Farmers Market is there — they occupy several spaces.”

Create Buckhannon is still accepting applications for vendors, which can include artists, food purveyors and others.

“It’s $25 for the whole season, so it’s less than $3 per event to be a vendor,” Rylands said. “We used to restrict vendors, but we don’t do that anymore — nonprofits can even come down if they want to get any information out to the public.”

Each date will feature a different band, but the schedule has not been finalized yet. When available, the list of bands will be posted on Festival Friday’s Facebook page.

“We just want to get back to doing it really,” Rylands said. “We started last year and then we were interrupted, so we want to get back to doing what we have done in the past.”

Create Buckhannon is hoping to offer their chicken dinners, as long as there aren’t any shortages of ingredients.

“Chicken is still somewhat stable, but it all just depends on market conditions,” Rylands said. “We plan on doing it, but it will be week-to-week with pricing. A good example is lettuce. Last week it was $24 a case — that’s just iceberg — and this week it’s $70, so it really just depends.”

Rylands said he is glad to see a community event coming back and giving people a chance to interact again.

“The strength of any community is directly proportional to the strength of the connection between the citizens,” Rylands said. “Our overreaching goal is to strengthen the community by strengthening the connection between its citizens and just talking to each other.”

Featured

SHOPS & SERVICES

Buckhannon man held on $100,000 bail after being arrested on multiple drug charges

BUCKHANNON – A Buckhannon man was arrested Saturday after several illegal substances were allegedly found in his residence. Bryan Shaw, 41, of Buckhannon, was arrested for possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine, possession with intent to deliver heroin, possession with […]

Become a premium member to unlock immediate access to this story and thousands more. Plus you’ll wake up every morning to our email edition. Your subscription supports local news by local writers. Signing up is easy — just tap the button below!

Buckhannon City Council approves $6.5 million-dollar budget prioritizing public safety, infrastructure

BUCKHANNON – City council passed the largest budget in Buckhannon’s history Tuesday, with the two largest allocations once again earmarked for public safety operations and infrastructure maintenance, respectively. At its March 14 meeting – rescheduled from March 16 due to […]

Become a premium member to unlock immediate access to this story and thousands more. Plus you’ll wake up every morning to our email edition. Your subscription supports local news by local writers. Signing up is easy — just tap the button below!

Police arrest man they say was the driver in 2022 pursuit that ended in a wreck with two people ejected

BUCKHANNON – A Rock Cave man was arrested for allegedly fleeing from police officers in a vehicle, injuring himself and a passenger. Elijah Carpenter, 27, of Rock Cave was arrested Thursday for fleeing from an officer and fleeing or attempting […]

Become a premium member to unlock immediate access to this story and thousands more. Plus you’ll wake up every morning to our email edition. Your subscription supports local news by local writers. Signing up is easy — just tap the button below!

SHOPS & SERVICES

Softball Lady Bucs get one-hit by Lincoln’s Haller in debut in 10-0 setback

TENNERTON – For their season opener, the Buckhannon-Upshur softball Lady Bucs ran into one of the top pitchers in the state in Lincoln’s Delaney Haller. Haller was the Big 10 Conference Pitcher of the Year last season and was captain […]

Become a premium member to unlock immediate access to this story and thousands more. Plus you’ll wake up every morning to our email edition. Your subscription supports local news by local writers. Signing up is easy — just tap the button below!

Baseball ‘Cats get home doubleheader split with ABU

BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Wesleyan baseball team split with the Alderson Broaddus Battlers Monday, winning 7-2 in the first game and losing 7-0 in the second game. The bats were alive in Game

Inexperienced tennis Bucs fall in first two outings of 2023 season

BRIDGEPORT – The Buckhannon-Upshur tennis Buccaneers dropped their first two outings of the year last week. They opened their season at home last Thursday with a 7-0 setback to Robert C. Byrd and then went to Bridgeport Saturday and dropped […]

Become a premium member to unlock immediate access to this story and thousands more. Plus you’ll wake up every morning to our email edition. Your subscription supports local news by local writers. Signing up is easy — just tap the button below!

Lady Buc netters open season with win over Robert C. Byrd and narrow loss to John Marshall

BRIDGEPORT – The Buckhannon-Upshur Lady Buc tennis team is off to a 1-1 start to the season and was just an eyelash away from being a perfect 2-0. The Lady Bucs hosted Robert C. Byrd last Thursday and won a […]

Become a premium member to unlock immediate access to this story and thousands more. Plus you’ll wake up every morning to our email edition. Your subscription supports local news by local writers. Signing up is easy — just tap the button below!

SHOPS & SERVICES

Working in service: WVU research reaches all of West Virginia

Breakthroughs and research expertise nurtured at West Virginia University extend far beyond its labs, experimental sites and classrooms. In fact, WVU research efforts are unique compared to most universities, according to Vice President for Research Fred King. “While

Fairmont State University selects 2023 Presidential Scholarship winners

Three incoming Fairmont State University freshmen have been selected as the recipients of Fairmont State’s premier academic scholarship, the Charles J. McClain Presidential Scholarship. Sophie Stuart from Jefferson High School (Charles town, W.VA), Hailey Jordan

WVDEP hosting students on World Water Day

CHARLESTON, WV – In an effort to enrich students’ understanding of the importance of clean water, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) is hosting a water education event for area grade schools on