MARCH
20,21, 2004

18,19, 2006

17,18, 2007

PICKENS,
WEST
VIRGINIA,
USA

Spend the weekend at West Virginia's first festival of the
year. What a great place for a family outing after a long
winter of hybernation. Jump in the car and head to the
hills, and share in the fun. Don't miss the Tour of the

Lodging
and
Dining

Pickens, West Virginia, located on the right-hand folk of the
Buckhannon River, came into being in the 1890's. The first
sawmill was located in the town in 1891. By 1892, a railroad
was running to the expanding town. (Incidentally, the day railroad
service began-July 4, 1892-it snowed in Pickens!) By the turn of the
century, Pickens was well-established with Presbyterian, Baptist,
and Catholic churches, a number of stores, a funeral home, several
hotels, and of course, a saloon. By the late 1930's, Pickens was very
much a lumber town, beginning to cut second growth from the same
area where first cuts were made in the 1890's. But coal mining began
to play a part in the economy of the region about this time. While
industry is significantly down from the first half of the twentieth
century, lumber and coal still have a place in the daily life of
Pickens. It is not the thriving town it once was, but it still maintains
a fierce pride in its self-sufficiency.

Buy from some of the finest crafters in West Virginia. You will
find everything you need including baskets, pottery, art work,
candles, woodworking, ceramics, handmade quilts and much more.

Art and Photo Show
Woodchopping Exhibition

Special Presentation from West Virginia Wineries

Quilt Show and Sale
.....Antique Show and Sale

U.S. Postal Service will have a special
concellation. Also stamps and collector's
item available.

In late winter, here in our mountains surrounding Pickens, West
Virginia, when nights are freezing and days begin to warm, it's maple
sugaring time!! The snow begins to melt, the ice to thaw, and the sap
rises in the maple sugar trees. We tap the trees, drilling 2 1/2 inches
deep and hammer a spout into the tap hole where either a bucket or
plastic pipeline that connects each tree is hung. The sap drips into
the buckets or flows through the line to storage tanks. Next, we
collect and transport the sap to a sugar house where it is boiled down
in large evaporating pans making the thick, golden syrup. It takes
about forty-five gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup.
The hot syrup is then filtered and packed into storage jugs.

West Virginia has a long history of sugar making. The indians made
syrup first. They threw hot rocks into hollowed out logs that were
filled with sap. The early settlers quickly learned to make the sweet
sruff and use it as their main source of sugar. Today, maple syrup
and sugar are widely used in cooking, baking, and as topping.

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