MOUNTAIN MUSIC

Every Wednesday, feet-stomping, hand-clapping melodies of old-time music add a soundtrack to a summer’s evening in Elkins City Park.

Here in this corner of the Allegheny Highlands, music is a way of life. You can imagine these musicians crowded together on a front porch, in a barn or at a park, pickin’ banjos or guitars until the early hours of the morning. They love music—anywhere, anytime.

Old-time music endures in part because of the Augusta Heritage Center, which sponsors Pickin’ in the Park on Wednesdays and an annual festival where musicians learn to play mountain music.

“It has always been a point of great pride in the Allegheny Highlands that this culture of music, food and dance be preserved and continued,” says Seth Young, executive director of the Augusta Heritage Center.

The annual Augusta Festival begins with three weeks of programming. Visitors can take weeklong seminars about different genres of music, such as classic country, swing and the blues. Or, they can learn about the folk arts of the Appalachian region, such as basket weaving, cooking, wood engraving, blacksmithing and folk medicine (participants hike into the forest to look for medicinal plants).

The last day of this storied festival culminates in an outdoor fair, held in July. Check for exact dates at: augustaheritagecenter.org.