Residents from across Appalachia will gather for a new festival that aims to celebrate the region’s diverse history and culture with nature’s fall colors.
The Appalachian Color in the Hills Festival will take place Oct. 12-14 in Glouster and provide attendees with family-friendly events, featuring food from around the world and various activities for people of all ages.
“We’re really excited about it, mostly because it brings attention to other parts of the county,” said Paige Alost, executive director of the Athens County Convention and Visitors Bureau. “It really centers around the heritage and beauty of that part of the county and I think people will be able to see that.”
The festival is designed to take people back to the boom period of Appalachia when European immigrants moved here because of the coal boom at the turn of the century, said Charles Wood, chairman of the festival.
“I want it to take people back,” Wood said. “People in this area are the friendliest people and with the hills ablaze in the fall, I want people to feel like they walked back in time and I want them to take pride in this area.”
The festival is designed to honor the area’s ancestors and the people who shaped the history and culture of southeast Ohio, Wood said.
Food at the festival will reflect this sentiment, with vendors serving cuisine home to anywhere from Germany to India.
“We’ll have German, Hungarian, Polish, Greek and Indian food, to name a few,” Wood said. “Really any kind of food you could imagine.”
The festival will also celebrate the culture of the early settlers in the Appalachian area through demonstrations and crafts.
“We’ll also have a world-famous blacksmith coming to do a demonstration about how they made tools and things in the old days,” Wood said. “There will also be a booth that shows mining operations with people from West Virginia where you can look for gems and minerals.”
Wood said music played a large role in the lives of Appalachian settlers and the festival will feature many musical shows, some featuring artists from the area, including McGuffey Lane, Angela Perley and the Howlin’ Moons, The Fosters and other performers.
Among all of these activities, there will also be helicopter rides that fly over the lake and show the hills, pony rides and games for children. Representatives from the National Guard will be in attendance, and are bringing a moon bounce, rock wall, an obstacle course and other activities.
Meghan Shamblen, a sophomore studying commercial photography, said the festival is appealing both because of the people it celebrates and potential for great photos.
“Covering the event would not only provide a photographer with beautiful landscape and still life shots of the attractions,” Shamblen said, “but also show interactions of people attending the event or celebrating their love of Athens culture.”
cw105510@ohiou.edu
