The ever-popular Potomac Eagle Excursion from Moorefield through the Trough will run Saturday afternoon. Passengers board the Eagle at noon and travel along the South Branch of the Potomac River, enjoying early fall foliage, the bald eagles that nest in stately trees and cruise the river for fish, and the educational narrative that is popular with children and adults.

The train boards at Jefferson St. Crossing in Moorefield at noon and returns to Jefferson St. Crossing at 3pm. Ticket prices for the Trough excursion are $20 for adults and $10 for youths 6 to 16. Children under six ride free. Tickets are available at the Hardy County Library in Moorefield and the Lost River Craft Cooperative.

While people are enjoying the roundtrip through the Trough, passengers arriving earlier on the Eagle from Romney to Heritage Weekend will tour historic homes in the South Branch Valley.

Tickets prices for the Romney to Moorefield include a free house tour ticket. Tickets can be purchased at the Eagle's Romney ticket office or by calling (304) 822-7464 or (304) 424-0736.

New this year for Heritage Weekend will be a tour of the vineyard and winery of Steve and Lucy West. Mr. West planted his first grapes at Wateredge Farm, located at 1284 River Road, in the 1970's and he now has four acres covered with vines. On Sunday at 1pm, Mr. West will meet interested folks at his vineyard for a talk about the fine art of growing wine grapes in West Virginia. If the weather holds true, his cham­bourcin variety will be ready for picking, and volunteers will be solicited to help with this task. By 2:15 pm, the tour will continue at the West-Whitehill Winery and sales outlet located on Route 220 between Moorefield and Petersburg. He will continue his discussion of the wine making process at this location. Wine will be available for tasting and purchase as it every weekend. The fee to tour the vineyard will be $3.00 per person (House tour ticket holders and children under 12 are free). Proceeds will benefit Heritage Weekend activities. To reach the vineyard, take Rt. 220 South out of Moorefield, turn right onto Fisher Road. After crossing the bridge, turn left on River Road. Turn right into the parking area by the West's mailbox approximately 1.3 miles down River Road.

The postcard perfect country church on Lower Cove Road in Lost City will be open for viewing Saturday, 10 am to 2 pm, and visitors and old friends are invited to a special service at 11 Sunday and as guests of the Ivanhoe Presbyterian Church congregation at a covered-dish dinner at noon.

The Mathias Ruritan Club will be ready Saturday at 8 am to serve pancakes to hungry crowds coming to the old Mathias School cafeteria. Service will continue until Noon. Pancakes will be topped with maple syrup tapped and refined just up the road. The school house is located on Upper Cove off WV 259. There will be a charge for the meal which will benefit the services the Club provides to the community.

The Town of Wardensville will host an Open House and Heritage Day event at the Wardensville Visitor Center located on Rt 259 in the north end of town. Activities include free light refreshments, historic photo exhibit of Wardensville, table top displays by local groups showcasing their history and achievements, and craft, quilt and art displays. The Visitor Center is located in an old schoolhouse/railroad station that has undergone major renovations including public restrooms and a conference room. The building will be open from 10 am - 5 pm Saturday only.

Sorry, this event has been cancelled.

The homes tour is a central attraction of Heritage Weekend. Tickets to the homes tour are available at all three headquarters locations. Tickets for the entire tour are $12.00. Tour of a single home is $5.00. Get information, directions, and house tour tickets at the following Welcome Centers:

Hardy County Public Library, Main Street, Moorefield (304) 538-6560
Lost River Craft Cooperative, WV#259, Lost River (304) 897-7242
Antiques Etc., 295 N Main St., Wardensville, (304) 874-3300

For a detailed description of each historic building on the tour, please visit the "House Tours" page.

With roots that run deep, the folks of Mathias honor their heritage and history during Heritage Weekend at the Mathias Community Center where you'll find good food and handmade crafts, including quilts, comforters, crochet items, candy and bread, wooden benches and bird feeders, cookware, baby clothes, jam and jelly, soap, outdoor plant stands, paintings and more. The Community Center will be open from 10 am - 5 pm on Saturday and Noon - 5 pm on Sunday.

Juried Appalachian crafts by local and regional artisans are available for sale at the Lost River Craft Cooperative at the historic Harper Barn on WV 259 in Lost River. Watch weavers, spinners, woodworkers, blacksmiths and other crafts people demonstrate their skills, and shop for their crafted work on the first floor of the barn, in itself worth the trip.

A clothesline art show displays the work of regional and local arts. Enjoy mountain music on the grounds, and be sure and tour the Inn at Lost River sitting across the road to the left. (Open from 1 - 4 pm ONLY on both days.) The craft co-op and museum are open 10 am - 6 pm Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Again this year, Heritage Weekend is proud to welcome photographer Albert Mach and his outstanding display of Fine Art Giclees and artistic photo renderings of scenes from Hardy and Grant County. Giclees is a revolutionary printing process which is identified by its brilliant color and razor sharp detail. Mr. Mach will have at least 250 Fine Art Giclees which must be seen to be appreciated. The exhibit will be located in the lobby of the Hardy County Courthouse. With the original construction taking place in 1792-93, the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Sites and is worth stopping in to admire. Mr. Mach's display includes a collection of vintage cameras and photography equipment dating from the 1800's to the present. Many of these were the cutting edge "high tech" equipment of their day. The exhibit will be open from 9 am - 5 pm on Saturday and 1 - 5 pm on Sunday. There is no admission charge. Photos will be available for purchase.

Saturday and Sunday will provide an opportunity to view and admire horsepower from another era in the parking lots of Summit Community Bank and Summit Financial Group. Saturday will feature a showing of antique farm equipment organized by Gerald Sites.

On Sunday, John Reels has plans for a large display of antique autos. Enjoy seeing the cars your grandfather drove in what promises to be a large display of automotive gems. Thank to Summit Community Bank for being a sponsor of the auto show.

On Saturday at 10 am, Terry Richardson Lic #1817 will take his place in the front of the Old Gym at Moorefield High School to begin the Heritage Weekend auction of antiques and collectibles. Items up for auction can be either donated or offered on consignment with a 20% commission fee. Items should be accompanied with a written history if possible. The Heritage Weekend Committee will receive a portion of the profits for future activities. Items can be brought to the gym on Friday evening from 4 - 10 pm. If that is not convenient, please contact Mr. Richardson at 530-9110 or 851-7010 to arrange for delivery at another time.

The Highland Star Quilters Guild is keeping the Appalachian art of quilting alive, and their annual display of quilts and coverlets is one of the most popular attractions of Heritage Weekend. Last year, the show featured the McCoy Museum's collection of woven coverlets. This year, embroidered quilts, cross-stitched quilts and crazy quilts will be featured in the center court area. Again this year, the 2008 winners of the prestigious Hoffman Challenge are on display. As always, the public will get to cast their vote for the people's choice and their favorites in several other categories.

The Quilt Show, held at Moorefield Elementary School, is open Friday, 7 – 9 pm, Saturday 10 am - 5 pm and Sunday 1 - 4 pm. Admission is $1. Children and students are admitted free.

A favorite stop during Heritage Weekend is the craft show which has been moved back downtown to the Moorefield High School. Dozens of vendors from throughout the region sell handmade items running the gambit from candles, and soap to woodwork and leather goods. The craft show has free admission, and has a preview opening on Friday from 7 - 9 pm. Saturday hours are from 9 am - 7 pm and Sunday from 11 am - 3 pm.

Local and regional artists display and sell their work at the art show annually held in the large meeting room of the Hardy County Public Library in Moorefield.

This year an exhibition by artist Barry Vance entitled "Dwelling in the Backcountry" will be on display in the Main Reading Room.

For an educational and fun time for the entire family, don't miss Reymann Memorial Farm, the West Virginia University research farm on WV 259 just a mile out of Wardensville. Farm manager Jerry Yates is giving hay-ride tours of the farm, including the especially popular experimental fish hatchery, at 10 am and 2 pm on Saturday and Sunday. Small farm animals are here for the petting. While there, visit the Claggett House, the restored mansion built in the mid 19th Century.

Again this year, the folks in Arkansaw will be putting on a celebration that brings families back for reunions, and visitors back for good food, good music, and an all around good time. You can expect bake-off quality pies, roast beef and country ham sandwiches, homemade chili and vegetable soups and all the extras. On Sunday only, they are pulling out all stops with a chicken dinner being served to the public. On Saturday, there will be a kettle of applebutter being made as a demonstration, and the butter will be sold.

Hours are 9 am - 6 pm on Saturday and 11 am - 5 pm on Sunday. Several musical groups have already been lined up to provide entertainment with the possibility of more. On Saturday and Sunday at 1 pm, Dave King, Elvis Impersonator and Gospel Singer will entertain. On Saturday from 4 - 6 pm, 5-of-a-Kind, a traditional bluegrass group from Strasburg, VA will take the stage. On Sunday, The Rinard Family will play from 2 - 4 pm and the Ricochet Quarter will entertain with comedy and songs beginning at 4 pm. Local craft items will be for sale, so bring your lawn chair and your appetite, and plan on a relaxing time on the deck of the Arkansaw Community Center.

On Friday at 7 pm, Saturday at 1 pm, and on Sunday at 2 pm, there will be special performances of "Little Women" the classic stage play based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott. Based on her own family experiences, Little Women follows the adventures of Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy March as they grow up in Civil War America. The beloved story of the March sisters is timeless and deals with issues as relevant today as when they were written. With this production, the story will be brought to life as an exhilarating new musical filled with glorious music, dancing and heart. Little Women embodies the complete theatrical experience, guaranteeing a night filled with laughter, tears, and a lifting of the spirit. There will be an admission for the performance. Tickets are availalbe for $10.00 each at the following locations:

Moorefield Town Library
O'Neill's Restaurant
South Branch Inn
Summit - Moorefield
Summit - Petersburg
Lost River Grill

Thanks so much for your support! Make sure you take time out of your busy schedule to come see the show!

Two historic churches in Moorefield will retrieve Books of Worship from the past and will give the audience a glimpse of a typical worship service from a much earlier era.

At the Moorefield Presbyterian Church, the service begins at 11 am with the Rev. Katherine C. Jackson presiding. This year the church will be celebrating its Scottish heritage with bagpipe music and the blessing of the clans.

Emmanuel Episcopal Church will conduct a worship using the 1789 Book of Common Prayer and Eucharistic bread that would have been used during the Civil War.

Some members of the congregation will dress in period attire, and the original prayer books will be on display. Rev. Michael Simon will lead the service which is also scheduled for 11 am.

Jousting, which originated in medieval England as competition for honor and riches between two knights on horseback and armed with a lance, a sword and a circular shield, was popular through the 15th Century. It survives today as a non-violent but no less challenging competition using rings instead of humans as targets. The Knights of the South Branch Valley, which was formed in 1957 to revive the competition as a test of horsemanship, keeps the skill alive to this day and annually performs at Moorefield Town Park during Heritage Weekend, this year at 11 am.

A necessary skill to provide food and security for the frontier family, muzzle loading of flintlocks is today a sport enjoyed by gun enthusiasts in competition more challenging than shooting range contests. One of the unique aspects of the muzzle-loading shoot is the use of simple handmade targets of tin, coal and straw rather than paper bull's-eye targets. The crude targets increase the level of difficulty and more closely resemble the challenge the frontiersmen faced. The annual muzzle loading exhibition is held, as in the past, at the Rod and Gun Club on South Fork Road just outside Moorefield at 10 am on Saturday.

Added this year will be a 22 Caliber Match also scheduled for 10 am. Rules are open site only at 25 yards. No scopes or peep sites. Participants under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans, Camp 582, McNeill's Rangers, is once again sponsoring living history demonstrations and exhibits during Heritage Weekend to educate the public about how life was lived in a typical Civil War camp. Expect to see both young and old, men and women, dressed in authentic clothing of the period. Tents, cooking gear, and weapons will be in use and on display. The site of the encampment will be at the Willows from 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday only. Admission is free.

The South Branch Fiddle and Banjo Contest will be held at McCoy's Grand Theatre in downtown Moorefield on Saturday starting at 6 pm. An acoustic gem, the McCoy is a restored 1920's theater.

Competition is held for adults in fiddle and banjo in fiddle, banjo and mandolin for youths. The Keplinger Family Blue Grass Band provides opening and intermission entertain­ment. Tickets are $10 per seat and available at Hardy County Public Library and on-line at www.heritageweekend.com. Be aware that this event usually sells out in advance.

Thanks to JR Keplinger and Stan Merritt for their assistance in organizing this great showcase for local/regional talent.