After over a month of being away from Elkins, I'm returning home Thursday morning for my favorite time of the year. I've been told the trees in the mountains are changing, and I can't wait to see them again. For most Elkins residents, this week is the week when the town population swells to twice its normal size for everyone flocking to our mountain town to celebrate our surrounding forests. It's Mountain State Forest Festival time. A carnival comes to town, our queen is crowned and a ball is given for her ascension as the representative of the forest. Celebrations in the city park are thrown that entertain and inform guests that travel from all corners of the United States- even from many different parts of the world. Parades are marched, concerts are held, craft festivals ooze out of many buildings throughout the town, and people fill the streets for a solid three days.
Forest Festival time always was a big deal at our house. Before I turned twelve, we lived directly on the parade route and so everyone we knew from out of town would stay at our house during the big Festival Weekend. As a little girl, I remember endless amounts of food always on the table, regardless of the time of day. We even had people that thought we were serving an open house and came in with the intention of buying a meal. (They ate for free of course!) I also remember living in a house that, during that weekend, held almost every person I held most dear to my heart. As a child- as a human being- who could ask for more than that? Perhaps this is the reason that I love going home for the Fall.
This weekend is no exception. I'll be returning home Thursday morning, and the first thing I plan to do is change into my riding jeans and boots and take my lovely buckskin pony out for a ride. Doesn't she look like a fun one?
Then, after a nice relaxing ride along the forested road, I'll get to see my family (my mother just returned today from her escapades in Europe with her coworkers) and visit the craft fairs all over town. Friday afternoon our Maid Sylvia will be crowned queen at her coronation on the Davis & Elkins campus.
After the coronation, my friends from high school will be arriving in town, a sight for sore eyes, no doubt, after the month I've had. That's when the real celebration will begin- there's no telling what we'll get into when enough of us find each other in the streets of Elkins during the annual Fireman's Parade- my favorite parade of the year. My great-uncle will be in his usual place aboard one of the Elkins Volunteer Fire Department trucks, standing proud.
Early Saturday morning, I may be able to catch the Knights of the South Branch Valley Riding Tournament (if horses are involved, you can bet I'll be there!). Watching those great animals run is always fun.
Saturday afternoon is the Grand Feature Parade, and one of my closest friends is marching with the AB College Battler Band- their first marching band ever! In the evening, the band show, where her band will be the honored guests, will take place.
Sunday morning will be another horseback ride for my friend and I-- we board our horses at the same barn, and her gelding and my mare seem to get along fairly well. Sunday is also when the closing ceremony for the Forest Festival will be held. All will begin to settle down once more.
I can't wait for this weekend. Writing this blog today has given me insight into one very important thing: even with as few career opportunities as there are in Elkins, I still love this town with all my heart. And why shouldn't I? It contains my family, my horse, my history... My Appalachian heart is beginning to peak through, isn't it? Perhaps this is why I love writing about my hometown, and the wonderful people of Appalachia (fictional and nonfictional). Perhaps, for the time being, returning to this place after graduation isn't a bad idea. Perhaps.
As a final note, quite a few of my friends on Facebook have been posting their Princess photos from Forest Festival as their profile picture- I'm not that drastic, but I will leave a picture of my year as the WV DNR Representative to Maid Sylvia's Court (yes, as a princess). :)
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