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Lost Tradition Returns to Mountain State Forest Festival

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The 78th Annual Mountain State Forest Festival is underway in Elkins this week. Amid this year’s festivities and fun, an old tradition is making a comeback.

From 1930 to 1966, the Forest Festival included a theatrical pageant. It generally featured a cast of local children and included elaborate costumes.

But that rich tradition faded out nearly fifty years ago. This year, Festival organizers are reviving it with the help of the theatre program at Davis & Elkins College.

The pageant tells the story of the birth of the State of West Virginia and also the story of the founding of the Forest Festival.

The show will feature D&E’s student string band and dance troupe – Appalachian Ensemble  – along with a cast of more than two dozen D&E students.

Forest Festival organizers say the pageant will be a great addition to the Coronation ceremony for Queen Silvia and her court and they’re excited to see it return.

The pageant will be presented at 1:00 this Friday, October 3, as a prelude to the Coronation ceremonies at D&E’s Outdoor Amphitheatre.