Celebrating Fall at the Cranberry Shindig

 

The 27th annual Cranberry Shindig will be held at the Cranberry Mountain Nature Center on Sunday, September 28th. Diana Stull is the Director of the Nature Center.

“The Cranberry area is always beautiful, but it’s particularly nice in the fall,” Stull said. “We expect that this year, the fall color may be a little bit early, so we should have nice fall colors the day of the Shindig. It’s always a good time to walk around the Cranberry Glades and check it out because all of the vegetation there turns—whether it’s trees or plants—everything turns fall colors. It’s just a beautiful hike this time of year.”

According to Stull, this year will include new highlights as well as old favorites. “We’ll have Old Dominion Cloggers back here again, and they’re going to be here around one o’clock,” she said. “They have their dancers and also they provide music with their dancing. We’ll also have Nelson Tinnel and he demonstrates blacksmithing. We have Joe Nutter, and Variety Pack will be on the stage on the lawn of the Nature Center.

“We have a local artist from Braxton County, Joe Petit, and he’s going to have an art show set up in the auditorium,” Stull said. “We also have some local authors, including Luther Baker, Bonnie Ward, and Mark Romano, and they’ll sell books and sign them and talk with the public. Mark has a lot of old logging and railroading photographs from the turn of the century, and he’s trying to get those identified.”

One of the big features at the Shindig every year is the crafters. Stull explained that the event always has a focus on traditional crafting, and they encourage crafters to include demonstrations. “This year, we have woodworking; we have someone doing apple cider, some quilting,” she said. “We have Pocahontas County maple syrup, and along with that they’ll be showing people how they tap the trees and make the syrup. And I hear that they have also purchased a cotton candy machine, so they’ll have maple cotton candy.”

“We’ve got pottery. We have people who make homemade fudge and jellies and jams. We have a wood-sculptress who comes every year, and she’s got beautiful work,” Stull said.

The Nature Center is also a great access point for a number of trails. “Right here at the Nature Center, we have a short trail, just our trail around the Center, and it has a nice overlook at the end,” Stull said. “We also are the trailhead for the Pocahontas Trail that heads back toward Richwood. You could start here on the Pocahontas Trail here at the Nature Center and hike out and meet up with Fork Mountain Trail and walk all the way to Richwood without ever getting near the main road.”

“We’re also just ½ mile from the road to the Cranberry Glades, where you can walk the Cranberry Glades or hit the Cowpasture Trail which is really popular, especially in the fall,” she said. “And [we’re] a short drive to all the scenic trails on the Highland Scenic Highway.”

The Cranberry Shindig will take place on Sunday, September 28th from 11 am to 4 pm During the Shindig, all merchandise will be 20% off. For more information, contact the Cranberry Mountain Nature Center at 304-653-4826

“Come to the Autumn Harvest Festival on Saturday; come to the Shindig on Sunday. Drive the Scenic Highway, see the fall color,” Stull said. “It’s just a really good weekend.”

Story By

Megan Moriarty

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