West Virginia
Ways to celebrate West Virginia Day in 2024
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — There are several events and special activities happening over the next week for West Virginia’s birthday on June 20. Here’s a few weekend and day-of events to check out.
Morgantown’s WV Birthday Party
This free, family-friendly event is held every year in downtown Morgantown. According to a press release from Main Street Morgantown, the party is happening on Saturday, June 15 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. This year’s party will include a beer garden, Kids’ Zone, vendors, a vintage market and live music by Ryan Cain & the Ables, Grace Campbell, and Adrian & the Soul Miners. The event is free, but beer garden tickets are $20 and can be purchased in advance online here. Additional information is available on Main Street Morgantown’s website.
Official West Virginia Day Celebration
In a West Virginia Day celebration in Charleston on June 20, Gov. Jim Justice and his wife, Cathy, will announce the winner of the Great West Virginia Hot Dog Sauce Cook-Off. Additional details about the event have not been released as of June 13.
WV Coal Festival
The West Virginia Coal Festival in Madison runs from Thursday, June 19 to Sunday, June 22. It will have live music, vendors, a cornhole tournament, Mullet Showdown, pet contest and pie eating contest. Although not specifically a West Virginia Day event, what’s more West Virginian that a festival celebrating an industry the state was built from? Additional details are available on the event website.
Meagher’s WV Day Cocktails
If you’re not looking for a specific event, Meagher’s Irish Pub in Bridgeport is celebrating West Virginia Day throughout the month of June with special cocktails, including the Mothman Old Fashion with Mothman simple syrup and walnut bitters, the Apple Butter Fizz made with apple butter syrup, the Strawberry Festival Sangria, the Mountaineer Mule made with blueberry puree, The Kanawha, the Almost Heaven Martini, the West VirGINia and Tonic made with blueberry rosemary syrup, and the Black Bear Fizz made with blackberry puree. For more details, check out Meagher’s Facebook page.
WV State Folk Festival
This festival in Glenville celebrates West Virginians’ pioneer history and culture from Thursday, June 20 to Sunday, June 23. Activities will have a small town West Virginia feel and include Appalachian craft shows, gospel sings and banjo and fiddle contests. Click here for more information.
WV Birthday Train Trip
The Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad in Romney, West Virginia is celebrating both West Virginia Day and National American Eagle Day on June 20 with short, one-hour train trips for $13. The trip promises “engaging and memorable experience for participants of all ages.” Lucky riders might even see a bald eagle or other West Virginia wildlife. To reserve a ticket or for more information, visit the Potomac Eagle website and click “Book Now.”
Cass Scenic Railroad in Pocahontas County is also offering train rides through the West Virginia Mountain Rails on June 20, but they are just the usual trips.
Blenko WV Day Pieces
If you’re looking for an exclusive piece of West Virginia art, this year’s West Virginia Day pieces by Blenko Glass Company are inspired by the Green Bank Telescope, including a limited edition white charger that looks like the largest movable radio telescope, an alien-inspired decanter and a Green Bank Telescope suncatcher. The 161 “Wavelength” charger pieces will be sold in an online auction at noon on Saturday, June 15, and the decanter and suncatcher can be preordered online here.
Losing to Kansas State wiped away all hope for West Virginia to make the NCAA Tournament. That seems to be the clear consensus in the Mountain State, but is there actually still a chance? Well, I guess so.
ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi still has West Virginia listed as a team to consider, the second team outside of the “next four out” grouping.
Lunardi’s current NCAA Tournament bubble
Last Four Byes: Missouri, Texas A&M, Texas, Ohio State
Last Four In: SMU, Santa Clara, New Mexico, Indiana
First Four Out: VCU, Auburn, Virginia Tech, Cincinnati
Next Four Out: San Diego State, USC, California, Seton Hall
Next: Stanford, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Arizona State
How is this even possible?
Short answer? I don’t really know.
My best guess as to why? Two things: the respect for the Big 12 and the opportunities left on the table, and two, an incredibly weak bubble.
Should West Virginia beat UCF on Friday, it will give the Mountaineers a 9-9 record in Big 12 play. That’s not as much of a guarantee to make the dance as having a winning record, but still, it’s an impressive mark, especially when, in this instance, they would have wins over Kansas, BYU, and sweeps over Cincinnati and UCF.
If you ask me, they still have too many bad losses for it to matter. I mean, even if they got red-hot out of nowhere and made it to the Big 12 championship game next week, is that enough? Potentially, but that’s a big IF.
The one thing WVU does have on its side is the number of Quad 1 wins, which they have five of. Virtually every other team in college basketball that has a minimum of five Quad 1 victories is expected to make the tournament. In that previously mentioned scenario, they would add at least one more Quad 1 win in the conference tournament, giving the committee something to think about.
The bubble is just incredibly weak, though. Like, how in the world is Auburn, who is 16-14 currently, the second team out of the field? Cincinnati, which WVU swept and has the same record as, is the fourth team in the “first four out” grouping.
At this point, the only path I see is for the Mountaineers to cut down the nets in Kansas City — good luck with that. We could be having a very different conversation if they didn’t lallygag their way through the first 30 minutes of the games against Utah and Kansas State.
Buckle up, Upshur County. Starting Friday, March 6, law enforcement officers across West Virginia will step up seatbelt enforcement as part of a statewide Click It or Ticket campaign running through March 23.
The West Virginia Governor’s Highway Safety Program (GHSP) announced the high-visibility mobilization as a warm-up to the national seatbelt campaign in May. The goal is to ensure every occupant — front seat or back, driver or passenger — is buckled on every trip.
“During this mobilization, law enforcement officers across West Virginia will be out in full force. They will be strictly ticketing drivers who are unbuckled or who are transporting children not properly restrained in car seats,” said Jack McNeely, Director of the GHSP.
The numbers behind the campaign are sobering. In 2023, 40% of passenger vehicle occupants killed in West Virginia crashes were unrestrained. The state’s seatbelt usage rate has also slipped — from 91.9% in 2024 to 91.6% in 2025.
Rural drivers face elevated risk despite a common assumption that country roads are safer. In 2023, 65% of the state’s traffic fatalities occurred in rural areas, compared to 35% in urban centers.
Under West Virginia law, wearing a seatbelt is required. A citation carries a $25 fine, though McNeely says the real point isn’t the penalty.
“Click It or Ticket isn’t about the citations; it’s about saving lives,” he said. “A ticket is a wake-up call. It is far less expensive than the alternative — paying with your life or the lives of your family and friends.”
For more information about the West Virginia Governor’s Highway Safety Program, visit highwaysafety.wv.gov or call 304-926-2509.
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WCHS) — A West Virginia man accused of threatening to attack President Donald Trump and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement workers was federally indicted this week.
Cody Lee Smith, 20, of Clarksburg was indicted on two counts of threats to murder the president, one count of influencing and retaliating against federal officials by threat of murder and one count of influencing a federal official by threat of murder, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of West Virginia.
Smith is accused of making a series of public posts on Instagram encouraging and threatening the murder of Trump, those who support him, Israelis and “all government officials,” the news release said.
The indictment also alleges that Smith sent a direct message via Instagram to Donald J. Trump, Jr., stating he would kill his father by cutting his “jugular.”
In a phone call with the ICE tip line, Smith also threatened to kill ICE agents in Clarksburg and employees staffing the tip line.
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Smith faces up to 5 years for each of the presidential threat charges and faces up to 10 years in federal prison for each of the remaining counts.
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