STUFF TO DO On A Festive Fall Weekend

Here we are, heartily enveloped in Fall, and we have hit Fall Festival season, with tons of cool shenanigans to get into around the Mountain State and a few points beyond. As I have been doing of late, this a good time to remind you that THIS IS NOT A COMPLETE LIST OF EVENTS. It’s just a starting point, so don’t expect anything comprehensive, and if you feel strongly about me leaving anything out, feel free to mention it in the comments.

In Charleston, Tsubasacon, West Virginia’s Anime, Gaming, and Cosplay Convention. begins Friday and runs through the weekend the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center. Tsubasacon is West Virginia’s first Anime, Gaming and Cosplay convention. Originally founded in 2004 in Charleston, the convention switched hands a couple years later, moving to the Big Sandy Superstore Arena and Conference Center, where it spent quite a few years bringing anime, gaming and cosplay once a year to the residents of Huntington. In 2019, Tsubasacon returned to Charleston, and brought with it 2,000+ attendees to celebrate the weekend with anime, gaming, pop culture and of course, cosplay. It’s The Mountain State’s fandom Utopia.

Milton’s famed Pumpkin Festival begins Thursday and runs throughout the weekend, and if the idea of pumpkinry excites you, get thee to Milton, where they celebrate such things. I suppose that it’s The Mountain State’s Pumpkin Utopia.

At Tamarack Marketplace, in Beckley, it’s time for their Fallfest, which sports a stellar lineup of local musicians from right here in Appalachia. The fun starts at noon, Saturday. It’s all free and a lot of the names on the performer list should be familiar to listeners of Radio Free Charleston:

LIVE MUSIC LINEUP
Main Stage:
12 – 1 PM: Bad Keys of the Mountain
1 – 2 PM: Jared Stout
2 – 3 PM: Alabaster Boxer
3 – 4 PM: One Eyed Jack
4 – 5 PM: Matt Mullins & the Bringdowns
5 – 6 PM: Redline Band

Courtyard Stage:
12:30 – 1:30 PM: Randy Gilkey
1:30 – 2:30 PM: Ginger Wixx
2:30 – 3:30 PM: Andrew Adkins
3:30 – 4:30 PM: 18 Strings
4:30 – 5:30 PM: The Carpenter Ants

These are outdoor shows, so bring a lawn chair and dress accordingly.

Saturday at 11 AM in Princeton, celebrate the birthday of The Princeton Railroad Museum. There will be free birthday cake/cupcakes and drinks. At 2 PM you can see a play by Bramwell Players titled Dusk to Dawn. Be warned that there will be an appearance by Abraham Lincoln and Seltoee, a Native American.

Live Music is back at Taylor Books. There is no cover charge, and shows start at 7:30 PM. Friday Steve Himes takes the stage. Saturday a sterling talent, yet to be determined performs at the beloved bookstore/cafe/art gallery.

The World Famous Empty Glass Cafe has some great stuff this week to tell you about. Thursday at 5:30 PM, Swingstein and Robin return with Swing for a good cause. Friday Tim Courts plays during happy hour. We have graphics below for the rest of the weekend shows at The Glass.

Please remember that the pandemic is not over yet. It’s still a going concern with the ‘rona surging again. And now there are seasonal allergies, the flu, wayward motions to remove, rabid attack fleas, Pumpkin Spice Zombies and other damned good reasons to be careful. Many people who have very good reasons are still wearing masks, and many of us, understandably, are still nervous about being in crowds, masked or not. Be kind and understanding while you’re out.

Keep in mind that all shows are subject to change or be cancelled at the last minute.

If you’re up for going out, here are a few suggestions for the weekend, roughly in order…

WEDNESDAY