This is the second in the First Friday Concerts in the Square series, which will run every 1st Friday May-October. Concerts are FREE & open to the public. The event will also feature The HeART Market, with artisan vendors who pour their heart into their work, and craft activities for the kiddos. ❤ Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs & picnic blankets, and enjoy dining, strolling the shops, creative activities and all The Grassroots District has to offer. Brenna Dugan will open the show from 6-6:45 and Andrew Adkins & 1863 will take the stage from 7-9pm. About the Artists: “Andrew Adkins is without a doubt the embodiment of the current state of roots music in West Virginia, as well as it’s most profound songwriter” -No Depression Magazine After 7 years of fronting the popular Appalachian Stompgrass band The Wild Rumpus at countless festivals, concerts and clubs including Merlefest, Bristol Rhythm and Roots, and the AMA (American Music Association) as well as writing nearly all of the songs for their 3 studio albums, Andrew has now firmly established his own voice with the release of his 4th solo album. “Who I Am” on Mountain Soul Records.Produced by Mountain Stage musical director Ron Sowell, recorded by virtuoso guitarist and engineer Bud Carroll and featuring an all star line up on West Virginia musicians, the album showcases Andrew’s wry insightful songwriting and his soulful authentic voice. Andrew is not only a talented singer songwriter, he is held in high regard as performer by his peers. Often accompanied by his close friend, bass player and long time collaborator Clint Lewis, his performances leave a lasting impression. Here’s what Amanda Platt of the Honey Cutters had to say. “His onstage presence is the perfect mix of humor and humility, putting his audience at ease and drawing them into a songscape that originates in the Mountains of West Virginia and stretches to include the emotions and experiences that people of every corner of the country can relate to.” And this from fellow West Virginian Tim O’Brien -”Andrew brings a likable everyman to his live performances….his music and the stories he tells us are honest and real. Andrew reminds us that we’re all in this together.” andrewadkinswv.com Brenna is a singer/songwriter based in Charleston, WV. She creates the kind of music you put on to accompany your thoughts during a drive, music that makes you wonder what lies just beneath the surface. Music is a vulnerable and authentic expression of oneself, that is one of her highest values. She hopes to meet you somewhere between the words and the instrument. See you there.

Experience a week in the life of the arts in Mercer County, West Virginia! Visit creative venues, make new friends and discover the vibrant creative scene our area is home to! Enjoy gallery hops, concerts, art shows, open mic, poetry, workshops, special tours, and the beloved Grand Finale Parade & Day of Merriment. Stay tuned to alltogetherarts.com for details & a full schedule of events.

This is the kickoff to the First Friday Concerts in the Square series, which will run every 1st Friday May-October. Concerts are FREE & open to the public. The event will also feature The HeART Market, with artisan vendors who pour their heart into their work, and craft activities for the kiddos. ❤ Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs & picnic blankets, and enjoy dining, strolling the shops, creative activities and all The Grassroots District has to offer. Princeton Dance Studio will open the show from 6-5:45 and Jonathan Scales Fourchestra will the stage from 7-9pm. About the Artists: Jonathan Scales is one of the most innovative steel pannists on the planet, redefining & challenging traditional expectations of the steel drum. He radically expands the sonic palette of an instrument often associated with cruise ships and tropical resorts to mimic the role of horns, piano, vibraphone or marimba with his stunning, virtuosic technique. His Fourchestra has had a fluid lineup of all-star musicians, such as bassist MonoNeon (Prince, Ghost Note), drummer Robert “Sput” Searight (Snarky Puppy, Snoop Dogg), percussionist Weedie Braimah (Trombone Shorty, Nth Power), and a number of other marquee-value players. He’s toured the North America, Europe, Japan, Central America and The Caribbean, and represented the US through the Department of State as a musical ambassador in a tour of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Indonesia. jonscales.com Princeton Dance Studio was founded over 40 years ago by Janis Gunnoe. Over the years, Mrs. Gunnoe has grown from a small studio on Mercer Street to building her own multi-studio building in Princeton, WV. By focusing on respect, proper technique, curriculum-based classes, and safety, Mrs. Gunnoe has helped shaped thousands of individuals who have gone on to become professional dancers, doctors, attorneys, business owners, and great parents! Over the years, Princeton Dance Studio has also welcomed new teachers who specialize in modern, ballet, hip hop, and much more by offering a variety of classes for all age groups. It is the goal of all the instructors at Princeton Dance Studio to train not only great dancers but to help shape great individuals. PDS competition team will open the evening with a performance at 6pm.

The Earth Day Celebration Returns, live & in-person at The Folklife Center! Join us for a beautiful day of activity and celebration honoring Mother Earth featuring music performances, special demonstrations, discussions, craft activities and more at the beautiful ASFC. Featuring: ~Music by CassiRaye, Option 22, Star Baby, Jordan Furrow, Shine Resonance, Swingstein & Conner, Tim & Maggie & more. ~Drumming & discussion with Mother Earth Beat, an all women Native American drum group based in West Virginia. ~Yoga, sound healing & more with practitioners from The Gaia Den ~Tie-dying for Kids with the tie-dye Soapwitch! ~Beekeeping workshop with Awakened Artwork ~Vending by Rainbow Art Farms, Awakened Artwork & more! Stay tuned for more activities & presentations, TBA! Admission is FREE. Enjoy the un-matched atmosphere of the ever-peaceful Appalachian South Folklife Center, revel in the breathtaking mountain views and celebrate life on Planet Earth!

Celebrate Princeton Street Fair is back, live & in-person! Enjoy music, dance & circus performances, tons of vendors, a ferris wheel & waterslides, creative experiences & fun for the family! Let's celebrate our wonderful community together! Stay tuned for details & some special surprises! VENDORS, sign up now at celebrateprinceton.com/vendors!

Join RiffRaff Arts Collective, Wild Roots Coffeehouse, The Pigment Sanctuary & Holler Gallery for La Rouge - A Red Dress Event, a night of mingling, art & love! featuring ❤ ~The HeART Market ~ Live Music ~Nourishments ~ One-of-a-Kind Gifts ~ Meet & Greet with Artists! Explore: ~RiffRaff Art Boutique ~Wild Roots/The Pigment Sanctuary ~Holler Gallery and explore surrounding businesses in The Grassroots District! Shop, dine, explore & create in our love-filled neighborhood! Guests are encouraged to adorn themselves in red attire! NOTE: The HeART Market will OPEN at 4pm in The Pigment Sanctuary at 860 Mercer Street! Gorgeous cover art by Harrison Lance Crawford.

Join us for the premiere of the first documentary piece of "We Need to Talk," featuring a Behind The Scenes "Inside Look" at the making of the music video "The Time is Now." Watch the music video, enjoy complimentary coffee & snacks from local businesses in our neighborhood, share reflections, share your story if you feel compelled, meet new friends and join in the conversation! We need to Talk is a movement using music videos and docushorts to build bridges and catalyze community healing. RiffRaff Arts Collective is creating sweeping, cinematic music videos featuring original music by artists within our community that have written songs about issues they are passionate about, or ways they see the world that they wish the community could open their hearts to. We are using these videos to stoke community dialogue, build relationships, and cultivate a culture of listening. The project aims to empower community members to tell their stories and raise their voices. Featured songs include themes of change and empowerment, and docu-shorts explore issues that inspired their creation. Find out more at the riffraff.net/weneedtotalk!

This concert is the final installment in our First Friday Concerts in the Square series, which runs every 1st Friday May-October. Concerts are FREE & open to the public. The event will also feature artisan vendors of The HeArT Market, and craft activities for the kiddos. ❤ Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs & picnic blankets, and enjoy dining, strolling the shops, creative activities and all our blossoming neighborhood has to offer. Je'dah Madison will open the show from 5-5:45 & Option 22 will take the stage from 6-8pm. About the Artists: Option 22 Eclectic, Soul-Driven Americana This infectious, eclectic Americana groove is led by powerful, yet blissfully soothing vocals dancing atop a smooth, soulful flow. Positive lyrics inspire unity and call for change. Based in Princeton, Lori McKinney (vocals, drums, spoken word) and Robert Blankenship (guitar, hand-drums, didgeridoo) have been writing & playing music together since 2004. Now infusing the mix are the highly skilled & ever-flowing bass lines of Brandon Dunn, the rock solid, hard hitting rhythms of Ary'an Graham (drums) and the soulful guitar stylings of Jacob Brooks (lead guitar). As a group, they understand the power of music to heal & transform, and they use their creative gifts to make a positive impact on the world around them. Robert & Lori live and work within a multi-purpose creative zone they created in downtown Princeton, The RiffRaff Arts Collective, which is revitalizing a one dark, depressed area with color and life. They also founded and run Culturefest World Music & Arts Festival & many other events. The other musicians orbit around the collective, bringing their talents and spirits around often, forming a sphere of creativity and good vibes. option22.net Je'Dah Madison Palmer R&B, Soul, Funk Je’dah is a 22 year old native from Princeton, West Virginia. She has toured and traveled extensively as an artist with The One Voice Project. She has a taste for R&B, Soul and FunK. She is heavily influenced by artists like India Arie, Brandy, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Tori Kelly, and H.E.R. This young artist's style is deep, introspective and soulful. She's a lively performer, and sets a beautiful vibe with any venue she steps into.

Culturefest 2022, the sweet return to the magical mountaintop--live and in person! ❤ 4 Days of performances, workshops, live painting, healing arts, children's activities, artisan vendors, drum circles, community art, jam sessions, camping & more in the beautiful WV hills. ❤

Enjoy a lovely picnic in the beautiful Camp Creek State Park, catered by Jimmie's Restaurant, located in the Grassroots District. Enjoy live music by Tim & Maggie Mainland, and a delicious meal. Reservations are required for the picnic baskets but attendance to the event is free, and no registration is required to attend. Pre-order your picnic basket at peakofthebloom.com/picnic-pre-orders. This event is part of the annual Peak of the Bloom, a celebration of the art of nature, August 5-14. Find details & a full schedule at peakofthebloom.com!

Enjoy a yoga session with the talented Joanie of The Gaia Den in the beautiful setting of Camp Creek State Park! This event is part of Peak of the Bloom, a celebration of the art of nature! Plan to camp for the weekend & enjoy all the activities, and rise & shine to this peaceful experience! Find the full schedule & details at peakofthebloom.com!

Enjoy a concert at the beautiful Camp Creek State Park Ampitheater with the talented artists of Parachute Brigade, plus artisan vendors, creative activities and more! This event is part of Peak of the Bloom, a celebration of the art of nature. Find details & a full schedule at peakofthebloom.com!

En plein air (French pronunciation: ​[ɑ̃ plɛn ɛːʁ], French for outdoors, or plein air painting) is the act of painting outdoors. The talented artist Lacey Vilandry of Silver Arrow Art will lead a plein air painting workshop in the beautiful wildflower fields of Camp Creek State Park. Meet at the Camp Creek State Park amphitheater at 3:30pm and enjoy a beautiful ride up to a remote area of The Forrest. No experience necessary. Cost to attend is $35. Lapboards, canvases and paint will be provided. Register here on this site! Reserve your spot now, as this event is likely to sell out.

Discover the best kept secret in Princeton, a magical labyrinth of medicinal and pollinator plants in Princeton City Park! Learn about the beautiful & rare plants within and how and why to start a pollinator garden, and meet and greet with the garden's volunteer steward, Ms. Becky Kidwell. This event is part of Peak of the Bloom, a celebration of the art of nature. Find the full schedule of activities & information at peakofthebloom.com.

Award Winning Photographer Steve Jessee of Associated Photography will lead us on a guided photo exclusion through the beautiful and remote fields of wildflowers at Camp Creek State Park. Enjoy a beautiful wagon ride up to the special spot, and a delicious picnic by Bucha Brewhouse & Bistro following. (Pre-registration required). Meet at Associated Photography at 813 Mercer Street at 1 p.m. OR at Camp Creek State Park Amphitheater at 1:30 p.m. PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED https://peakofthebloom.com/guided-photo-hike-registration This event is part of Peak of the Bloom, a celebration of the art of nature. Find details and a full schedule at peakofthebloom.com!

Explore our blossoming neighborhood & enjoy special products & activities up & down the street! Stay tuned for details. This event is part of Peak of the Bloom, a celebration of the art of nature, in The Grassroots District and Camp Creek Stat Park. Find the full schedule & information at peakofthebloom.com!

This concert kicks of Peak of the Bloom, a celebration of the art of nature August 5-14! (Find the full schedule at peakofthebloom.com) The concert is the 4th in our First Friday Concerts in the Square series, which will run every 1st Friday May-October. Concerts are FREE & open to the public. The event will also feature artisan vendors of The HeART Market, and craft activities for the kiddos. ❤ Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs & picnic blankets, and enjoy dining, strolling the shops, creative activities and all our blossoming neighborhood has to offer. Grace Campbell will open the show from 5-5:45 & Andrew Adkins Trio will take the stage from 6-8pm. About the Musicians: “Andrew Adkins is without a doubt the embodiment of the current state of roots music in West Virginia, as well as it’s most profound songwriter” -No Depression Magazine After 7 years of fronting the popular Appalachian Stompgrass band The Wild Rumpus at countless festivals, concerts and clubs including Merlefest, Bristol Rhythm and Roots, and the AMA (American Music Association) as well as writing nearly all of the songs for their 3 studio albums, Andrew has now firmly established his own voice with the release of his 4th solo album. “Who I Am” on Mountain Soul Records. Produced by Mountain Stage musical director Ron Sowell, recorded by virtuoso guitarist and engineer Bud Carroll and featuring an all star line up of WV musicians, the album showcases Andrew’s wry insightful songwriting and his soulful authentic voice. He is not only a talented singer songwriter, he is held in high regard as performer by his peers. Grace Campbell is a singer/songwriter from Princeton, WV with a charm all of her own. A world traveler and classically trained vocalist, Grace's multifaceted influences have coalesced into a well versed, intelligent young performer. Grace's impeccable songwriting skills and charismatic personality have warranted her quite the fan base in Southern WV - and it's only growing! Her inaugural performance at Culturefest in 2019 (and later in 2020 and 2021) gained her the attention and respect of many in the area. Soon, she was playing as far as Pittsburg, PA. Grace is a bright light in the Grassroots District of Mercer County, WV, but she wants to grow to be a shinning light even further. She lives by the motto: "Never turn down a gig!" Now living in Morgantown, WV, Grace is utilizing her talents through hard work. Her song "Who'd You Fall in Love With Now?" Is out on Spotify, and there is an album in the works. She is ecstatic to see where her future in music will go.

Join us for the first Friday of August at the RiffRaff Art Boutique for an evening featuring visual artist, painter, and muralist Ian Bode! Ian Bode was born and raised in Charleston, WV. His work is displayed in galleries, public buildings, and private collections across the country. He collaborates with other visual artists and graphic designers on commercial projects. His most recognizable style is graphically narrative, cartoon-oriented world filled with his black and white faceless characters collectively called “ The Passenger.” This faceless cartoon is a vacuum into which the viewers identify and awareness can be filled in. The viewer is in the emotive driver’s seat, much like The Passengers. Using repeat themes,c looks, and icons, he aims to establish a visual language that makes each piece relatable to the other creating a universe with loose laws and a sequential narrative that does not intrude or contradict itself. He was recently named WV Artist of the year 2018 by West Virginia Living Magazine. Come learn about it and ask questions of the artist's magic and admire or even purchase some very unique and colorful pieces. The event will take place from 5-8pm during Mercer Street's First Friday Celebrations, and the Kickoff of Peak of the Bloom! Find a full schedule of activities at peakofthebloom.com. Check out the concert across the street in the Town Square, and shop, dine, explore & create in our blossoming neighborhood!

This is a perfect gathering for beginners and advanced artists. Art is meant to be fun and expressive. Many people say they aren’t artists because they don’t know what they are doing, but honestly that is the fun part to just play with the supplies and find your intuitive flow and what works best for you! Join us for this free flow art gathering with light guidance by Shannon Shine. Through this experience you will be encouraged to find your own expression with a variety of available art supplies. (Please feel free to also bring your own materials to play with.)

Join us for a community sketchbook session. In this creative session we will be exploring first point perspective. Come explore the depths!

Some materials will be available on site but please feel free to bring your own to play with.