Appalachian Festival

Start: Sunday, May 8, 2022 10:00AM
End: Sunday, May 8, 2022 6:00PM

The Appalachian Festival is a Mother's Day weekend tradition in this region. Located along Cincinnati's scenic Ohio River at Coney Island, the island is transformed into an authentic mountain-life village celebrating the area’s rich Appalachian heritage. This year the festival has a new layout, new stages, and new entertainment, and is focused on getting back to the roots. This year the festival is featuring mountain music on three stages, with some of the greatest national bluegrass bands, including The Po' Ramblin' Boys, Joe Mullins, the Radio Ramblers, and Williamson Branch. There will be top local groups as well that include Vernon McIntyre’s Appalachian Grass, Blackwater, The Missy Werner Band, The Tillers, The Forest Hills Blue Grass Band, and Rabbit Hash String Band, Ma Crow & Company, The Red Idle Rejects, One Iota, and the Wayfarers. No experience is necessary on the all-new Saturday night Fun Dance. We have a national instructor from West Virginia, Jeff Driggs, calling the dance. During the weekend, local dance troupes will be performing a variety of energetic clogging and line dances on all our dance stages. Storytelling is deeply rooted in Appalachian culture. The Appalachian Festival is proud to have Jonathan Duerbeck as the new storyteller along with the festival’s iconic storytellers like Stephen Hollen, Omope Carter Daboiku, Hannah Sue Cooper, and Paul Ingram. The Appalachian Market, Mountain Food, and Pickin’ Porches will be lining the walkways, as you take a stroll through various Appalachian traditions. The most popular area, the Mountain Village, will feature Native American dances with All Nations Drum, tinsmiths, blacksmiths, soap-makers, spinners, and weavers. New this year will be demonstrators that will be showing beadwork, Native American hand drumming, basket making, rope making, and a master distiller demonstrating mountain distilling. Parson John and Maggie will be doing a Mountain Church Service on Sunday morning for our campers and guests.