ALBRIGHT — Twenty-four years in, people are familiar with Cheat Fest. In the past, Friends of the Cheat’s (FOC) biggest annual fundraiser, held May 4-5 this year in Albright, has attracted well over three thousand attendees, who come to celebrate the watershed. Musicians, artists, environmental advocates, vendors and
nonprofits are all on hand.
But Ellie Bell, coordinator of Cheat Fest, wants to make sure those at the festivities are also familiar with what FOC is all about.
“People often don’t know what we do,” she said of the nonprofit. “In reality, we clean up the river, build rail trails. We have all kinds of projects to make that area that drains into the river a better place to live. We want to get that message across. … We have lots of support and we can raise money, but can we educate?”
To that end, the Education Eddy is a new feature at Cheat Fest this year. It’s a space designed to teach festivalgoers about the state of the Cheat River watershed. Speakers will discuss topics such as acid mine drainage, climate change, public lands and rattlesnakes.
“We thought about all the programs we do and invited key partners to share what those are,” Bell said.
The Education Eddy will also feature workshops about backpacking, yoga and Sustainable Foray, where participants will learn how to identify plants and mushrooms.
“At Education Eddy, we want to cultivate an area that’s relaxed,” Bell said. “It’s not going to be formal presentations, but casual discussions and workshops.”
To get ready for next week’s festivities, Bell said the festival site has been updated.
“We’ve done a lot of structural work and fixing up the stage and we purchased the neighboring property, where the cars are usually parked. We’ll be overseeing the parking to try and raise money,” she said.
The newly revamped stage will feature a number of attendees’ favorite musical acts, such as Meadow Run, Two Ton Twig, Halftime String Band and Stewed Mulligan. There will also be new faces, including Fletcher’s Grove.
“We’re going on 11 years,” said Ryan Krofcheck, guitarist and lead vocalist for the Morgantown-based group. “We’ve matured and now we fit more with the vibe of the festival.”
He said the jam-rock band plans to play a couple of river songs geared toward the event as well as more acoustic, bluegrass-influenced material.
“We really love Americana and folk, and songs about West Virginia,” Krofcheck added.
And as a group that has toured the country, with a wide-ranging fan base, he said supporting FOC is crucial.
“We spent a good chunk of last summer on the Cheat hanging out and swimming,” he said of the band. “I’ve seen a lot of what they’ve been doing. They’re the flagship of environmentalism in the area. And I think given the political climate that’s happening, it’s important for artists who have a listening audience to be saying, ‘Check these people out. These are good people we should be supporting.’ ”
- Cheat Fest is set for 5-10:30 p.m. May 4 and 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. May 5 in Albright, on the banks of the Cheat River. Music begins at 5:30 p.m. May 4 and noon May 5. Online tickets will be available until noon Wednesday. Advance tickets cost $5 for May 4 and $15 for May 5 and may also be purchased at Purple Fiddle in Thomas, Black Bear Burritos’ downtown location and Pathfinder in Morgantown, and at Short Story Brewing in Rivesville. Tickets at the gate will cost $10 for May 4 and $20 for May 5. Kids under 12 are admitted for free. Festival tickets do not include camping. No glass and no pets are allowed. Info, directions and tickets: cheatfest.org.
