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The Hip Appalachian Music, aka H.A.M., band will perform at this year’s Captina Creekin’ Festival slated for 1 p.m. Oct. 15 at 55800 New Castle Road, Jerusalem. Pictured from left are Todd Sams, Zeke Hutchison and Dave Borowski.
JERUSALEM — The Captina Creekin’ Festival is slated to return for its second year on Oct. 15.
The Friends of Captina Creek are inviting everyone to join them for a fun afternoon filled with live entertainment, demonstrations, activities, food and more. The event is completely free to attend.
Ellie Ewing, executive director of the Captina Conservancy, said they have a variety of activities planned for the event that celebrate the creek and wildlife in and around the creek.
A live bluegrass band, Hip Appalachian Music — also known as H.A.M. — out of Athens, Ohio, will play from 1-3 p.m.
“They do bluegrass and swing and old-time country music,” she said.
The festival will also feature hayrides along the creek, a fly fishing demonstration, a silent auction for homemade art and woodcraft items, and booths set up by local wildlife preserve groups and organizations who will provide a variety of activities and educational information for attendees.
The upcoming date will mark the second time the conservancy has held the festival. Ewing said they hope to continue it annually in the future.
“We had such a great time, and we’re hoping to make it an annual tradition,” she said, adding that more than 100 people attended last year’s event, coming from all around.
“Everyone that came said to ‘please do this again.’ Getting an annual event started and getting the word out is kind of a challenge sometimes but I think as you continue to do it, word spreads. We had people from all over, from right up the road to people from Cambridge and Wheeling and further who had heard about it.”
Ewing said they originally planned to hold the event’s inception in the fall of 2020 as a way to celebrate the organization’s 10th anniversary; however, the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily delayed it until the following year.
“We postponed it until 2021, and it went so well that we decided to make it an annual event. … We wanted to give people the chance to get out and access the creek and get together to celebrate the fall,” she said.
The event is held on the South Fork of Captina Creek at a private property known as Captina Preserve, located at 55800 New Castle Road, Jerusalem, just outside of Beallsville.
“The landowners open up their property just for this festival. It’s a beautiful spot along the creek,” she said.
Ewing recommends attendees bring a chair or blanket that they can use to sit on the lawn to relax and enjoy the music.
The event is sponsored by the Belmont County Tourism Council. The Conservancy received a grant from the organization earlier this year that helped fund the festivities.
“We want to thank them for their support,” she said.
The festival runs from 1-4 p.m., with early admission at noon for Captina Conservancy members.
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