Arts & Culture

Remember, remember the 8th and 9th of November... for another revolutionary edition of "Mountain Stage After Midnight!" Broadcast from 1am-5am Saturday and Sunday mornings here on West Virginia Public Radio, "Mountain Stage After Midnight" takes the best episodes from the show's 31 year history and shares their memories and songs with our late-night listeners. Each week we'll hand-pick two of our favorite episodes that'll alternate order each night.

West Virginia University announced a partnership with West Virginia Wesleyan College that will honor and celebrate, preserve and offer for research a collection of works by Pulitzer Prize winning author and Nobel Laureate Pearl S. Buck.

Local artists will once again have an opportunity to showcase their talents in Huntington this spring.

The city announced that the Dogwood Arts and Crafts festival will return in the Spring of 2015. The Big Sandy Superstore Arena will host the festival that has made its home in Huntington for more than 40 years. The festival is returning after a one-year hiatus. Huntington resident and ceramic artist Carter Taylor Seaton will organize the festival.

  West Virginia University and West Virginia Wesleyan College are honoring award-winning author and Nobel laureate Pearl S. Buck.

The schools are hosting an event Thursday in Morgantown along with the Pearl S. Buck Birthplace Foundation.

The event is part of Mountaineer Week - a weeklong celebration of West Virginia's heritage and culture.

Buck's novel "The Good Earth" won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932 and helped earn her the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1938.

The town of Athens has made it easier for folks to access books in town. The town was one of thousands across the country to open an official Little Library.

There are three “Little Libraries” throughout the town of Athens made possible by the Little Free Library Organization.  Essentially, it’s a box full of books that sits on a pole about 5 feet tall.  

The libraries are intended for residents and students to give a book and/or take a book from the boxes. So far book traffic out of the Little Libraries in Athens has been steady.

  West Virginia's Division of Natural Resources will partner with the State Rail Authority to improve operations at Pocahontas County's historic Cass Scenic Railroad State Park.

The partnership announced on Monday will transfer responsibility for Cass' rail operations to the authority, which is the central state agency for railroad matters. The authority already operates two other state-owned railroads: the West Virginia Central Railroad and the South Branch Valley Railroad.

Why not celebrate two legendary singers' birthdays with two great Mountain Stage performances? Broadcast from 1am-5am Saturday and Sunday mornings here on West Virginia Public Radio, "Mountain Stage After Midnight" takes the best episodes from the show's 31 year history and shares their memories and songs with our late-night listeners. Each week we'll hand-pick two of our favorite episodes and they'll alternate order each night.

This week, as we approach All Hallows Eve, we have dedicated the next hour to ghost tales and dark legends. Award winning writer, Scott McClanahan, remembers hearing scary tales while growing up in Greenbrier County, West Virginia.

There's a new film festival being held this weekend in Lewisburg.  It will feature two films making their West Virginia premieres.  "Skeleton Twins" starring former Saturday Night Live stars Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig and "To Be Takei," featuring George Takei who played Mr. Sulu in the original TV "Star Trek" series but is now known for his gay and civil rights activism.
But the title of this film festival contains a certain word. For an explanation into the use of that word, Beth Vorhees went right to the film festival's director Tim Ward.

West Virginia native Bill Withers is among the first-time nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The 76-year-old Raleigh County-native was born in Slab Fork and is best known for several R&B and pop songs in the 1970s and 1980s. Those songs include "Ain't No Sunshine," ''Just the Two of Us," and "Lean on Me."

He's one of 6 of the 15 nominees for the hall's Class of 2015 announced last week that are on the ballot for the first time. Other new nominees include the punk trio Green Day, Sting and the rockers Nine Inch Nails.

This week, "A Change of Tune" host Joni Deutsch interviews Andrew Barr of The Barr Brothers, an up-and-coming Canadian quartet with roots in American folk, African desert, Delta blues and classical string, to say the least. The band's newest record, Sleeping Operator, just goes to prove that The Barr Brothers are the Ra Ra Riot of transcendental folk. Check out the interview below to learn more about the band, their longform music style and their connections to alt music friends The War on Drugs and of Montreal. If you're a fan of sprawling soundscapes that are as much warm as they are catchy (see: Bahamas), this interview and music are recommended for you.

 Senate President Jeff Kessler announced the creation of SCORE, Southern Coalfields Organizing and Revitalizing their Economy, Thursday. The program will send a group of senators to the southern part of the state to hear from citizens about what they can do to revitalize the area's economy.

A West Virginia transplant in Doddridge County moved here to enjoy the rural area, but soon after, saw well pads being placed within sight of her home. Now, she invites scientists, students, and even reporters to come study the health affects of the activity from her home.

It was a Mountain Stage Radio Show match for the ages: Randy Newman vs. Robert Cray vs. Colin Hay vs. Bela Fleck & the Flecktones. Which performances would we choose for "Mountain Stage After Midnight?" Luckily, you made the tough call by voting for your favorite performances on Mountain Stage's Facebook, and now it's time to listen to the winners on this week's  "Mountain Stage After Midnight." Broadcast from 1am-5am Saturday and Sunday mornings here on West Virginia Public Radio, "Mountain Stage After Midnight" takes the best episodes from the show's 31 year history and shares their memories and songs with our late-night listeners. Each week we'll hand-pick two of our favorite episodes and they'll alternate order each night.

It's early morning around 6 am, and I'm standing with Chef Tim Urbanic in the kitchen of the Cafe Cimino Country Inn. Tim grew up in western Pennsylvania in a coal camp, and his mother, Julia Cimino, was a first generation Italian immigrant from Calabria.

“The polenta was a staple in our family. This is a polenta that I've known all my life, since I was a little kid. We add to this Romano cheese, fresh butter, and then we use water for the base.”

As College Basketball Season nears, West Virginia University Head Coach Bob Huggins is hoping his team can take a step towards the top of the Big 12 Conference.

A year after finishing with 17 wins and 16 losses and a first round loss to Georgetown in the National Invitational Tournament, West Virginia University Basketball hopes with several new players things are better this season. The Mountaineers finished 6th in the Big 12 last season and are picked to finish in the same spot, sixth, according to the Big 12 preseason poll.

Streams and lakes across West Virginia will be stocked with about 42,000 pounds of trout during the next two weeks.

The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources began its fall trout stockings on Tuesday. Trout stockings will continue next week. Nine lakes and 25 streams will be stocked.

Wildlife resources chief Curtis Taylor says in a news release that information about trout stockings will be posted first on the DNR's Facebook page, www.facebook.com/wildlifewv , at 2:30 p.m. each day. The information will be posted on the DNR's website, www.wvdnr.gov, and on the Fishing Hotline, 304-558-3399, an hour later.

For the first time since the final polls of the 2002 season, Marshall University Football is ranked in the top 25.

After a 49-24 win over Middle Tennessee State Saturday in Huntington, Marshall Football found itself ranked in both major polls Sunday. The Herd sits at 25th in the newest Associated Press College Football Poll and 24th in the newest Coaches Poll. 

This week, "A Change of Tune" host Joni Deutsch interviews Madi Diaz, an up-and-coming artist who creates upbeat electro-pop from some pretty heartbreaking experiences. Needles to say Madi's approach to pop on her latest record, Phantom, is nothing short of postmodern ear candy. Check out the interview below to learn more about Madi's new record and overall pop ambition. If you're a fan of post-breakup synth in the same vein as Charli XCX, this interview and music are recommended for you.

If you’ve been watching West Virginia politics play out on social media this election season, you’ve probably noticed some pretty vitriolic rhetoric. Some of it comes from the usual suspects--like candidates and their parties. But, some of it--it’s not clear where it’s coming from. Not surprisingly, there are those who contribute to the state’s political discourse through the veil of anonymity.

Byrd's Finger: A Contractor for the Republican Party

When it comes to politics on Twitter, one of the most active accounts in West Virginia is Byrd’s Finger. It’s an obvious reference to the late Democratic senator Robert C. Byrd. But, there’s no question it’s coming from a Republican point of view.

Need to countrify your weekend? Of course you do, and that's why "Mountain Stage After Midnight" is here to help with performances from some amazing alt-country, bluegrass, and folk artists. Broadcast from 1am-5am Saturday and Sunday mornings here on West Virginia Public Radio, "Mountain Stage After Midnight" takes the best episodes from the show's 31 year history and shares their memories and songs with our late-night listeners. Each week we'll hand-pick two of our favorite episodes and they'll alternate order each night.