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Parkersburg Homecoming puts community first

By Gwen Sour 3 min read

PARKERSBURG -- Parkersburg Homecoming brought live music, children's activities and free family entertainment to the city Saturday as organizers sought to give residents one final celebration before the end of summer.

Affordability and accessibility remained central to the two-day festival, Donna Sue Helmick, president of the Parkersburg Homecoming board, said.

"The heart of it is making sure that we put on two days of family-friendly, free entertainment," Helmick said. "Everything costs so much. It's back-to-school time. We shouldn't be putting a burden on parents, and even the parents need a little bit of a break."

Homecoming is an opportunity for families to relax amid the expenses and stress that come with preparing for a new school year, Helmick said. The festival also showcases area nonprofit organizations and businesses while attracting visitors from surrounding communities, she said.

"We need one last celebration," she said. "We want to promote everything within the city, whether it's nonprofit organizations, businesses and even a little bit outside of there, because we want the tourism part, too."

Organizers want residents of neighboring communities to feel welcome at the festival, just as Parkersburg residents attend events such as Belpre Homecoming, Helmick said.

"It's like I always say: ‘Community, with unity in capital letters,’" she said. "That's something that we're building back here."

Live music was a major part of Saturday's schedule, which included the 24th annual Johnny Staats Bluegrass Festival. Performers included area native Matthew Enoch, Waverly Run Bluegrass and West Virginia Music Hall of Fame inductee Johnny Staats.

Enoch, who reached out to festival organizers about performing, was scheduled for an expanded set from 3-4 p.m. after another performer became ill. Helmick said Enoch had music playing on the radio and was offering CDs that included several unreleased songs.

"He is actually a native of the area, and he's coming home, which is perfect for Homecoming," Helmick said. "He's very proud to come home."

Grammy Award-winning musician Rhonda Vincent and The Rage were scheduled to headline Saturday's entertainment. Vincent is widely known as the "Queen of Bluegrass."

The weekend's music began Friday with West Virginia performer Ben Jamin.

Kids Fest was another example of the partnerships needed to organize Homecoming, Helmick said. Numerous businesses and community organizations worked together to provide activities, and organizers received positive feedback from families.

"We couldn't do it without the community," Helmick said. "We couldn't do it without other organizations. We could say that we could, but we'd be lying. We'd fall flat on our face."

Parkersburg City Councilman Zac Huffman, who was appointed to the Parkersburg Homecoming Advisory Committee, said serving on the committee showed him how much planning happens behind the scenes.

"I was very blown away by the amount of work that goes into this," Huffman said. "I come usually every year, and I assumed it was a good amount of work, but it's a large team, and they meet every single month. There's a lot that goes into this."

Helmick also thanked Parkersburg employees who assisted organizers, including the police and fire departments, public works employees and electrical workers.

The possibility of unfavorable weather later Saturday created uncertainty surrounding the fireworks. Helmick said the city of Parkersburg was responsible for making the final decision and the fireworks went off as scheduled.

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