2023 DATE: September 28 – October 1, 2023
This post documents my experience on September 28, 2019.
In the city of Kingwood, West Virginia…
…the Preston County Buckwheat Festival was a multi-faceted celebration.
Right off the bat, the festival came off as huge carnival with plenty of rides…
…fun houses…
…attractions…
…games…
…and carnival grub.
Then, within the structures that bordered part of the carnival…
…it began to feel more like a county fair feel with the various livestock exhibits…
…and the exhibit building…
…with everything from baking exhibits to well-grown crops.
Fortunately, there were also festival elements, thanks to various gift vendors found in the carnival…
…various food concessions…
…food trucks and vendors found all over the festival grounds (take note that Island Noodles offered buckwheat noodles).
…and two large buildings filled with arts and crafts…
…where festival goers could shop among seasonal home decor (Olde Hundred Primitives)…
…clay pendants and charms (Clay Hope Jewelry)…
…impressive wood carvings…
…carvings in stone (WV Carved in Stone)…
…and more.
There was also an official booth you could go to…
…to purchase the Authentic Preston County Buckwheat Flour…
…not to mention a booth for some syrup to go along with it (Cool Hollow Maple Farm).
And if you wanted to know what buckwheat pancakes tasted like before buying the flour…
…you could come here and buy a ticket…
…for a buckwheat cakes and sausage dinner (all you can eat).
While interesting in color and slightly different in flavor…
…I will say they were enjoyable with an abundance of butter and syrup.
Just take note that there wasn’t any real maple syrup on the table, so bring your own if that’s a deal-breaker.