Contact: Stephanie Johnson (304) 720-3161 director@westsidemainstreet.org
CHARLESTON, W.Va.Charleston West Side Main Street will hold its ninth annual OktoberWest celebration Saturday, Oct. 12, from 4 to 9 p.m. on Bigley Avenue, between Washington Street and Pennsylvania Avenue on Charleston’s West Side. The event will feature food, microbreweries, live music, a corn hole tournament and a variety of children’s activities. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the gate. Tickets for children ages 12 and under are $5.
“OktoberWest brings the community together and introduces people to the unique businesses on the West Side,” says Stephanie Johnson, director of West Side Main Street, noting that the event is the organization’s largest annual fundraiser. “We’re hoping to have our biggest and best event ever this year with plenty of fun for all ages.”
Various local eateries will take part in “Taste of the West Side,” providing food for the event. Beer vendors include Capitol Beverage, North End Tavern and Brewery, Mountain State Brewing Co. and Charleston Brewing Co. Musical acts include the Davisson Brothers Band and Fort Hillbillies. The event is held in conjunction with FestivALL Fall, happening later in the month throughout Charleston.
West Side Main Street has been organizing community revitalization efforts along Charleston’s Washington Street West corridor since its inception in late 2005, through a partnership with West Virginia State University Extension Service, the City of Charleston, the West Side Neighborhood Association and others.
Based in historic preservation, Main Street is a national model for community revitalization that was developed to save historic commercial architecture and has since become a powerful economic development tool across the country. A program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Main Street capitalizes on a community’s history and resources to tackle the complex issue of revitalizing once-booming downtown neighborhoods. West Side Main Street is a nationally unique partnership of city government and local residents affiliated with a university extension service.
OktoberWest is sponsored by First Bank of Charleston. Other sponsors include Appalachian Power, BB&T, BBL Carlton, Bert Wolfe, BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co., City National Bank, Cornerstone Interiors, Gaddy Engineering, Huntington Bank, ZMM Architects and Engineers, and others.
Tickets can be purchased at The Grill, Kelley’s Men’s Shop, T-Graphics, Pile Hardware, Fountain Hobby and Charleston Department Store, at the gate during the event or online at westsidemainstreet.org. OktoberWest is a family-friendly event. Attendees must be 21 years of age or older to drink.