West Virginia’s best storytellers competed today for prizes in the Liars
Contest during the 30th annual Vandalia Gathering with the GOLDENSEAL magazine
Golden Shovel award going to the best tall tale.
The winners were:
Biggest Liar (first place): Adam Booth, Huntington
Bigger Liar (second place): Rich Knoblich, Wheeling
Big Liar (third place): Dallas Jude, Huntington
Youth Award: Karl Smakula, Montrose
The Liars Contest regularly draws standing room-only crowds. GOLDENSEAL, West
Virginia’s magazine of traditional life, hosts the event and publishes
the winning stories each year.
The lies must be short stories—humorous, dramatic, supernatural, etc.—of
two to three minutes in length. Ribbons and cash prizes are awarded, along with
an official Golden Shovel “trophy” for the first place winner.
The annual Vandalia Gathering is a FREE celebration of the traditional arts,
music, dance, stories, crafts and foods of West Virginia. The Cultural Center
and State Capitol Complex grounds plays host to this expanding family-style
gathering each year on Memorial Day weekend. The unique blending of ethnic and
cultural heritage combines an atmosphere as comfortable as a family reunion
with the excitement of a state fair.
The statewide folk festival, named for the proposed 14th colony, creates new
memories for the thousands of visitors who flock from across the Mountain State
and the entire country to celebrate traditions passed from generation to generation.
In addition to offering a sampling of West Virginia’s traditional mountain
culture by showcasing craftspeople and performers, the Vandalia Gathering pays
tribute to the state’s ethnic heritage through a variety of exhibitions
and programs.
Vandalia Gathering is a program of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History. For more information call Ginny Painter at (304) 558-0220, ext. 120.
Visit the Division’s web site at www.wvculture.org for more information
about the programs of the Division.
The Department of Arts, Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action
Employer.
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Ginny Painter
Deputy Commissioner/Communications Manager
West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History
The Cultural Center
1900 Kanawha Blvd., East
Charleston, WV 25305
Phone (304) 558-0220, ext. 120
Fax (304) 558-2779
Email ginny.painter@wvculture.org