Oct. 25, 2017
WHEELING, W.Va. – West Virginia Independence Hall (WVIH) in Wheeling, Ohio County, will host “Holidays at the Hall” Halloween bash on Saturday, Oct. 28 from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. All ages are invited to a fun-filled afternoon of scary stories, crafts and treats. Attendees are encouraged to dress up in their favorite costumes, and light refreshments will be served. The family friendly event is free and open to the public.
Crafts will be available, including “Make your own Halloween flag” on the lower level of WVIH. All children who attend the party also will receive a complimentary Halloween treat bag to take home with them.
Storyteller Susanna “Granny Sue” Holstein will feature spooky stories geared to a younger audience beginning at 2:30 p.m. in the courtroom. From 3 – 4 p.m., Holstein will tell scarier tales about West Virginia and other tall tales, ghost stories, historical tales and traditional folklore from the area.
Holstein develops her stories from folklore, history and personal narratives. She began telling stories professionally in 1995 and has performed and presented workshops from Boston, Mass. to Bellingham, Wash. In 2000, she was a featured regional teller at the National Storytelling Conference.
For more information about the party, contact Debbie Jones, site manager at WVIH, at (304) 238-1300 or Deborah.J.Jones@wv.gov.
West Virginia Independence Hall has been on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) since 1970. It was originally built as a federal custom house in 1859, served as the home of the pro-Union state conventions of Virginia during the spring and summer of 1861 and as the capitol of loyal Virginia from June 1861 to June 1863. It also was the site of the first constitutional convention for West Virginia. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1988, the museum is maintained and operated by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, with the cooperation and assistance of the West Virginia Independence Hall Foundation. The museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, with the exception of major holidays. The museum is located on the corner of 16th and Market Streets in Wheeling.
The West Virginia Division of Culture and History is proud to be able to present its programs at no charge to the public, but without a solution to the state’s budget situation, this could be the last year that programs of this type could be offered. The division, led by Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith, is an agency within the Office of Secretary of Education and the Arts with Gayle Manchin, cabinet secretary. It brings together the past, present and future through programs and services focusing on archives and history, arts, historic preservation and museums. For more information about the division’s programs, events and sites, visit www.wvculture.org. The Division of Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
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