Paw
Paw Festival is set
for September 14-16
by
Kate Evans
from The
Morgan Messenger, 6/13/2007
The
Town of Paw Paw
will hold a new
Paw Paw Festival
the weekend of
September 14-16
[2007 -ed.].
The festival
will be held
in the Paw Paw
Park and fields
and the Paw Paw
School fields
area, said Mayor
Julie Kidwell.
Activities will include
an area fireman’s
parade and competition,
a carnival, bingo, a regional
beauty pageant for children
and teens, entertainment,
a fiddle competition, Sunday
bluegrass gospel music,
food, crafts and Saturday
fireworks.
A Saturday, September 15
Paw Paw Cook-off will showcase
foods that were made with
paw paw fruits with judging
for a Blue Ribbon paw paw
recipe, said Kidwell.
Friday,
September 14
events will feature
an area fireman’s
parade and competitions,
a hot fireman’s
contest and the
regional children
and teen beauty
pageant, she
said.
Fireman’s competitions
will include a Battle of
the Barrels, where firefighters
spray a barrel between
two poles, and a Fireman’s
Carry contest, which tests
their strength and endurance,
said Kidwell. Any area
fire department wishing
to be in the parade and
competitions should call
Paw Paw Town Hall at 947-7476
to register.
Saturday, September 15
festival activities will
be live music throughout
the day, a fiddle competition,
lawnmower races, a chainsaw
competition, a greased
pig contest and the Paw
Paw Cook-off, said Kidwell.
Fireworks are scheduled
for Saturday night.
Sunday, September 16 will
have bluegrass gospel music,
an old-time picnic basket
lunch and cake auction
and kids’ activities
like a balloon bounce,
sack races and old-time
games, she said.
A carnival with amusement
rides by Snyder Amusements
and a bingo sponsored by
the Paw Paw Volunteer Fire
Company will run Thursday,
September 13 through Saturday,
September 15. Food and
crafts will be featured
throughout the festival.
At their March 23 meeting,
the Morgan County Commission
approved funding Mayor
Kidwell’s request
for $500 to help the Town
of Paw Paw cover the cost
of promoting the festival.
They also approved $1,000
to help pay for the Paw
Paw Festival fireworks
display.
Kidwell also appealed to
Senator Walt Helmick, Senator
Clark Barnes and Delegate
Daryl Cowles for some festival
funding, but she has had
no word yet whether any
state money is available
to help with the event.
The Paw Paw Festival is
a big community project,
said Kidwell. Some 24 people
came to the first meeting
about the festival. People
are excited and everyone
is coming forward to take
charge of specific projects,
she said.
Anyone can set up a crafts
booth at the Paw Paw Festival
for no charge and any non-profit
organization can sell food
or set up a booth for free,
said Kidwell. Booths are
on a first come, first
serve basis by room only,
she said. Call to register
for a booth as soon as
possible.
If anyone would like to
help with the festival
or is interested in participating
in or donating to the event,
call Paw Paw Town Hall
at 947-7476.
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Paw
Paw receives a state
trailhead grant
by Kate Evans
from The
Morgan Messenger, 9/20/2006
The
Town of Paw Paw received
a $40,916 state Recreational
Trails Program grant
to construct a trailhead
welcome center beside
the boat ramp.
The trailhead welcome area will
have landscaping, restrooms,
a parking area, a small walking
trail and a sign, said Julie
Kidwell, Paw Paw economic development
coordinator, town clerk and
recorder. It will be an attractive
display as people approach the
town, said Kidwell, who authored
the grant.
The trailhead will be the beginning
of the trail that bicycles can
ride from the boat ramp to Paw
Paw without riding on the road.
They are trying to make the
town more appealing when entering
from Maryland, said Kidwell.
The
trailhead will serve
the C & O Canal
and future bicycle
lane that will extend
to the heart of town
from the
boat ramp. It will
provide year-long
access to public restrooms. There
are no other public
rest areas between
Interstate 68 in Cumberland
and Interstate 81,
said Kidwell.
The
Division of Highways
has moved the telephone
poles back so the
separate bike lane
can be paved, said
Kidwell. The $32,000
bike lane was funded
as last year’s
grant, said Kidwell.
It is a Division of
Highways project,
she said.
Kidwell hopes to work with the
state of Maryland to also create
a future separate bicycle lane
on the bridge over the Potomac
River or a separate bridge for
bicycles. They have a Share
the Road program with the C & O
Canal to accommodate bicyclists,
she said.
Paw Paw Mayor Jeff Palmer applauded
Kidwell’s hard work to
secure the grant, which is part
of the town’s efforts
to spruce up its appearance.
Governor Joe Manchin awarded
more than $8 million for 53
state projects to help local
communities develop recreational
and transportation infrastructure.
The West Virginia Depart-ment
of Transportation
and the Federal Highways Administration
administer the grant programs.
Local communities provide 20%
matching funds, which can be
in-kind donations or volunteer
labor.
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