Commission OKs $3.5K for new Romney festival

While lamenting the abrupt move of the West Virginia Peach Festival out of Hampshire County to Fort Ashby, both commissioners nonetheless cast a wary eye at the staging of similar, competing festivals “20 minutes apart” on the same days. Both festivals are set for the first weekend of August.

“I don’t agree in any way with picking it up and moving it to a different county,” Eglinger said. “Not a good call, any way you look at it. Concessions could have been made.”

Cannon echoed the sentiments.

“I definitely know where your hearts are,” he said. “The whole situation is very unfortunate. If we support you, they will feel slighted and if we don’t support you we are not supporting tourism.”

Both Cannon and Eglinger said they had fielded dozens of calls regarding the festival situation.

Eglinger then asked the women whether every avenue has been exhausted in trying to return the Peach Festival to Romney. Spencer indicated that the group had tried to reach out to the Peach Festival committee, going so far as to extend an invitation to their own meeting but received no response.

“I personally tried to bridge the gap,” she said.

Calvert then began addressing the commissioners’ concerns.

“We are not afraid (of competing with the Peach Festival),” she said, noting the outpouring of support the Summer Harvest Festival has received in just a couple weeks. “We lost our fes

tival. It’s going to Fort Ashby for no reason. It was just taken from us…people are truly upset in this county and you should support us.”

Calvert also noted that people are accustomed to coming to Romney the first week of August for peaches and that it is probably the biggest sales event of the year for local businesses.

“I guess I’m asking you to believe in us,” she said. “We’re bringing it back to town. We’ve listened to the people and the businesses.”

Spencer then pointed out that the official name of the Peach Festival is “The West Virginia Peach Festival,” so conceivably it could be moved anywhere in the state, while the name of their festival is the Hampshire County Summer Harvest Festival, “and it’s not going anywhere.” 

Following the discussion, Eglinger made a motion to support the Summer Harvest Festival in the amount of $3,500, the same amount of support the commissioners have traditionally given the Peach Festival. When the motion was approved, some applause was heard in the courtroom.

Outside the courtroom, an elated Spencer and Cook high-fived on the stairway, with Spencer noting that she will immediately reach out to their committees to let them know they have some money with which to work.