St. Albans, W.Va. — The city of St. Albans expects a big crowd this weekend to celebrate the local river recreation. Yak Fest gets started Friday and will feature a wide array of street vendors and live music.
It’s the fourth year for the annual event, which was a festival spawned by the annual Tour de Coal River Float which will be held for a 19th year on Saturday morning.
“Outdoors recreation, especially water kayaking, is one of the fastest growing activities there is today in this country. But outdoor sports in general is very popular and continues to grow,” said St. Albans Mayor Scott James.
According to James the furthest anybody he knows of has come to the festival is from Texas and there have been inquires again this year from the Lone Star State.
Music will begin around 4 p.m. Friday and culminate with the headliner band the Davisson Brothers who will play from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. The Tour de Coal starts Saturday morning at Meadowood Park in Tornado. The Yak Fest activities resume Saturday afternoon from 2 pm. to 10 p.m.
“The street is full of vendors. We’ve got food vendors, outdoor vendors, art vendors. There’s face painting for the children and back this year is the D.E.P fish tank,” James explained.
The tank will be filed with fish native to the Coal River for folks to observe during the festival. The tank is in line with the purpose of the event to celebrate the Coal River and the recreational opportunities it affords to the region.