Ben Townsend, left, and Joshua Jimmerson perform a tune together on their banjos, in Reynolds Hall on Saturday. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — Vandalia Award winner Bil Lepp reminisced about his own Appalachian heritage, as he took to the stage of Reynolds Hall on Saturday afternoon.

Lepp was the featured storyteller at the 29th annual Appalachian Heritage Festival, which was held in Shepherdstown over the weekend. His storytelling event, “Jack, Liars and Tale Tales: The Origins of a Storyteller,” was the next-to-last event held that day, following a Gospel Brunch at Alma Bea restaurant, which featured Appalachian food and Gospel music; a “Flatfooting and Appalachian Percussive Dance with Soles in Motion” workshop taught by dance instructors Jan Scopel and Emily Crews in the War Memorial Building; and a lecture and demonstration on “The Roots of the Banjo” by professional banjoists and Shepherd University alumni Ben Townsend and Joshua Jimmerson in Reynolds Hall. The artists featured at these events were then showcased one final time on Saturday evening, with a concert on the festival stage by Shepherdstown’s Town Hall.

For some attendees, the topic of Appalachian heritage was deeply familiar to them, as they are descendants of settlers who moved to the region hundreds of years ago.

“The Morgans were the first settlers in West Virginia. I had it beaten into me — don’t you ever forget your heritage,” said Sam Morgan, who grew up in Morgantown and now lives in Shepherdstown. “When I was a kid, we used to come here as a family to see all the sites — Morgan Morgan’s cabin and other areas of historical importance.”

His favorite aspect of the festival was the music, though he also participated in the other events that were being held.

Vandalia award winning author and storyteller Bil Lepp entertains the crowd on the Appalachian Heritage Festival’s Outdoor Stage on Saturday. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

“Music is the soul of Appalachian heritage,” Morgan said. “It’s beyond words. You’re getting to hear the same thing played today that people listened to 200 years ago.”

Other attendees, however, were transplants to the area, and were using the festival to learn more about Appalachian history and culture.

“Coming from New York state, I am not of Appalachian heritage. But I love so many aspects of the Appalachian culture — the banjo, the guitar, the musical style and the clogging, which I remember doing when I was younger,” said Shepherdstown resident Marybeth Grove, who moved to the area in 1997.

“They’ve been saying for many years that we’re a bedroom community for Washington, D.C. and that’s true — so many people, myself included, come from outside the area to live here, because of its proximity to D.C. But if you choose to live here, it’s important to begin to immerse yourself into the culture. Even if you don’t have that culture in your background, there’s so much benefit to be had from learning to appreciate the culture and history that formed this area,” Grove said. “The more that we appreciate other cultures, the more we are going to be inclusive and understanding of one another.”

People of all ages dance together in an outer and inner ring, in the War Memorial Building on Saturday. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

Emily Crews demonstrates a clogging step to attendees of the “Flatfooting and Appalachian Percussive Dance with Soles in Motion” workshop in the War Memorial Building on Saturday. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

A crowd fills the street in front of Town Hall, to listen to performances on the Appalachian Heritage Festival’s Outdoor Stage on Saturday night. Photo by Tabitha Johnston