FAIRMONT — Summer concert series and Palatine Park are synonymous, however, there is another hidden gem of a concert series inside a setting that is just as picturesque as Palatine.
Every Friday throughout the summer, Prickett’s Fort holds its own concerts in the evening.
“When you have a nice summer evening, a picnic dinner and a show, nothing can be a better way to spend a summer evening,” Jack Hussey, chairman of the Fairmont Arts and Humanities Commission, said. “The group we saw one of those nights, the Great Hillbilly Gypsies, fantastic little band. Everyone should take advantage.”
The concert series is an evolution out of the July 4th concerts that took place at the fort. Park Director Greg Bray said they started doing the concerts around 1998 or 1999, which then blossomed into four or six shows a season.
Bray does his best to bring bands from all over, including locations like Pittsburgh, Maryland and Pennsylvania. Local acts from West Virginia also play.
The series will run until Aug. 4 and concerts start at 7 p.m. at the park.
“On Friday evenings it’s a great way to bring people to the park who may not otherwise come to the park,” Leisha Elliot, executive director of the Marion County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said. “Especially since it’s in the evening after work. People can relax and enjoy live music. It’s just a great location.”
White Hall, the Marion County Commission, Marion County CVB and the First Energy Foundation fund the concert series. The concerts also receive individual donations.
Although Palatine Park is the better known of the two concert venues, Bray does his best to make sure Prickett’s Fort stands out.
“They’ve got a bigger budget than we do, Kris Cinalli does a great job with what they do,” Bray said. “They usually get cover bands, which I do not. We try to have them on different nights.”
Bray does his best to get bands from all over the region to play at the park. Each Friday showcases a different style of music as well. Bray makes his picks by listening to demo tapes or CDs that prospective entertainers give him.
Jakob’s Ferry Stragglers, the group that’s due to take the stage at tonight’s concert, is well known outside of West Virginia.
The fort has other things going on besides the concert.
“When people think Prickett’s Fort, they think of the historical fort. But they do have an amphitheater, there’s canoeing, fishing, the restaurant, walking trail, there’s so much more than people know,” County Commissioner Linda Longstreth said. “It’s doesn’t come to mind like Palatine. Difference is people know about Saturday night concerts at Palatine, but when it comes to visiting the fort, they maybe go, ‘we’ve seen it before.’ It needs a little more pr, it’s a hidden gem.”
It’s so much more than a fort, Longstreth said. It has a lot of entertainment that people should go out and see.
Elsewhere, Bray also hired a new employee for the fort’s blacksmith shop, which was built in 2008. Up until this year it’s had pretty steady employment. Bray said everyone wants to watch the blacksmith work.
“It’s something you don’t see everywhere,” Bray said. “People love to come down and spend a big part of their day down there.”
All of the elements present at Prickett’s Fort work to give the evening a special ambiance that make it unique to the area.
“Over the years the wife and I, friends and family have gone to concerts at Prickett’s Fort,” Hussey said. “They always have excellent singers with the kind of music in folk and country that the setting calls for. It’s a good thing for everyone in the community.”
