The 2022 West Virginia State Fair

I've always been a sucker when it comes to traveling and seeing pretty much anything really and this year me and the wife decided to take a trip to Lewisburg West Virginia. The point of the trip was to visit the state fair and watch one of our favorite singers Walker Hayes with opener Tigirlily. This was my first time being back to Lewisburg since I was fifteen and in a juvenile shelter formerly located there and was my first time ever being to a state fair. We stayed at a hotel in Mount Hope and drove in for the concert the next day. Never being there before I had no clue what to expect.

If you've never been to Lewisburg it's a one way street that loops the entire state fair area and just about everyone that lives there takes advantage of the fair traffic by offering ten dollar parking in their yards. We arrived early and paid a local the ten dollar fee to park in their back yard and started walking towards the gates. The entrance to the fairgrounds is a tunnel that runs underneath the previously mentioned one way street and you're met with a quick check to prevent weapons entering the fair. Upon entering you find yourself near an information booth with maps of the grounds and a list of things you can do and see from tractor shows to exhibits, rides, games, on stage entertainment, and more.

Lacking on time we skipped the scenic route and headed towards the main stage to find our seats and wait for the show to begin. Once more entering the main stage area you have a quick ticket check and list of rules to follow before making your way to your seats. When the show began it was Tigirlily who first took the stage to warm up the crowd before the main event, a task they were very well prepared for. Up until that day I'd never really heard much about them and was unfamiliar with their band. We really enjoyed the performance and I started looking into them more when I got back to the hotel and have enjoyed listening to their music since.

Being warmed up the crowd was all set for the main event when Walker Hayes took the stage to perform some crowd favorites as well as unveil a new unreleased song That Dog'll Hunt. The excitement of the crow was electrifying as he worked the stage dancing from one side to the other both singing and talking about his life and his rise to fame. We knew what he was building up to for the end was two of our favorite songs 90's Country and Fancy Like. We made our way to the stage for the final few songs having realized that security really didn't care at that point and we were easily allowed into the pit. We watched as the concert wound down and Walker ended his set then tossed his hat out into the crowd to a young boy who was watching the concert on his fathers shoulders.

We stayed after the crowd left to watch the fireworks over the stage and had the pleasure of meeting Tigirlily (pictured above). When the fireworks ended we stopped to play a coin pusher on the way out then proceeded to the truck for the drive back to our hotel. The concert had been a blast the state fair was fun and hopefully we'll make our way back in the coming years to enjoy some good ole fashioned West Virginia hospitality.