Menu Expand Menu Close
Back to Top
Filter Search Expand Close Filter
Search Expand Search Close
["Every year on the Saturday before Ash Wednesday, the town of Helvetia in Randolph County, West Virginia, hosts its Fasnacht celebration, a pre-Lenten mountain Mardi Gras intended both to reinforce Swiss customs for locals and bring much-needed tourist dollars to the town in the sparse mid-winter months.Though the holiday was originally celebrated only by locals in the towns private homes, in the late 1960s, town matriarch Eleanor Mailloux restored the holiday as a public celebration. Today, Fasnacht attracts attendees from near and far. The event begins with an open music jam at the Helvetia Star Band Hall or a special sampler plate dinner from the Hutte Restaurant. Then everyone gathers in the Star Band Hall in their homemade papier-mache masks for a masked lampion parade to the Community Hall. At the second hall, there is a mask contest for kids, a square dance called by local callers and accompanied by the Helvetia Star Band, and a treat table of traditional doughnuts and Swiss rosettes and hozablatz made by Diane Betler, Eleanor Betler, and other local bakers. All of this takes place under an effigy of Old Man Winter, hanging over the dance floor. At midnight the Old Man is cut from the rafters and burned on the bonfire outside, as the crowd sings a rousing a capella rendition of Country Roads. Learn more in Emily Hilliard's Bitter Southerner piece on Helvetia's seasonal celebrations, including Fasnacht: https://bittersoutherner.com/my-year-in-helvetia-west-virginiaAnd her piece on Fasnachts foodways traditions on NPRs The Salt: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/02/17/386970143/swiss-village-west-virginia-mardi-gras-feast-fasnacht Also see the Helvetia Foodways Oral History Project conducted by the West Virginia Folklife Program in partnership with the Southern Foodways Alliance: https://www.southernfoodways.org/oral-history/helvetia-west-virginia/"]%

1. Helvetia Community Hall decorated for Fasnacht, 2 of 2

Identifier:
4224.HelvetiaFasnacht.Photo.002.2.6.16
Title:
Helvetia Community Hall decorated for Fasnacht, 2 of 2
Date:
2016-02-06
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Carnival, Winter festivals, Swiss Americans, Helvetia (W. Va.), Festivals
Location:
Helvetia (W. Va.)
["Every year on the Saturday before Ash Wednesday, the town of Helvetia in Randolph County, West Virginia, hosts its Fasnacht celebration, a pre-Lenten mountain Mardi Gras intended both to reinforce Swiss customs for locals and bring much-needed tourist dollars to the town in the sparse mid-winter months.Though the holiday was originally celebrated only by locals in the towns private homes, in the late 1960s, town matriarch Eleanor Mailloux restored the holiday as a public celebration. Today, Fasnacht attracts attendees from near and far. The event begins with an open music jam at the Helvetia Star Band Hall or a special sampler plate dinner from the Hutte Restaurant. Then everyone gathers in the Star Band Hall in their homemade papier-mache masks for a masked lampion parade to the Community Hall. At the second hall, there is a mask contest for kids, a square dance called by local callers and accompanied by the Helvetia Star Band, and a treat table of traditional doughnuts and Swiss rosettes and hozablatz made by Diane Betler, Eleanor Betler, and other local bakers. All of this takes place under an effigy of Old Man Winter, hanging over the dance floor. At midnight the Old Man is cut from the rafters and burned on the bonfire outside, as the crowd sings a rousing a capella rendition of Country Roads. Learn more in Emily Hilliard's Bitter Southerner piece on Helvetia's seasonal celebrations, including Fasnacht: https://bittersoutherner.com/my-year-in-helvetia-west-virginiaAnd her piece on Fasnachts foodways traditions on NPRs The Salt: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/02/17/386970143/swiss-village-west-virginia-mardi-gras-feast-fasnacht Also see the Helvetia Foodways Oral History Project conducted by the West Virginia Folklife Program in partnership with the Southern Foodways Alliance: https://www.southernfoodways.org/oral-history/helvetia-west-virginia/"]%

2. Effigy of Old Man Winter hangs from the rafters in the Helvetia Community Hall

Identifier:
4224.HelvetiaFasnacht.Photo.003.2.6.16
Title:
Effigy of Old Man Winter hangs from the rafters in the Helvetia Community Hall
Date:
2016-02-06
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Carnival, Winter festivals, Helvetia (W. Va.), Festivals
Location:
Helvetia (W. Va.), Randolph County (W. Va.)
["Every year on the Saturday before Ash Wednesday, the town of Helvetia in Randolph County, West Virginia, hosts its Fasnacht celebration, a pre-Lenten mountain Mardi Gras intended both to reinforce Swiss customs for locals and bring much-needed tourist dollars to the town in the sparse mid-winter months.Though the holiday was originally celebrated only by locals in the towns private homes, in the late 1960s, town matriarch Eleanor Mailloux restored the holiday as a public celebration. Today, Fasnacht attracts attendees from near and far. The event begins with an open music jam at the Helvetia Star Band Hall or a special sampler plate dinner from the Hutte Restaurant. Then everyone gathers in the Star Band Hall in their homemade papier-mache masks for a masked lampion parade to the Community Hall. At the second hall, there is a mask contest for kids, a square dance called by local callers and accompanied by the Helvetia Star Band, and a treat table of traditional doughnuts and Swiss rosettes and hozablatz made by Diane Betler, Eleanor Betler, and other local bakers. All of this takes place under an effigy of Old Man Winter, hanging over the dance floor. At midnight the Old Man is cut from the rafters and burned on the bonfire outside, as the crowd sings a rousing a capella rendition of Country Roads. Learn more in Emily Hilliard's Bitter Southerner piece on Helvetia's seasonal celebrations, including Fasnacht: https://bittersoutherner.com/my-year-in-helvetia-west-virginiaAnd her piece on Fasnachts foodways traditions on NPRs The Salt: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/02/17/386970143/swiss-village-west-virginia-mardi-gras-feast-fasnacht Also see the Helvetia Foodways Oral History Project conducted by the West Virginia Folklife Program in partnership with the Southern Foodways Alliance: https://www.southernfoodways.org/oral-history/helvetia-west-virginia/"]%

3. The effigy of Old Man Winter is created by Helvetia community member Betty Biggs

Identifier:
4224.HelvetiaFasnacht.Photo.004.2.6.16
Title:
The effigy of Old Man Winter is created by Helvetia community member Betty Biggs
Date:
2016-02-06
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Helvetia (W. Va.), Winter festivals, Carnival, Festivals
Location:
Randolph County (W. Va.), Helvetia (W. Va.)
["Every year on the Saturday before Ash Wednesday, the town of Helvetia in Randolph County, West Virginia, hosts its Fasnacht celebration, a pre-Lenten mountain Mardi Gras intended both to reinforce Swiss customs for locals and bring much-needed tourist dollars to the town in the sparse mid-winter months.Though the holiday was originally celebrated only by locals in the towns private homes, in the late 1960s, town matriarch Eleanor Mailloux restored the holiday as a public celebration. Today, Fasnacht attracts attendees from near and far. The event begins with an open music jam at the Helvetia Star Band Hall or a special sampler plate dinner from the Hutte Restaurant. Then everyone gathers in the Star Band Hall in their homemade papier-mache masks for a masked lampion parade to the Community Hall. At the second hall, there is a mask contest for kids, a square dance called by local callers and accompanied by the Helvetia Star Band, and a treat table of traditional doughnuts and Swiss rosettes and hozablatz made by Diane Betler, Eleanor Betler, and other local bakers. All of this takes place under an effigy of Old Man Winter, hanging over the dance floor. At midnight the Old Man is cut from the rafters and burned on the bonfire outside, as the crowd sings a rousing a capella rendition of Country Roads. Learn more in Emily Hilliard's Bitter Southerner piece on Helvetia's seasonal celebrations, including Fasnacht: https://bittersoutherner.com/my-year-in-helvetia-west-virginiaAnd her piece on Fasnachts foodways traditions on NPRs The Salt: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/02/17/386970143/swiss-village-west-virginia-mardi-gras-feast-fasnacht Also see the Helvetia Foodways Oral History Project conducted by the West Virginia Folklife Program in partnership with the Southern Foodways Alliance: https://www.southernfoodways.org/oral-history/helvetia-west-virginia/"]%

4. Overhead view of the music jam in the Helvetia Star Band Hall

Identifier:
4224.HelvetiaFasnacht.Photo.009.2.6.16
Title:
Overhead view of the music jam in the Helvetia Star Band Hall
Date:
2016-02-06
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Fiddle tunes, Old-time music, Fiddling, Folk music--West Virginia, Helvetia (W. Va.), Festivals, Winter festivals, Carnival
Location:
Helvetia (W. Va.)
["Every year on the Saturday before Ash Wednesday, the town of Helvetia in Randolph County, West Virginia, hosts its Fasnacht celebration, a pre-Lenten mountain Mardi Gras intended both to reinforce Swiss customs for locals and bring much-needed tourist dollars to the town in the sparse mid-winter months.Though the holiday was originally celebrated only by locals in the towns private homes, in the late 1960s, town matriarch Eleanor Mailloux restored the holiday as a public celebration. Today, Fasnacht attracts attendees from near and far. The event begins with an open music jam at the Helvetia Star Band Hall or a special sampler plate dinner from the Hutte Restaurant. Then everyone gathers in the Star Band Hall in their homemade papier-mache masks for a masked lampion parade to the Community Hall. At the second hall, there is a mask contest for kids, a square dance called by local callers and accompanied by the Helvetia Star Band, and a treat table of traditional doughnuts and Swiss rosettes and hozablatz made by Diane Betler, Eleanor Betler, and other local bakers. All of this takes place under an effigy of Old Man Winter, hanging over the dance floor. At midnight the Old Man is cut from the rafters and burned on the bonfire outside, as the crowd sings a rousing a capella rendition of Country Roads. Learn more in Emily Hilliard's Bitter Southerner piece on Helvetia's seasonal celebrations, including Fasnacht: https://bittersoutherner.com/my-year-in-helvetia-west-virginiaAnd her piece on Fasnachts foodways traditions on NPRs The Salt: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/02/17/386970143/swiss-village-west-virginia-mardi-gras-feast-fasnacht Also see the Helvetia Foodways Oral History Project conducted by the West Virginia Folklife Program in partnership with the Southern Foodways Alliance: https://www.southernfoodways.org/oral-history/helvetia-west-virginia/"]%

5. Fiddler Jesse Milnes plays in the music jam at the Helvetia Star Band Hall

Identifier:
4224.HelvetiaFasnacht.Photo.012.2.6.16
Title:
Fiddler Jesse Milnes plays in the music jam at the Helvetia Star Band Hall
Date:
2016-02-06
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Old-time music, Festivals, Tourism and the arts, Fiddle tunes, Carnival, Fiddling, Winter festivals, Helvetia (W. Va.), Folk music--West Virginia
Location:
Helvetia (W. Va.), Randolph County (W. Va.)
["Every year on the Saturday before Ash Wednesday, the town of Helvetia in Randolph County, West Virginia, hosts its Fasnacht celebration, a pre-Lenten mountain Mardi Gras intended both to reinforce Swiss customs for locals and bring much-needed tourist dollars to the town in the sparse mid-winter months.Though the holiday was originally celebrated only by locals in the towns private homes, in the late 1960s, town matriarch Eleanor Mailloux restored the holiday as a public celebration. Today, Fasnacht attracts attendees from near and far. The event begins with an open music jam at the Helvetia Star Band Hall or a special sampler plate dinner from the Hutte Restaurant. Then everyone gathers in the Star Band Hall in their homemade papier-mache masks for a masked lampion parade to the Community Hall. At the second hall, there is a mask contest for kids, a square dance called by local callers and accompanied by the Helvetia Star Band, and a treat table of traditional doughnuts and Swiss rosettes and hozablatz made by Diane Betler, Eleanor Betler, and other local bakers. All of this takes place under an effigy of Old Man Winter, hanging over the dance floor. At midnight the Old Man is cut from the rafters and burned on the bonfire outside, as the crowd sings a rousing a capella rendition of Country Roads. Learn more in Emily Hilliard's Bitter Southerner piece on Helvetia's seasonal celebrations, including Fasnacht: https://bittersoutherner.com/my-year-in-helvetia-west-virginiaAnd her piece on Fasnachts foodways traditions on NPRs The Salt: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/02/17/386970143/swiss-village-west-virginia-mardi-gras-feast-fasnacht Also see the Helvetia Foodways Oral History Project conducted by the West Virginia Folklife Program in partnership with the Southern Foodways Alliance: https://www.southernfoodways.org/oral-history/helvetia-west-virginia/"]%

6. Fasnacht masks made from egg crates

Identifier:
4224.HelvetiaFasnacht.Photo.015.2.6.16
Title:
Fasnacht masks made from egg crates
Date:
2016-02-06
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Festivals, Carnival masks, Winter festivals, Helvetia (W. Va.), Carnival
Location:
Helvetia (W. Va.)
["Every year on the Saturday before Ash Wednesday, the town of Helvetia in Randolph County, West Virginia, hosts its Fasnacht celebration, a pre-Lenten mountain Mardi Gras intended both to reinforce Swiss customs for locals and bring much-needed tourist dollars to the town in the sparse mid-winter months.Though the holiday was originally celebrated only by locals in the towns private homes, in the late 1960s, town matriarch Eleanor Mailloux restored the holiday as a public celebration. Today, Fasnacht attracts attendees from near and far. The event begins with an open music jam at the Helvetia Star Band Hall or a special sampler plate dinner from the Hutte Restaurant. Then everyone gathers in the Star Band Hall in their homemade papier-mache masks for a masked lampion parade to the Community Hall. At the second hall, there is a mask contest for kids, a square dance called by local callers and accompanied by the Helvetia Star Band, and a treat table of traditional doughnuts and Swiss rosettes and hozablatz made by Diane Betler, Eleanor Betler, and other local bakers. All of this takes place under an effigy of Old Man Winter, hanging over the dance floor. At midnight the Old Man is cut from the rafters and burned on the bonfire outside, as the crowd sings a rousing a capella rendition of Country Roads. Learn more in Emily Hilliard's Bitter Southerner piece on Helvetia's seasonal celebrations, including Fasnacht: https://bittersoutherner.com/my-year-in-helvetia-west-virginiaAnd her piece on Fasnachts foodways traditions on NPRs The Salt: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/02/17/386970143/swiss-village-west-virginia-mardi-gras-feast-fasnacht Also see the Helvetia Foodways Oral History Project conducted by the West Virginia Folklife Program in partnership with the Southern Foodways Alliance: https://www.southernfoodways.org/oral-history/helvetia-west-virginia/"]%

7. Elephant Fasnacht mask

Identifier:
4224.HelvetiaFasnacht.Photo.016.2.6.16
Title:
Elephant Fasnacht mask
Date:
2016-02-06
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Helvetia (W. Va.), Winter festivals, Carnival masks, Festivals, Carnival
Location:
Randolph County (W. Va.), Helvetia (W. Va.)