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![["The Swiss community of Helvetia, West Virginia began hosting its annual ramp supper sometime between 1946-1948 (Helvetia native Ernest Hofer who has been working at the supper for at least 40 years, wasnt sure of the exact date). The event is a fundraiser, benefiting the Helvetia Community Hall Association and the Farm Womens Club. For weeks prior, volunteers, including local 4-H kids, work to wash and freeze 60 bushels of ramps, some of which are dug and donated by locals, and the rest are bought from a digger. On the Friday before the event, male volunteers gather outside to cook 400 lbs. of potatoes in iron kettles over a wood fire, while drinking homemade wine. Women volunteers work in the kitchen, cutting 300 lbs. of ham, making cornbread, cooking Navy beans, and defrosting ramps. The Helvetia Ramp Supper is always held the last Saturday in April and draws visitors from across the state and region. The dinner includes fried and fresh ramps, beans, ham, fried potatoes, applesauce, cornbread, coleslaw, drink, and dessert, which guests eat at long tables in the basement of the Helvetia Community Hall. After dinner, a square dance is held upstairs. The documentation of the Helvetia Ramp Supper is part of the Helvetia Foodways Oral History Project in partnership with the Southern Foodways Alliance. Learn more: https://www.southernfoodways.org/oral-history/helvetia-west-virginia/Also see Emily Hilliards piece on Helvetias seasonal celebrations, including the Ramp Supper, via The Bitter Southerner: https://bittersoutherner.com/my-year-in-helvetia-west-virginia and read her piece on the Ramp Supper via the West Virginia Folklife blog: https://wvfolklife.org/2016/05/27/rampfingerprints/For more information, visit: http://www.helvetiawv.com/Events/Helvetia_Ramps/Helvetia_Ramps.htm"]](/thumb/4224HelvetiaRampSupperPhoto03542816 "Homemade desserts for the Helvetia Ramp Supper, 1 of 2")
- Identifier:
- 4224.HelvetiaRampSupper.Photo.035.4.28.16
- Title:
- Homemade desserts for the Helvetia Ramp Supper, 1 of 2
- Date:
- 2016-04-28
- Creator:
- Hilliard, Emily
- Subject:
- Food habits, foodways, Helvetia (W. Va.), Festivals, Cake, Bakers, and Wild leek
- Location:
- Helvetia (W. Va.)
![["The Swiss community of Helvetia, West Virginia began hosting its annual ramp supper sometime between 1946-1948 (Helvetia native Ernest Hofer who has been working at the supper for at least 40 years, wasnt sure of the exact date). The event is a fundraiser, benefiting the Helvetia Community Hall Association and the Farm Womens Club. For weeks prior, volunteers, including local 4-H kids, work to wash and freeze 60 bushels of ramps, some of which are dug and donated by locals, and the rest are bought from a digger. On the Friday before the event, male volunteers gather outside to cook 400 lbs. of potatoes in iron kettles over a wood fire, while drinking homemade wine. Women volunteers work in the kitchen, cutting 300 lbs. of ham, making cornbread, cooking Navy beans, and defrosting ramps. The Helvetia Ramp Supper is always held the last Saturday in April and draws visitors from across the state and region. The dinner includes fried and fresh ramps, beans, ham, fried potatoes, applesauce, cornbread, coleslaw, drink, and dessert, which guests eat at long tables in the basement of the Helvetia Community Hall. After dinner, a square dance is held upstairs. The documentation of the Helvetia Ramp Supper is part of the Helvetia Foodways Oral History Project in partnership with the Southern Foodways Alliance. Learn more: https://www.southernfoodways.org/oral-history/helvetia-west-virginia/Also see Emily Hilliards piece on Helvetias seasonal celebrations, including the Ramp Supper, via The Bitter Southerner: https://bittersoutherner.com/my-year-in-helvetia-west-virginia and read her piece on the Ramp Supper via the West Virginia Folklife blog: https://wvfolklife.org/2016/05/27/rampfingerprints/For more information, visit: http://www.helvetiawv.com/Events/Helvetia_Ramps/Helvetia_Ramps.htm"]](/thumb/4224HelvetiaRampSupperPhoto03642816 "Homemade desserts for the Helvetia Ramp Supper, 2 of 2")
- Identifier:
- 4224.HelvetiaRampSupper.Photo.036.4.28.16
- Title:
- Homemade desserts for the Helvetia Ramp Supper, 2 of 2
- Date:
- 2016-04-28
- Creator:
- Hilliard, Emily
- Subject:
- Helvetia (W. Va.), Food habits, Festivals, foodways, Cake, Wild leek, and Bakers
- Location:
- Helvetia (W. Va.)
![["Richwood, West Virginias Feast of the Ramson was first hosted for the public in 1938. The dinner is said to have evolved from a private ramp-focused meal/stag party, organized by 13 ramp lovers. The ramp dinner menu, currently priced at $15 for adults and $7 for children, includes ramps, potatoes, white beans, bacon, ham, cornbread, sassafras tea, homemade dessert. While the dinner was held previously at Richwood High School, in 2017, the event was relocated to Cherry River Elementary School after flood waters damaged the high school the year prior. The event also features musical performances and a downtown arts and crafts show. For more on ramps, see e-WV: https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1983"]](/thumb/4224RichwoodRampFestPhoto00142117 "Homemade desserts served at the Richwood Ramp Fest")
- Identifier:
- 4224.RichwoodRampFest.Photo.001.4.21.17
- Title:
- Homemade desserts served at the Richwood Ramp Fest
- Date:
- 2017-04-21
- Creator:
- Hilliard, Emily
- Subject:
- Food habits, Cake, foodways, Richwood (W. Va.), Festivals, Wild leek, and Bakers
- Location:
- Richwood (W. Va.)
![["Every July, the Mens Club of the Steubenville, Ohio Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Church hosts an annual picnic at their picnic grounds along Kings Creek in Weirton, West Virginia. The event serves as both a fundraiser for the Mens Club and a homecoming for Weirton and Steubenvilles Serbian Community. The event features Serbian music, dance, food, and drink. Mens Club members roast chickens and lambs on spits over open wood fires and sell them to picnic attendees. The spits were constructed out of material from Weirton Steel by Mens Club members and Weirton Steel employees in the 1960s. Other food served at the picnic includes pogacha (a type of Serbian bread), haluski or cabbage and noodles, cevaps (a pork, lamb, and beef sausage), strudel, nut rolls, beer, and Slivovitz.In 2017, state folklorist Emily Hilliard attended the Serbian picnic with Brynn Kusic, whose fathers family is part of the Weirton Serbian community. In 2019, Hilliard attended with a WVPB film crew to capture additional video footage and audio tape for a short video documentary (see below).Learn more about the Annual Picnic via the Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Church: https://www.hrsoc-steubenville.org/annual-picnicSee the short video and audio documentary about the Chicken Blasts, produced by the West Virginia Folklife Program and West Virginia Public Broadcasting: https://wvfolklife.org/2020/01/27/weirtons-serbian-heritage-is-a-chicken-blast/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpGF-MFUlhYhttps://soundcloud.com/wvpublicnews/weirtons-serbian-heritage-is-a-chicken-blast"]](/thumb/4224SerbianAnnualPicnicPhoto00672719 "Homemade cake for sale at the 2019 Serbian Annual Picnic in Weirton")
- Identifier:
- 4224.SerbianAnnualPicnic.Photo.006.7.27.19
- Title:
- Homemade cake for sale at the 2019 Serbian Annual Picnic in Weirton
- Date:
- 2019-07-27
- Creator:
- Hilliard, Emily
- Subject:
- Cake, Weirton (W. Va.), Bakers, Cooking, Serbian, Serbian Americans, and Picnic grounds
- Location:
- Weirton (W. Va.)
![["Every July, the Mens Club of the Steubenville, Ohio Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Church hosts an annual picnic at their picnic grounds along Kings Creek in Weirton, West Virginia. The event serves as both a fundraiser for the Mens Club and a homecoming for Weirton and Steubenvilles Serbian Community. The event features Serbian music, dance, food, and drink. Mens Club members roast chickens and lambs on spits over open wood fires and sell them to picnic attendees. The spits were constructed out of material from Weirton Steel by Mens Club members and Weirton Steel employees in the 1960s. Other food served at the picnic includes pogacha (a type of Serbian bread), haluski or cabbage and noodles, cevaps (a pork, lamb, and beef sausage), strudel, nut rolls, beer, and Slivovitz.In 2017, state folklorist Emily Hilliard attended the Serbian picnic with Brynn Kusic, whose fathers family is part of the Weirton Serbian community. In 2019, Hilliard attended with a WVPB film crew to capture additional video footage and audio tape for a short video documentary (see below).Learn more about the Annual Picnic via the Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Church: https://www.hrsoc-steubenville.org/annual-picnicSee the short video and audio documentary about the Chicken Blasts, produced by the West Virginia Folklife Program and West Virginia Public Broadcasting: https://wvfolklife.org/2020/01/27/weirtons-serbian-heritage-is-a-chicken-blast/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpGF-MFUlhYhttps://soundcloud.com/wvpublicnews/weirtons-serbian-heritage-is-a-chicken-blast"]](/thumb/4224SerbianAnnualPicnicPhoto00872719 "Homemade cake and pastries for sale at the 2019 Serbian Annual Picnic")
- Identifier:
- 4224.SerbianAnnualPicnic.Photo.008.7.27.19
- Title:
- Homemade cake and pastries for sale at the 2019 Serbian Annual Picnic
- Date:
- 2019-07-27
- Creator:
- Hilliard, Emily
- Subject:
- Cake, Picnic grounds, Serbian Americans, Bakers, and Cooking, Serbian
- Location:
- Weirton (W. Va.)
![["Documentation of folklore and material culture on display at the 2016 West Virginia State Fair in Lewisburg."]](/thumb/4224WVStateFairPhoto00181716 "West Virginia state capitol cake on display at the 2016 West Virginia State Fair")
- Identifier:
- 4224.WVStateFair.Photo.001.8.17.16
- Title:
- West Virginia state capitol cake on display at the 2016 West Virginia State Fair
- Date:
- 2016-08-17
- Creator:
- Hilliard, Emily
- Subject:
- Agricultural exhibitions, West Virginia Capitol Complex (Charleston, W. Va.), Bakers, Cake, and Cake decorating
- Location:
- Lewisburg (W. Va.)
