Explore the Arts
Charleston is fortunate to have many arts groups, lively festivals, and a wide variety of entertainment throughout the year. Whether your taste runs to a symphonic performance, it just isn’t the holidays for you without catching The Nutcracker, or you prefer to discover a local band at an outdoor festival, we have something for you.
Performing Arts
The WV Symphony Orchestra performs at the Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences. Performances include a Symphonic Series, a Pops Series, and special performances. The Symphony also performs with the Charleston Ballet for a yearly presentation of The Nutcracker. UC hosts Symphony Sunday in June, where area musical groups perform on the river lawn. The event ends with a performance by the WV Symphony and fireworks set to the “1812 Overture.”
The Charleston Ballet is the Official West Virginia State Ballet, and for 65 years has enriched the cultural life of the state with professional performances that include both traditional and original ballets. Each year, the Ballet offers its wonderful performance of The Nutcracker with the WV Symphony.
The Charleston Light Opera Guild and Kanawha Players offer live plays and musical theater, and the Children’s Theater of Charleston gives younger thespians a chance to hit the stage.
The Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences houses the Avampato Discovery Museum, an art gallery, museum, theater, and is home to the WV Symphony and the Charleston Light Opera Guild. https://www.theclaycenter.org/
The Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center offers a variety of musical and theater performances as well as a variety of expos throughout the year. https://www.chaswvccc.com/
Charleston offers many opportunities for theater, musical concerts, and other live performances throughout the year. One of the favorites is Mountain Stage, a two-hour music radio show produced by WV Public Radio and performed live. For nearly 40 years, Mountain Stage has been heard every week on more than 280 stations across America. https://mountainstage.org/
Rock City Cake Company often features local groups, and many night spots downtown (for hose of legal age) offer local musicians a chance to perform for appreciative crowds.
The Kanawha County Library and Taylor Books also offer opportunities for local performers to find an appreciative audience.
Museums
Charleston itself is a tribute to historical architecture. You can simply take a walk downtown to see a variety of historical buildings.
The West Virginia History Museum, housed in the WV Culture Center, takes visitors back in time, and explores West Virginia history, including culture, art, paleontology, traditions, geology, and more.
The Juliet Art Museum, located in the Clay Center for Art & Science, hosts traveling exhibits as well as a permanent collection.
The Art Emporium and Gallery Eleven are both located downtown and offer collections from local and West Virginia artists.
Events
There are many events throughout the year in Charleston – many of them are free to attend. In the fall, FestivALL provides activities to celebrate the season. In March, you can hear bagpipes playing and Irish dancers tapping during Celtic Calling. And every third Thursday from March through December you can enjoy ArtWalk – where you can wander downtown, stopping into the local shops, galleries and businesses that also feature local performances and art exhibits.
Trivia: At last year’s Celtic Calling event, the Guinness record was set for “Largest Gathering of People Wearing Unicorn Horns” with 334 people participating.