The Mount Hope Jubilee is a yearly event that takes place in the small town of Mount Hope, West Virginia.
Due to COVID-19, the Jubilee had been cancelled two years in a row. The citizens of Mount Hope, and those that graduated from Mount Hope High School were expecting nothing less than a comeback this year.
Organizers Patty Logan and Bob Dorado put on the Mount Hope Jubilee once again, but this year was different.
“This year, we had a sock hop down at the old gym. And after the sock hop was over at nine o’clock, the fire departments put on fireworks.” Patty Logan said.
Bob Dorado said, “The fireworks, oh my gosh, so that was something we probably can’t do every year, but boy, what an added addition that was this year.”
Friday night was booming with graduates, family, friends, everyone coming in from around the state to see their little town once again.
Patty Logan says, “My favorite part is getting to see people that you don’t see normally. That’s the thing, getting to see old friends and people you went to school with and everything.”
Saturday morning, bright and early, was a parade that included many groups of people from around Fayette County. This included church groups, school bands, sports teams, graduating classes, and businesses. The theme was Decades from The Past. There was a car show in the parade that included many vintage vehicles. Entertainment lasted throughout all the hours of the day.
For those who had never been part of the Jubilee, you were not alone. Melinda Carr from Ohio came down to the Jubilee and had nothing but good things to say. “Yes, this was my first Jubilee. I thought it was very nice. All the vendors were nice, the parade was awesome, and the fireworks were awesome. Absolutely, I would recommend going to the Jubilee. It was wholesome and very entertaining, but the fireworks were over the top, better than most big cities.”
Lucas Reed, a student at Oak Hill High School attended this year’s Jubilee. “I really liked the music and bands playing.”
Jamie Blankenship, a resident of Mount Hope that has been coming to the Jubilee for years now. “With the lack of schools in Mount Hope, maybe trying to incorporate Oak Hill and the surrounding schools to participate in some way in the parade. This would draw more people in. Also, maybe a little more involvement with the football league who had games during the event. That was something that was done previously with having football games later in the day, and fireworks done on Saturday night. It also seemed that a lot of vendors did not show up which was very disappointing. The food is always great, several choices and variety.”
Although this year’s Jubilee is finished, residents and fans of Mount Hope still have future events to look forward to that will be coming this year.
“We are planning on having a Christmas Parade, and we are trying to make it a little bit like last year. It was nice and decorated, but this year we are thinking about possibly bringing some vendors in like we had at the Jubilee,” said Bob Dorado.
(FIT Media Junior Jayden Adkins captured the sights of this year’s Mount Hope Jubilee. Click on any photo to enlarge the gallery.)
