West Virginia Travel Guide 2009 - (Page 33) Wheeling Shepherdstown Charleston Huntington good place to start your cultural journey is in Charleston, the state’s capital city, where you could spend days trying out all the music, theater, art and science options at the downtown Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences. For movies, there’s the Electric Sky Theater, where a 61-foot tilted screen will immerse you right into large-format films on dinosaurs, aquatic life, caves and more – or transport you to space via the 10,000 stars that dot its planetarium ceiling. Be sure to check the center’s schedule for exhibitions and performances by touring artists and musicians, Broadway plays and the West Virginia Symphony, which plays in a new hall with world-class acoustics. Also in the capital is the West Virginia State Museum at The Cultural Center, which is under renovation but will re-open in the spring of 2009. Heading west from Charleston on a cultural trail, your next stop is the Huntington Museum of Art, whose eclectic collections span the spectrum from 18th-20th century American and European paintings to Haitian art works. An important collection of works by West Virginia glass makers and the state’s only plant conservatory – which features more than 400 varieties of orchids – round out the offerings. Swinging north along the Ohio River from Huntington, stop in Wheeling to catch a concert by the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra has a regular subscription season, but musicians also perform both Masterworks and Pops concerts throughout the year, as well as a wintertime Symphony on Ice event and a popular (and free!) Fourth of July concert. Heading across the state to the Eastern Panhandle, hit Shepherdstown for one of its many cultural events available throughout the year. The Contemporary American Theatre Festival at Shepherd University in July, acclaimed for its commitment to performing new plays, features equity actors and professional-level staging. Also based at the university, the Friends of Music offers an annual series of concerts – symphonies, jazz, choral, opera and more – by nationally and internationally known musicians. In the fall and spring, the Shepherdstown Film Society offers a series of free classic films, both domestic and foreign. Each November, the American Conservation Film Festival A Lewisburg shows outstanding films designed to encourage conservation of our natural heritage. End your cultural loop of the Mountain State by heading south from Shepherdstown to Lewisburg and enjoy performances at Carnegie Hall or Greenbrier Valley Theater. A Georgian Revival building donated to a women’s college by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie in 1902, Carnegie Hall’s year-long entertainment bill includes theater, concerts and even storytelling. Just a few blocks away, the Greenbrier Valley Theatre, dubbed “West Virginia’s Official Year-Round Professional Theater,” schedules theater, jazz and other music series throughout the year. IF YOU GO: » American Conservation Film Festival, 304-876-7373, www.conservationfilm.org » Carnegie Hall, 304-645-7917, www.carnegiehallwv.com » Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences, 304-561-3500, www.theclaycenter.org » Clay Center Electric Sky Theater, 304-561-3570, www.theclaycenter.org/events/electricskytheater/default.aspx » Contemporary American Theater Festival, 304-876-3473 or 800-999-2283, www.catf.org » Friends of Music, Shepherd University, 304-876-5765, www.sufom.org » Greenbrier Valley Theatre, 304-645-3838 or 866-888-1411, www.gvtheatre.org » Huntington Museum of Art, 304-529-2701, www.hmoa.org » Shepherdstown Film Society, 304-876-1837, www.shepherdstownfilmsociety.org » West Virginia Symphony, 304-561-3500, www.wvsymphony.org » Wheeling Symphony, 304-232-6191, www.wheelingsymphony.org Clockwise from left, this page: Shepherdstown Opera House , Electric Sky Theater in Charleston , Greenbrier Valley Theatre . b f h www.WVTOURISM.com 33 http://www.conservationfilm.org http://www.carnegiehallwv.com http://www.theclaycenter.org http://www.theclaycenter.org/events/electricskytheater/default.aspx http://www.catf.org http://www.sufom.org http://www.gvtheatre.org http://www.hmoa.org http://www.shepherdstownfilmsociety.org http://www.wvsymphony.org http://www.wheelingsymphony.org http://www.WVTOURISM.com
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