Jim Tucker and Herb Broadbent gathered a small crowd Saturday as they played fiddle and mandolin on a bench at the state Capitol Complex.
Groups just like that of Tucker and Broadbent were scattered around food stands, art vendors, crafts and dancers for the 41st annual Vandalia Gathering.
"You get to hear real people play real music," said Broadbent, a Clay County resident who has attended the festival for six years. "It's not so staged, it's not so orchestrated. It's just people playing."
The festival was started to bring people together to celebrate folklife traditions, said Caryn Gresham, deputy commissioner for the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, which started the event.
"It really does set the stage for people who are interested in old-time music, old-time art and old-time dance, everything about this is designed to help people not just appreciate, but get involved in traditional folklife," Gresham said.
Tucker, a Gassaway resident, has been coming to the event for many years, and playing the mandolin for nearly 50 years.
"I come to the event because I see some people I know and because of the music," Tucker said. "They like us to entertain the people when we play."
Jan Swisher, co-owner of By the River Creations, a business based in Dunbar, has been homemade bath products at the festival's Crafts Circle for 15 years.
"It's just a nice place where people come, people keep coming back that you see every year and it's just nice to talk to everybody," Swisher said.
The festival brings together older musicians and younger families to stimulate interest in Appalachian culture, Gresham said.
"It brings the music and the art and the dance of Appalachia together in a way that allows the oldtimers to come together and perform and also give opportunities for young people who wanted to see and learn more about it."
Gresham called the festival an amazing reunion.
"All you have to do is look around and you see little groups of people playing, people meet, families come here. Friends come here to find hospitable people that are willing to share their stories and play their music."
The Vandalia Gathering will continue Sunday with festival and art sales and at 10:30 a.m. at the Capitol Complex.
For a full schedule of events visit http://wvculture.org/vandalia/.
Reach Kayla Asbury at kayla.asbury@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5100 or follow @kasbury_ on Twitter.