Rails and Ales Rolls Out the Barrels

Rails and Ales, West Virginia's largest beer festival, rolls out the barrels Saturday at Harris Riverfront Park in downtown Huntington. The sixth annual Rails and Ales is set to tap more than 300 different craft beers and ciders from around the globe for an afternoon and evening sessions that also include live music, locally made food and local arts, crafts and merch.Kick off is at noon for VIP and 1 p.m. for general admission for the afternoon session, while the evening session (general admission only) begins at 6 p.m. Advance tickets for West Virginia's largest craft beer festival are nearly gone for the VIP session ($60) as well as general admission ($40) for the evening session. Go online atwww.railsandales.com/tickets to get advance tickets. You can also purchase tickets at the gate if they are not sold out. The $20 designated driver tickets are only available at the gate.Forecast is Fair to Fiddlin' in Fairlea

Most of the region's county fairs have come and gone but we've still got a couple that roll through this weekend including the Scioto County Fair in Lucasville, Ohio, and the Mason County Fair just north of Point Pleasant. The Scioto County Fair has Tracy Lawrence Friday night, while up and comer, Mo Pitney plays the Mason County Fair Friday. You can supersize that fair fun as The 94th Annual State Fair of West Virginia is set to open this Thursday, Aug. 9, outside of Lewisburg, W.Va., with 10 days of fun through Saturday, Aug. 18.The fair has Chris Young Friday, MercyMe Saturday and Sesame Street Live on Sunday. Other concerts include 38 Special, The Southern Uprising Tour featuring Travis Tritt, The Charlie Daniels Band, and The Marshall Tucker Band, along with Buckin' B Bull Ride with Phil Vassar. Free grandstand shows include Uncle Si and the Sicotics, Ben & Noel Haggard, and Chris Knight.Advanced discounted tickets are available through August 7 at select One Stop and Stop In food stores. All concert tickets and details can be found at www.statefairofwv.com or by calling 1-800-514-ETIX(3849). For more information, please visit www.statefairofwv.com, or follow fair events on Facebook and Twitter.

Ain't No Party Like A Pre-Fest Party There's not one but two big festival pre-parties this weekend. Byron Roberts' sold-out Kickin' It On the Creek festival in September, dials up that wild festival spirit this weekend as the V Club, 741 6th Ave., welcomes in two killer Lexington bands, Magnolia Boulevard and The Wooks, along with the pride of the Queen City, Buffalo Wabs and the Price Hill Hustle at 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 10 at the V Club. Cover is $10 advance or $12 at the door. Then Saturday night it is the first official pre-party for Funktafest 2018 at the V Club. Come and check out three funktastic WV acts that will be playing the festival on September 29.Playing Saturday is a couple Charleston acts, Beggars Clan and DJ Charlie Blac, and Huntington's regionally traveling jam unit, The Settlement. Cover is $8 or buy a Funktafest all-access pass for $25.Go online at https://funktafest.com/ for more info, and go online at vclublive.com to see more upcoming shows including an Aug. 15 concert with Gangstagrass.Get Outside There's just a week before school starts so best be getting in some good outdoors fun. Head up to the Huntington Museum of Art at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 11, when the The Greater Huntington Park & Recreation District and Museum staff are teaming up for a Summer Picnic Hike. Join the GHPRD Recreation Team and HMA Nature Trail Docents as we hike approximately two miles on the Nature Trails at the Huntington Museum of Art, followed by a light picnic and a nature-based craft. This free outdoor summer activity is open to the public and fun for the whole family! A map of the trail is available to view or print at https://www.hmoa.org/assets/pdfs/2017/hma-trail-map.pdf For more information contact GHPRD Recreation Superintendent Stacey Leep at sleep@ghprd.org or call 304-696-5954 or HMA Museum & Schools Coordinator Cindy Dearborn at cdearborn@hmoa.org or call 304-529-2701.Then at 9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 11, head out to Beech Fork State Park headquarters building, where they will be hosting a Star Party. Come out and enjoy hot chocolate and watch the Perseid meteor shower, as well as look at constellations, planets, satellites, and more. If the sky is clear, you be able to see Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Astronomers will be present to answer questions, and telescopes to see these awesome celestial bodies. Bring a chair, lie back, sip hot chocolate, and enjoy the evening at Beech Fork State Park. Open to the public without charge.My road-trip pick this weekend is to head to the Ohio River for the blues ... in Wheeling, it's the 18th annual Heritage Music BluesFest at the Heritage Port Friday through Sunday and in Cincinnati on Saturday only it's the annual Cincy Blues Fest at Sawyer Point Park right on the river.

Go online at heritagemusicfest.com for more info and go online at cincybluesfest.org.

Dave Lavender is the author of "Dave Trippin: A Daytripper's Guide to the Appalachian Galaxy of Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia" and his new travel book, "Mo' Dave Trippin" now for sale on Amazon.com and through CreateSpace.Check out the new book at the Red Caboose, Empire Books and News, Camden Park and Amazon.com Lavender covers regional travel. Follow The Herald-Dispatch reporter on Facebook and Twitter @DaveLavenderHD.

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