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Oil & Gas Festival a Huge Success

By Randy Rutherford - Staff Writer | Sep 19, 2024

Half Breed Owner Kevin Giboney participates in the Oil & Gas Festival.

The 56th annual West Virginia Oil and Gas Parade and Festival was held this past week beginning on Thursday, September 12th and running through Saturday, September 14th in Sistersville, West Virginia. The long running festival was founded to celebrate and pay tribute to the rich history of the oil and gas industry in the community.

This was the first year of the festival since the passing of local community servant, Barbara Vincent, who truly was the heart and soul of the Oil and Gas Festival. Not only had Barb been a central part of the festival since the very beginning in the late 60s, but she was dedicated to ensuring a safe and fun festival each year for all attending. Her presence this year was deeply missed.

During this year’s festival, Lloyd Jackson II, 2024 Oil and Gas Person of the Year, was honored at a special dinner held at the Fire Hall on Friday evening in Sistersville. Then, Mr. Jackson, an attorney and businessman whose family has been involved in the oil and natural gas industry for over 100 years, acted as Parade Marshall for the Grand Oil and Gas Trophy Parade on Saturday.

The parade followed its traditional route beginning at 1:00 PM coming north on State Route 2 and then proceeding through downtown on Wells Street. The sidewalks were full of children, candy bags at the ready, enjoying low humidity and warm temperatures topping out in the mid-80s. Eleven marching bands traveled to Sistersville to participate in the Grand Parade, and it is always a treat to have our local favorite bands from Tyler Consolidated, Paden City High School, Valley High School, Magnolia and Hundred High School proudly march through the center of town decked out in their finery.

Along with the bands, 2024 Oil and Gas Queen, the lovely Mia Grace Bailey and her court, made their way down Wells Street throwing out candy to the kids lined up on the sidewalks all trying hard to get their attention.

The Oil and Gas Engine Show was held daily at the city park while a variety of entertainment was performed on the park stage. Also featured were oil and gas exhibits, crafts, commercial booths, game booths, assorted food trucks and festival sales. New to this year’s lineup were free Kiddie rides open on Friday and Saturday at the park.

The always popular Band-A-Rama which was held at Tyler Consolidated High School featured 17 bands from across the state, drew a large crowd and ran late into the evening. Parkersburg South was awarded the honor of Overall Grand Champion.

Monica Lee, Oil and Gas Festival Board member and publicity chair, was very happy with the attendance after months of work in preparation. “Thank you to the Sistersville Community, Mayor Bill Rice, The City Workers, and The Parks & Recreation, fire department and Police Department. We truly appreciate the support making this year a wonderful success.” Monica also shared how grateful she was to the city crew and the mayor for spending long hours making sure everything was up and running before the festival began.

All and all, the festival offered many different events and activities. People shared they were glad to see all the activity at the park, the return of the food vendor trucks and Kiddie rides that were free for families to enjoy. Most food vendors saw brisk traffic and lines waiting to place a food order.

Next week’s Star News will feature extended coverage of the parade, the Band-A-Rama, entertainment and additional pictures of the gas engines displayed at the park.

Special thanks go out to the sponsors of the historic Oil & Gas Festival. This community event could never take place without their help. The 2024 sponsors were Conserve Incorporated, AL TA Energy, Gary & Wellman, Inc., Advance Auto Parts, Hall Drilling, LLC, Litman Enterprises, Sistersville Eye Care Center, AutoZone WXCR 92.3, Perkins Oil and Gas, Inc., O’Reilly Auto Parts, Light Rock 93R, Hometown Hardware, J. C. Mensore Distributor, Inc., Greylock Energy, King’s Corner, Waco Oil and Gas, Wetzel Valley Agencies, Quality Aluminum, Jackson Management Company, Long Reach Federal Credit Union, Jay-Bee Oil and Gas, Tyler Star News and The Wetzel Chronicle, L.A. Gates Company, Perkins Supply, Arsenal Resources, S&R Gas Ventures, Momentive, Gas and Oil Association Of West Virginia, the Town of Friendly and Shiloh Days and S&S Engineers.