Sisters Fest is excited to welcome Patty Sue Cooper of Parkersburg to portray West Virginia frontier scout “Mad” Anne Bailey as their speaker after the annual banquet to be held March 17 in the Elks Ballroom, Sistersville.

While the banquet, slated to begin at 6 p.m., is a paid part of Sisters Fest, Bailey’s presentation is free and open to the public. Her portrayal should begin at approximately 7 p.m.

“I think the ‘sisters’ will really enjoy Cooper’s program,” said Amy Witschey, a member of the Sisters Fest committee. “Her character is very interesting and fits in well with this year’s theme, Wild, Wild West Sisters Fest.”

In the late-1700s Anne Bailey (ca. 1742-1825) served in the Great Kanawha Valley as a buckskin-clad frontierswoman who could handle a horse, hatchet, and long rifle as well as any man. When her husband was killed in the battle of Point Pleasant in 1774 she was compelled to avenge his death and embarked on a new life as border scout and messenger. The 1861 poem “Anne Bailey’s Ride” commemorates her heroic 1791 ride alone through over 100 miles of mostly wilderness when Fort Lee (Charleston) was threatened with attack to Fort Savannah (Lewisburg) and her return with desperately needed gunpowder.

Anne Bailey is one of the many available character presentations offered through the West Virginia Humanities Council’s History Alive! program as a means of exploring history by interacting with noteworthy historical figures. These programs provide audiences with the opportunity to question those who have shaped our history.

Historical characterization is the vehicle for this program. Humanities scholars have carefully researched a variety of sources about the figures they portray such as journals, letters, official documents, speeches, autobiographies, and research by other scholars in developing their presentation.

The West Virginia Humanities Council is a private, not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing educational programs in the humanities for all West Virginians. For over 30 years the council has been providing educational programs in the humanities across the state.

This program is available to interested nonprofit groups such as libraries, museums, and historical societies. For more information call The West Virginia Humanities Council at 346-8500 or visit their website at www.wvhumanities.org.

This West Virginia Humanities Council program is being hosted by Sisters Fest and is supported with additional financial assistance from the Office of the Secretary, West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts.

An event for sisters or even just close friends, Sisters Fest is for women age 16 and up headquartered in the Sistersville Elks ballroom. It begins Friday night at 6 p.m. with an appetizer and dessert contest, followed by a variety show at 7:30 p.m. and then square and line dancing. Saturday’s activities begin at 8:30 a.m. in the Elks Ballroom with breakfast served through 10:30 a.m. At 9:30 a.m. the Cowgirl Games will begin. At 11:30 a.m. the ladies will be on parade, gathering on Charles Street in front of the Wells Inn and going up Wells Street to the post office. After lunch at the Durham Mansion, the extremely popular “How Well Do You Know Your Sister?” game show will begin at 2:30 p.m. in the Elks ballroom. The banquet and Cooper’s presentation conclude the weekend’s activities.

Pre-registration is encouraged and may be required to ensure a place at the banquet. Also, all persons with registrations in by today will be entered into a drawing for a prize of $100 cash. Meeting that deadline is still possible by dropping off a registration and check at the Tyler Star News or Wetzel Chronicle offices, hours 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The cost to attend Sisters Fest is done on an a la carte basis with all attendees required to pay an $8 registration fee. After that the fee is based on what events sisters want to attend. The appetizer contest, variety show, cowgirl games, and game show are included in the registration, but additional charges are levied for breakfast, $6; luncheon, $10; and banquet, $14.

For information visit sistersfest.com or on Facebook; e-mail sistersfest@hotmail.com, or call Linda Marrin at 218-820-1772.