Middlebourne will be celebrating their Bicentennial from June 21-23 in a big way, with food, entertainment, craft shows, a parade, fireworks and more. This Bicentennial celebration is being strictly done through grants, specifically a $500 grant from Long Reach Credit Union, $500 from Stone Energy, $5,000 from West Virginia Culture and HIstory, and $50,000 from the Stealey Community Fund.

To kick-off the weekend, a dinner will be held on the Tyler County Senior Center lawn with a menu of hamburgers, hot dogs, cobblers, and ice cream, followed up with entertainment by Mountain State Bluegrass Express at 5 p.m. A quilt show will also take place at the Senior Center on both Friday and Saturday.

Saturday’s activities begin at 11 a.m. with the brass quintet, Summertyme, playing at the town’s gazebo. Soup beans and corn bread will be for sale at the senior center, whereas those craving a hot dog or pepperoni roll can stop by the library where those food items will be available.

The parade will begin at 1 p.m., with lineup for the event starting at 12:15 p.m. at the senior center. After the parade, Adams House Ministries will be hosting an ice cream social. The ministry will set up a collection site in front of the magistrate office where they will be accepting hygiene and nonperishable food items.

Also on Saturday, Maria Isabella “Belle” Boyd (1844-1900), a confederate spy, will be portrayed by Patty Cooper of Parkersburg. The presentation is part of the History Alive! program of the West Virginia Humanities Council.

From 2-6 p.m. on Saturday there will be a variety of events available for children held at both the CSTC lawn and Main Street. These events include inflatable activities, a rock wall, face painting, balloon animals, and bubbles. A slide presentation of Middlebourne’s history can be viewed at the Middlebourne Fire Dept.

An apple butter demonstration, as well as a birthday cake honoring Middlebourne’s birthday, will be available in the town, and Betty Tustin will be doing a weaving demonstration on Main Street.

The big event of the evening will take place at the Tyler County Fairgrounds where Landau Eugene Murphy will be performing from 7:30-9 p.m. and is free to the public. Following this event, a fireworks show will be presented by Zambelli’s. During this time, the ladies of the fair board will have beverages, hot dogs, and chips and salsa for sale.

The fair board ladies will return on Monday where they will be serving a baked chicken dinner at the log building from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., followed by a performance by Gold Wing Express at the stage.