In a Tiny Appalachian Village, a Beloved Festival Returns
The New York Times
The Fasnacht celebration in Helvetia, W.Va., draws revelers who soak in the Swiss culture — and burn Old Man Winter in effigy.
HELVETIA, W.Va. — As the sun set below the ridgelines of the Appalachian Mountains on Saturday evening, revelers donned fantastical papier-mâché masks — a bright red creature with striped horns, a boar with a floral headdress, an autumn leaf — and marched with gusto in an outdoor masquerade ball.
The celebration included Swiss folk songs, tiny Swiss flags and paper lanterns. It culminated in a parade through the streets of the village, led by an effigy of Old Man Winter, which was then thrown atop a raging bonfire, in an effort to hasten the coming of spring.
Helvetia, a community of just 85 people, has hosted Fasnacht for more than half a century. The coronavirus pandemic forced its cancellation last year — the first since 1967 — making this year’s celebration all the more sweet.
