BECKLEY, WV (WOAY) – The Tamarack celebrated West Virginia Day today with many activities, including the opening of a new art exhibit dedicated to Pride Month.
To celebrate the state holiday, the Tamarack in Beckley typically holds events, but this year they were worried they’d have to cancel festivities due to the pandemic. According to Tamarack’s marketing director Leah Dunmyer, they prideful that they were able to open up in time for the holiday.
“We’re really excited that we’re able to be open today. Obviously a month or two ago we weren’t sure if we would be able to celebrate West Virginia Day here. But we’ve got a lot going on, we’ve got some great sales, we’ve also got the opening of our newest art exhibit today,” Dunmyer said.
One way Tamarack celebrated was coordinating the opening of a new art exhibit with the state holiday. The art exhibit is called Vividly Chromatic Pigments of Pride. More than 50 artists are displaying their work at the Tamarack. According to gallery manager Mandy Lash, the exhibit is dedicated to Pride Month, which happens every year in June.
“June is Pride Month, and before COVID-19 hit, we initially wanted to open this show a lot earlier in the month of June so we could have the entire month to celebrate that. But thanks to COVID-19, we had to work on our dates a little bit and we are happy that we are at least getting a couple of weeks of June and August to have this exhibit up,” Lash said.
The art exhibit is open now until August 2 and is available to view for free. Dozens of pieces of art painted in vivid colors line the walls to celebrate pride. According to Tamarack’s marketing director, the exhibit and everything Tamarack did today is meant to excite people and get them to experience things again.
“It’s really important to celebrate West Virginia Day right now because I think people are ready to get out and experience some things that they’re used to experiencing. And here at Tamarack, we’re always celebrating West Virginia and it’s especially important today on West Virginia Day.”
Other things Tamarack did for West Virginia day included having a bubble show for families and holding sales on merchandise all sourced from local vendors.
Some safety precautions Tamarack does include blocking off certain entrances, having employees wear masks and encouraging social distancing.
