Please join us Friday evening 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm and all day Saturday 9:00 am to 10:00 pm at South Middle School in Morgantown, West Virginia. Admission is $3 on Friday and $5 on Saturday, but musicians with instruments and children under 7 get in free. This covers stage performances as well as participation in the workshops and dances. Everyone is welcome! Don't miss the Swing Dance in the cafeteria Friday night from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Come early and learn a new, ''old-time'' dance. The Saturday-evening Square Dance is from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm in the cafeteria, and the caller (Taylor Runner) will teach new dances throughout the evening. There is no additional charge to attend the dances and no experience is necessary. Just have fun!
Gardner Winter Music Festival
Join us on February 27th and 28th, 2026.
It all started one cold, snowy winter in 1978 ... Shake off those winter blues and
come to play or just listen at
South Middle School in Morgantown, West Virginia.
This festival showcases traditional Appalachian music with continuous on-stage performances,
workshops, informal jam sessions, and socializing. GWMF gives traditional Appalachian music
lovers a place to play, listen, dance, and learn in the cold dark of winter.
Vendors please contact us if you would
like to have a table at the festival. Items for sale must be music related.
Purchases at the festival are cash only, and there is no ATM on site.
New this year
A new activity being added this year is an instrument exchange. For more information please see this page.
History of the Gardner Winter Music Festival
Worley Gardner started this festival in 1978 and his late wife Margaret continued it after his passing.
A group of traditional-music-loving volunteers keeps it going today.
Festival sponsors include
PattyFest, Inc.
To mark the 35th anniversary of GWMF in 2013, Jeff Fedan created a special "memory booklet" where festival participants have shared special photos, thoughts, and memories of their GWMF weekends. A pdf (2.8 MB) of the booklet is here.
Revival of the Hammered Dulcimer
by the Gardner Brothers (Worley and Asel Gardner) is a pamphlet briefly describing the history, tuning, and playing of the
hammered dulcimer. A pdf is here.