Editing Charleston, West Virginia (section)

==Culture==

===Annual events and fairs===
Charleston is home to numerous annual events and fairs that take place from the banks of the [[Kanawha River]] to the capitol grounds.

The West Virginia Dance Festival, held between April 25 and 30, features dance students from across the state that attend classes and workshops in ballet, jazz, and modern dance. At the finale, the students give free public performances at the West Virginia State Theatre.

Symphony Sunday, held annually since 1982, usually the first weekend in June, is a full day of music, food, and family fun culminating in a free performance by the [[West Virginia Symphony Orchestra]] and a fireworks display. Throughout the day, local community dance and music ensembles perform. Ensembles that perform on Symphony Sunday include the Kanawha Valley Ringers, the West Virginia Kickers, the Charleston Metro Band, the West Virginia Youth Symphony, the Mountain State Brass Band, and the Kanawha Valley Community Band. The now-defunct Charleston Neophonic Orchestra also performed at the event.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wvsl.org/symphsunday.htm |title=Symphony Sunday |publisher=West Virginia Symphony League |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090608031245/http://www.wvsl.org/symphsunday.htm |archive-date=June 8, 2009 }}</ref>

The [[NPR]] program [[Mountain Stage]] was founded in Charleston in 1983. The live performance music program, produced by [[West Virginia Public Broadcasting]] and heard on the [[Voice of America]] and via [[NPR Music]], records episodes at the Culture Center Theater on the [[West Virginia State Capitol]] grounds.

[[File:The Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences of West Virginia, in Charleston LCCN2015631764.tif|thumb|[[Clay Center (Charleston, West Virginia)|Clay Center]]]]

Twice a year, in late April and early November, the West Virginia International Film Festival occurs,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wviff.org |title=Our Mission |publisher=West Virginia Film Festival |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090429035622/http://www.wviff.org/ |archive-date=April 29, 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> at which many domestic and international films are shown, including full-length feature films, shorts, documentaries, animation, and student films.

Charleston hosts the annual [[Gazette-Mail Kanawha County Majorette and Band Festival]] for the eight public high schools in Kanawha County. The festival began in 1947 and has continued on as an annual tradition. It is held at the [[University of Charleston Stadium at Laidley Field]] in downtown Charleston. It is the state's oldest music festival.

On [[Memorial Day]] weekend, the Vandalia Gathering<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wvculture.org/vandalia/|title=Vandalia Gathering|website=www.wvculture.org|access-date=October 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190917032020/http://www.wvculture.org/vandalia/|archive-date=September 17, 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> is held on the state capitol grounds. Thousands of visitors each year enjoy traditional music, art, dance, stories, crafts, and food that stems from West Virginia's mountain culture.

Since 2005, FestivALL<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://festivallcharleston.com/|title=Home &#124; FestivAll|website=festivallcharleston.com|access-date=October 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190930200835/https://festivallcharleston.com/|archive-date=September 30, 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> has provided the Charleston area with cultural and artistic events beginning on June 20 ([[West Virginia Day]]) and including dance, theater, and music. FestivALL provides local artists a valuable chance to display their works and help get others interested in, and involved with, the local artistic community. Highlights include an art fair on Capitol Street and local bands playing live music at stages set up throughout downtown, as well as a wine and jazz festival on the campus of the [[University of Charleston]] featuring local and nationally known jazz artists and showcasing the products of West Virginia vineyards.

The Charleston Sternwheel Regatta is an annual river festival held on the Kanawha Boulevard by Haddad Riverfront Park on the Kanawha River. Founded in 1970, it was originally held during Labor Day weekend each year until its discontinuation in 2008, but after its revival in 2022, it is now held during [[Independence Day (United States)|Independence Day]] weekend. The event has carnival-style rides and attractions and live music from local and nationally known bands.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}

===Historical structures and museums===
[[File:Kanawha County Courthouse.jpg|thumb|The [[Kanawha County Courthouse]]]]
Charleston has several older buildings in various architectural styles. About [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Kanawha County, West Virginia|50 places in Charleston]] are on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2009a}}</ref> A segment of the East End consisting of several blocks of Virginia and Quarrier Streets, encompassing an area of nearly a full square mile, has been officially designated as a historical neighborhood. The neighborhood has many houses dating from the late 19th and early 20th century as well as a few [[art deco]] style apartment buildings dating from the 1920s and early 30s.

Downtown Charleston is home to several commercial buildings between 80 and 115 years old, including the Security Building (corner of Virginia and Capitol Street), 405 Capitol Street (the former Daniel Boone Hotel), the Union Building (at the southern end of Capitol Street), the Kanawha County Courthouse, the Public Library (corner of Capitol and Quarrier Streets), and the Masonic Temple (corner of Virginia and Dickenson Street). Also of note are several historic churches grouped closely together in a neighborhood just east of downtown; [[Basilica of the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart (Charleston, West Virginia)|Basilica of the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart]] (one of the two cathedrals of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston]]), First Presbyterian Church, Kanawha United Presbyterian Church, St. John's Episcopal Church, Charleston Baptist Temple, St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church, and Christ Church United Methodist.

Other historic buildings can be found throughout the city, particularly in the broader East End, the West Side, and Kanawha City. They include the Avampato Discovery Museum (now part of the [[Clay Center, West Virginia|Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences]]), Sunrise Museum, (now part of the [[Clay Center, West Virginia|Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences]]), [[West Virginia State Museum]], St. George Orthodox Cathedral, St. Marks United Methodist Church, the Capitol Theater, and the Woman's Club of Charleston.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}

===Retail===
[[File:Capitol Market (Charleston WV).jpg|thumb|upright|Capitol Market]]
In 1983, the [[Charleston Town Center]] became the largest downtown mall east of the Mississippi River.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Conn|first=Anthony|title=What is next for the Charleston Town Center Mall?|url=https://wchstv.com/features/eyewitness-news-investigates/charleston-town-center-mall|url-status=live|website=WCHS TV|date=February 22, 2021|access-date=September 24, 2021|archive-date=September 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924173345/https://wchstv.com/features/eyewitness-news-investigates/charleston-town-center-mall}}</ref> It is a three-story shopping and dining facility, formerly with 130 specialty stores; 31 remain open. The closure of [[Macy's]] in 2019 made [[J.C. Penney]] the sole remaining commercial anchor pad in the mall after [[Sears]] closed in 2017. The fourth and final anchor pad is a branch of Encova Insurance; it was occupied by various other insurance companies after Montgomery Ward left the mall in 2000. In 2021, it was announced that Hull Group, based in [[Augusta, Georgia|Augusta GA]], will add the Town Center to its roster of malls in the eastern US and will work toward redeveloping the mall.<ref>{{Cite web|last=BSHARAH|first=MEGAN|date=May 10, 2021|title=Mayor: Charleston Town Center sale is 'a step forward in the right direction'|url=https://wchstv.com/news/local/mayor-charleston-town-center-sale-is-a-step-forward-in-the-right-direction|access-date=June 24, 2021|website=WCHS|archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624204920/https://wchstv.com/news/local/mayor-charleston-town-center-sale-is-a-step-forward-in-the-right-direction|url-status=live}}</ref>

There are five major shopping plazas in Charleston, two in the Kanawha City neighborhood—The Shops at Kanawha and Kanawha Landing—and three in the Southridge area, divided between Charleston and [[South Charleston, West Virginia|South Charleston]]—Southridge Centre, Dudley Farms Plaza, and The Shops at Trace Fork.