Toward that end, Fasnacht — “Fasting Night” in German — will be observed next month with public fanfare for the 57th February in and around Helvetia’s town square.
Helvetia was settled by Swiss and German immigrants in 1869, its residents steadfastly remembering — and reveling in — their European roots and traditions more than a century and a half later. From 3 until 9 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 10, the secluded Randolph County community will again celebrate the changing of the seasons as part of a pre-Lenten tradition that began in 14th century Switzerland.
Helvetia’s Fasnacht is often referred to as the Mardi Gras of Appalachia, because of celebratory similarities in New Orleans before Lent. “The Feast Before the Fast” festivities commingle the customs of the Swiss Fasnacht and Sechseläuten, a traditional spring holiday in Zürich where an effigy symbolizing Old Man Winter is set afire, burning it to ashes to beckon and welcome the arrival of spring.
Along with the climactic effigy combustion, Fasnacht in Helvetia includes Appalachian and Swiss music, decadent (and deliberately fatty) foods, a parade illuminated by candle-powered lampions through the village, and the opportunity to don colorful, homemade masks of papier-mâché and other materials to scare away Old Man Winter (and compete for prizes).
Fasnacht Fascination
According to a 2015 NPR.org article by folklorist Emily Hilliard, Helvetia’s modern Fasnacht celebration was championed in the late 1960s by Eleanor Mailloux, co-founder of the Hütte, a West Main Street restaurant still operating as a Fasnacht gathering hub.
Fasnacht is produced under the auspices of the Helvetia Restoration and Development Organization. Clara Lehmann, the nonprofit group’s president (and Mailloux’s granddaughter), said the annual celebration and the HRDO were conceived two years prior to Helvetia’s 1969 centennial. “To hold on to traditions, the organization was created to develop history and historic buildings and is under its purview,” she explained. “We’re an all-volunteer group to help keep the tradition alive and make sure people understand its history. A lot of people love Helvetia and this festival in particular.”
A full-time filmmaker, Lehmann grew up in Helvetia. She traces her lineage to the town’s 19th century settlers. “Fasnacht is very important to me; I feel it takes us back to our Swiss ancestry very distinctly,” she said. “I think it also has an impact on the psychology of people; it allows people to connect at a time when it’s hard to connect, in winter and just in our way of life now. It’s a way for us be communal and celebrate. I really care about small communities within the state and keeping them sustainable so they can hold on to their identity. That’s something I’m very proud of about communities in this state.”
Lehmann said Fasnacht was previously celebrated privately in select Helvetia homes. “Basically, people would get together, play music and use the extra fat they had stored during the year to make hozablatz (a sugary, crunchy confection that translates as “knee patches”) and rosettes (fried-dough cookies/doughnuts), and they’d have a nice party.”
The first community Fasnacht, she said, by accounts, was attended by 25 or 30 people, only two of them (one of them being Mailloux) opting to wear masks. Those modest inaugural numbers have grown exponentially, sometimes posing a daunting logistical challenge for a community with a double-digit population. (Lehmann said the 2010 Census listed Helvetia’s population at 70, but she believes it may be closer to 40 nowadays. “We’re not some metropolis like Charleston,” she quipped.)
“In 2019, we had roughly 600 people in attendance. In 2022, we had roughly 2,000 attendees. That was too big; we had grown ‘too big for our britches.’ Trying to control for expectations and access, we like to sit at about 600 people. Anything higher, in the 1,000 [people] range, we start to see the cracks. Thankfully, we have a growing volunteer base. ... We’re so touched that people love the festival. It’s grown through word of mouth. A lot of great people have spread the word. It’s grown a lot, and it’s fascinating to see how it’s transformed,” Lehmann said.
‘The Helvetia Polka’
Following the fiery demise of faux Old Man Winter, Fasnacht will feature the Alpine-Appalachian square dance with Tessa (Dillon) McCoy and the State Birds from 7 to 10 p.m. in the Star Band Hall
. A St. Albans native, McCoy first tucked a fiddle under her chin at age 6 and has mastered the instrument indubitably (she has five Vandalia Gathering first place fiddler awards among her numerous competition trophies and accolades). She teaches music and, with husband/bandmate Chance McCoy, operates a Monroe County recording studio.
“The band that plays at Fasnacht is usually named after the fiddler,” she explained of her top billing. “Last year, I played there with a group of musicians from Elkins, my husband and a musician from Pocahontas County. The Star Hall Band, in years past, was a local bunch of musicians from Helvetia, but they’ve sourced it to somebody else now. It’s an honor to play there and it’s also up my alley; in my different periods of my life, I’ve lived in Elkins, but, for a long time, I didn’t even know Helvetia was there in Randolph County.”
McCoy said she has assembled an “all-star” line-up of award-winning traditional musicians to join her on stage. Accompanying her will be Chance on mandolin. “He played with Old Crow Medicine Show for a lot of years and won a Grammy and what-not, so he’s our ‘big name,’” she said. “Jesse Milnes from Elkins will play guitar, Cody Jordan from Charleston will be on banjo and Joanna Burt-Kinderman, from Marlinton, will play bass.
“Old-time music really transcends what you do as a day job versus where you show up to play and who you play with. There’s music throughout the day at Fasnacht. It’s almost like an open mic session. What we’ll do is mainly a square dance. All dances are called, so no experience is necessary.”
If you go ...
General admission tickets for Fasnacht are $25 for adults. For visitors ages 12 to 17, admission will cost $10. Children ages 11 and younger are admitted free. Ticket-holders will receive, as supplies last, a homemade hozablatz, a rosette and a toy from Old Man Winter for children, access to the Helvetia Museum and Archives, and entry into a masquerade where 25 masks will be judged and awarded a handmade Swiss flag (extra handmade Swiss flags, while available, are given to children).
Tickets can be purchased in advance at www.eventcreate.com/e/fasnacht. “When folks decide if they want to come, it’s best to pre-order a ticket; that gives us a head count,” Lehmann advised. “It helps us prepare for how many people can access our buildings and such, so pre-ordering is their best bet. We know winter weather can be unpredictable and it’s a bit of a risk pre-ordering tickets, but any donations will go to the community no matter what. Fasnacht will go on rain or shine and we try to make it as comfortable as possible for everyone.”
Indoor and outdoor vendors offer goods at Fasnacht. Attendees are encouraged to bring cash, because some of the vendors do not accept credit cards. (According to helvetiawv.com, there are no ATMs in the village, the nearest gas station is five miles south in Pickens and the closest grocery store is a 45-minute drive away. However, a pay phone is available near the Helvetia Star Band Hall.)
Proceeds from Fasnacht support Helvetia’s restoration, preservation, development, and archives efforts.
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