photo by: Joselyn King

President Abraham Lincoln, portrayed by John King, left, prepares to blow out the candles on West Virginia’s 162nd birthday cake while Debbie Jones, site manager for West Virginia Independence Hall, stands by during events in Wheeling on Friday.

Saturday is the busiest day of the year at Wheeling’s Independence Hall, and it’s one of site manager Debbie Jones’ favorites.

The hall’s annual West Virginia Day celebration, honoring the day that West Virginia became the 35th state on June 20, 1863, will begin when the doors open at 11:30 a.m. Saturday and activities will run until 4:30 p.m. Guests will enjoy a full slate of history, music and more fun.

Jones loves the day because its an opportunity for people not just in Wheeling, but from around the Ohio Valley, to learn more about West Virginia’s journey to statehood.

“What better place to do it than right here at the birthplace of West Virginia?” she said. “We look forward to this every year, because we’re the only city in the state that can say that this is where it all happened. This is where West Virginia became the 35th.”

After the doors open Saturday, John W. King, portraying 16th President Abraham Lincoln, will read the proclamation admitting West Virginia into the Union at noon. At 1:30, King as Lincoln will discuss his crucial role in West Virginia’s statehood.

Jones said King has been a valuable and wonderful part of Independence Hall’s West Virginia Day festivities for years.

“He’s fantastic at this,” Jones said. “He goes above and beyond. If he doesn’t know certain details of things, he’ll sit down and learn them.”

A West Virginia birthday cake and refreshments will be served from noon-2 p.m. During that time, guests can view Civil War displays with Richard Wolfe, purchase a post card with the Custom House, Wheeling VA/WV 1859 postmark on it, pose for pictures at a photo booth and sign a West Virginia birthday card.

At 1 p.m., Roger Micker of the Ohio Valley Civil War Roundtable will present an award, followed by award presentations for the coloring contest with Ohio County eighth graders.

New to the event this year is a performance by Suspension Civic Strings, a new community orchestra made up of post-high school musicians of all ability levels. The group will perform nine songs starting at 2:15 p.m.

At 3:15 p.m., the Bobby Maynard Bluegrass Band will perform. Maynard is a multi-instrumentalist and singer accomplished on the guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, base and ukulele. He has been performing for nearly four decades and has worked with artists like Dolly Parton, Lee Greenwood and Little Jimmy Dickens.

All West Virginia Day activities are free and open to the public.

“We hope everyone comes out to enjoy the day and celebrate West Virginia’s birthday,” Jones said. “The museum will be open from head to toe. It’s going to be a big day here in Wheeling.”