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.
Gardner Winter Music Festival
Join us on February 27th and 28th, 2026.
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. and
South Middle School.
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.