Fourest Festival 2026

Tucked into the Seneca Rocks area of Monongahela National Forest, the Fourest Festival is one of West Virginia's most unique outdoor gatherings — a convergence of aerial athletes, slackliners, musicians, and people who just really love the forest. If you've never seen a professional slackliner navigate a highline strung between rock faces while someone plays a handpan drum below, this is your chance.

What to Expect

Fourest runs four days over Memorial Day weekend (May 22-25) in one of the most spectacular natural settings in the eastern U.S. The Seneca Rocks area provides the dramatic sandstone faces and dense forest canopy that make this festival feel genuinely different from anything happening in a parking lot or field.

Activities and Performance

The festival centers on flow arts and aerial performance — slacklining, acrobatics, aerial silks, fire performance, and dance — with workshops for beginners and showcases for advanced practitioners. Live music runs throughout the weekend from folk, ambient, and electronic artists who perform outdoors in the forest. Evening gatherings around fire and stargazing in one of West Virginia's darkest-sky regions are an unofficial but beloved part of the experience.

Don't Miss

• Highline demonstrations over the Seneca Rocks formations — some of the best highliners in the eastern U.S. participate
• Beginner slacklining workshops — even first-timers can try it
• Late-night acoustic sets in the forest
• The sunrise over Spruce Knob visible from certain camping spots

Getting There / Practical Info

The festival is held in the Seneca Rocks/Monongahela National Forest area of Pendleton County. The nearest towns are Seneca Rocks and Elkins (about 40 minutes away). Plan to camp on-site — this is a camping festival. Check the official website for parking and directions as the forest access roads require some navigation. Come prepared for mountain weather; elevations here mean cool nights even in late May.