The Appalachian Festival of Young Voices - Join us in 2026!  

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Our next Festival is set for 2026 with world-renowned, Dr. Rollo Dilworth!  

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Dr. Dilworth is Vice Dean and Professor of Choral Music Education at Temple University in Philadelphia.  He is an active composer, conductor, and clinician.  Sought after to conduct festivals, all state and honor choirs, he also is an award-winning composer.  His many works have been published by Hal Leonard, Colla Voce Music Publishing Co., and Santa Barbara Music Publishers.   We are pleased and excited to have Dr. Dilworth lead our Festival!

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The Festival is a 4-day event that immerses your children's choir into the music and culture of the Appalachian Mountains. Through this festival, we hope to preserve the wonderful history and culture of Appalachia and share it with choirs across the nation.

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World-renowned composer/conductor Dr. Rollo Dilworth and ACC Artistic Director Christopher Brown have created an event your choir will not want to miss. We are one of the few national children's choir festivals to organize activities in-house, as we believe it allows for a more personalized touch for you, our guests.

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If you are interested in receiving more information about the 2024 festival, we have free packets available to send to you. These packets include items that provide a little insight about the festival and all the exciting activities for the children during the four days they are in our fair city.

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What to Expect… Expect to have FUN!

Besides learning about the music and culture of Appalachia, we want our guests

to have fun and enjoy themselves. Your hosts, the Appalachian Children's Chorus,

are eager and excited to learn, sing and befriend their guests. For a printable brochure about the 2024 festival to be shared with your choristers and their families, please click here: Festival Brochure

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How Much Does it Cost?

The Festival fee, for 2026 will be announced soon.  This fee applies to choristers, staff, chaperones, and accompanying travelers. For every 25 paid participants, one person can attend for free! 

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For payment information and registration for the festival, please view our payment schedule. 

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Activities

Our festival includes a wide variety of activities including:

• 4 night stay in Charleston's luxurious Embassy Suites Hotel

• Performance with a traditional string band and orchestra

• Individual choir performances each night in the Embassy Ballroom

• Festival choir performance at Charleston's Civic Center Little Theater

• Participation in Charleston's city-wide FestivALL when the city becomes a work of art!

• Outstanding opportunity to work with Dr. Rollo Dilworth

• Q&A Session with Dr. Dilworth, singer/songwriter Billy Edd Wheeler, singer/songwriter Ron Sowell, and other professional musicians.

• Square dancing with a live band and storytelling with a West Virginia artist

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For those traveling with your group as guests, FestivALL hosts two special events over the weekend called "Blues, Brews & BBQ" and "Wine & All that Jazz".  We also will have other information about events going on in the city to attend while the children are in rehearsal.

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Accommodations

Our guests stay in Charleston's newly remodeled Embassy Suites hotel.

The festival rate is based on quad occupancy. If requesting a single or double room

occupancy, please contact us at accinfo@wvacc.org for more information. 

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The Embassy Suites is just a short drive from Yeager Airport in Charleston, WV.

Please note:  your group will NOT need transportation during your time in

Charleston. You are only responsible for getting to the hotel at the start of the festival and for your transportation home.

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The hotel is centrally located in Charleston's downtown district, right across from the Charleston Town Center Mall. The mall features many stores,  a large food court, and several great restaurants.  Hotel guests enjoy a hot, made-to-order breakfast each morning at Embassy Suites. There are many amenities for participants to enjoy, including an indoor swimming pool, an on-site restaurant, and a business center.