MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A combination of Morgantown residents across multiple generations and West Virginia University students joined together to celebrate a time-honored tradition in the heart of the downtown campus.
Close to 1,000 people gathered around Woodburn Circle early Tuesday night despite temperatures reaching near below freezing, where they celebrated the lighting of Woodburn Hall, which took place after an over ten-year hiatus. WVU President Michael T. Benson was on hand for the ceremony, where he was joined by Huntington Bank President Chad Prather along with a patient from WVU Medicine Golisano Children’s, to take part in the ceremony. Hundreds of students who were not even in middle school the last time holiday lights covered Woodburn Hall were in attendance, as well as Morgantown area families that brought their children to the ceremony like their parents did for them in the past.
“I just love it, I’m born and raised in Morgantown, been here for 27 years, and seeing these lights tonight just made me tear up a little bit,” said resident Reagan Haines. “Thinking of growing up in Morgantown and my dad taking me here, and it brought back a lot of emotion.”
Benson opened up the ceremony, followed by words from Prather, before WVU Medicine Golisano Children’s patient Kinsey Wolfe and her family performed the official lighting of Woodburn Hall in front of a live ensemble band and the Mountaineer mascot. Representatives from Huntington Bank and community partner Northeast Natural Energy were on hand to serve cookies and hot cocoa during the evening. For Morgantown residents in attendance, it was a perfect way to celebrate the start of the holidays with their families.
“I’m pretty excited, it’s been a while since it’s been lit up, it’s actually special now that the snow fell this morning,” said resident Rob Kelch. “I’m here with my wife and my daughter, some family and friends, just here to have a good time.”
The installation of the lights themselves took place over the course of a couple weeks, with the finishing touches taking place just before the end of November. This also ends the decade-long miniature LED light showcase that began in 2011, with the ceremony itself not taking place during that time. WVU students in attendance also expressed appreciation to be a part of something that was only talked about or shown in pictures when they were younger. A tradition they also hope to see continue.
“It’s really pretty, and I love how so many people came together to see it,” said WVU student from Charleston, West Virginia, Allison Lamb. “It just makes the holiday season a little bit more special, I think.”
For both the Morgantown residents and the WVU students in attendance, it was a perfect opportunity to see a much-talked-about tradition brought to life after the decade-long hiatus and celebrate the holidays. To showcase the Mountaineer spirit before the ceremony, dozens of students and some select Morgantown area youth participated in an impromptu snowball fight along with the forming of snowmen using the four inches of snow covering the area from early Tuesday storms. All the things that people felt highlight the best of the WVU community during the holidays.
“I’m so shocked by the amount of people here tonight, I really am, I think it just goes to show that, know, once a Mountaineer, always a Mountaineer,” said Haines. “You know, we have people here who are bringing their own kids tonight, so it’s definitely really cool to see this big of a turnout.”
Woodburn Hall will stay illuminated until mid-January 2026.