West Virginia is known for the quilts, pottery, and woodwork of its mountain artisans. Huntington Galleries, the Sunrise Foundation at Charleston, and Oglebay Park in Wheeling are major art centers. The Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences at Charleston includes a performing arts center that hosts the annual Stretched Strings Festival. Other musical attractions include the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra in Charleston, the Charleston Ballet, Charleston Light Opera Guild, the Wheeling Symphony, and a country music program at Wheeling. The Charleston Stage Company and the Children's Theater of Charleston are also popular. The Mountain State Art and Craft Fair is held each summer at Ripley.
In 2003, the West Virginia Department of Education's Division of Culture and History and other West Virginia arts organizations received grants totaling $644,100 from the National Endowment for the Arts. The West Virginia Humanities Council sponsors an active speaker's bureau and History Alive! program. In 2000, the National Endowment for the Humanities contributed $533,716 for seven state programs. Contributions to the arts also come from state and private sources. There are nearly 40,000 contributing artists, and approximately 25,000 schoolchildren receive arts education through the Department of Education's Arts and Humanities Section. The state has about 150 arts associations and 30 local arts groups.