Roadside America – M.A. Kleen

19th Green Motel

Opening Day at the West Virginia Renaissance Festival

Steady rain failed to dampen participants’ spirits at this lively Allegheny event.

The West Virginia Renaissance Festival is back for a second season! Taso Stavrakis and Dawn Kieninger first opened the festival in 2018, and were undeterred even after a fire destroyed a large Elizabethan-style barn earlier this year. The festival kicked off this past Saturday, June 8th, and will run every weekend in June.

My weather app assured me the rain would stop before I arrived, but when the gates opened at 11am, a steady drizzle still threatened to ruin the fun. Rain already turned the dirt roads at Hollow Hills Farm to mud. Thankfully, this wasn’t enough to deter the festival’s dedicated actors and actresses from performing.

The popular Washing Well Wenches put on a wet and sloppy vaudeville act with plenty of audience participation. These hilarious ladies are just two of many troop members who perform at Ren fairs all over the country.

Al’s Diner in Chicopee, Massachusetts

Al’s Diner, at 14 Yelle Street in Chicopee, Massachusetts, is one of only two diners in Massachusetts manufactured by Master Diners. It opened as The White Diner in 1959, but in 1962 Al Rubin purchased it and changed its name to Al’s Restaurant. The Mathews family have owned it since 1975. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

Look for a new diner every Tuesday in 2019! Click to expand photos.

Diner Resources

Tony’s Freehold Grill in Freehold, New Jersey

Tony’s Freehold Grill, at 59 E. Main Street in Freehold, New Jersey, is a 1947 O’Mahony that (unlike many classic diners) has sat at the same location since it opened, making it one of those small town staples. Its current owners/operators, Tom and Peter Iliadis, took the reins from their father, Tony, in 1986. Tony Iliadis started at the Freehold Grill as a cook in 1961, and eventually took ownership and re-christened it after himself.

This diner is only open for breakfast and lunch. It serves a sandwich called “The Trump Tower”, featuring corned beef and roasted turkey, coleslaw, Russian dressing, and melted Swiss cheese on grilled rye. Russian dressing? Hmmm…

Look for a new diner every Tuesday in 2019! Click to expand photos.

Diner Resources

A Day at the Virginia Renaissance Faire

Jousting, comedy, and merriment at this slice of Elizabethan England in the American South

Only open for a limited time in early summer, this classic Ren fair has all the charm of its counterparts without all the crowds. Hosted annually at Lake Anna Winery, 5621 Courthouse Road in Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia, the Virginia Renaissance Faire is open for five weekends, May 11th through June 9, 2019.

Journey to the fictional village of Staffordshire, where the regal queen and her court will grace the lowly peasants with her presence. Entertainment, food, dancing, and sport re-creates the spirit of Merry England.

Eddie’s Paramount Diner in Rome, New York

Eddie’s Paramount Diner, at 414 W. Dominick Street in Rome, New York is a modified 1941 O’Mahony style diner. You can still see the side of the original metal dining car under the roof.

Diner Resources

Chelsea Royal Diner in West Brattleboro, Vermont

Chelsea Royal Diner, at 487 Marlboro Road in West Brattleboro, Vermont, is a 1939 Worcester Diner (#736) moved here from downtown West Brattleboro. The 1958 sign was discovered in a New Hampshire barn and restored in 1999. The staff takes pride in its locally sourced food and homemade “Royal Madness” Ice Cream.

Look for a new diner every Tuesday in 2019! Click to expand photos.

Diner Resources