By JESSICA FARRISH
The Register-Herald
BECKLEY, W.Va. — The 88th Lilly Reunion, one of the biggest family gatherings in the world, will open Aug. 11, and everyone is invited to attend.
Darrell Lilly, president of the Lilly Reunion, said the three-day celebration starts at 5 p.m. Friday with an opening family dinner of brown beans, cornbread, fried potato, ham, turkey and the trimmings with dessert. Tickets for the fundraising dinner are $10.
Saturday will kick off with breakfast at 8 a.m., and concessions are available all day. The Lilly Mountaineers, Boots on the Ground, Tender Mercies, Country Pride and Everett Lilly and the Songcatchers are several of many groups that will provide music, Lilly said.
“We have playgrounds for the kids, inflatable rides on the playground and a lot of small games and stuff suitable for kids,” Lilly said.
Entertainment is free and will start at 11 a.m. and end at 9 p.m. on Saturday.
Visitors may go by the Genealogy Booth to trace their Lilly roots.
Facilities are accessible for those with physical limitations, and a gift shop will sell Lilly Reunion souvenirs, he added.
Sunday starts with breakfast at 8 a.m. and continues with concessions and entertainment throughout the day until 5 p.m., he added.
Lilly said the reunion started in 1929 and held the world record for a few years for the world’s largest reunion. Lilly said that, as far as he is aware, the reunion holds the Guiness World Record for the largest in the United States.
It was once attended by 10,000 Lilly family members and friends and now has 2,000 to 2,500 over a period of the three days, he added.
“We have people in at least 25 states represented, people in Canada,” Lilly said. “We like to invite everyone to come.
“You don’t have to be a Lilly to be there, and a lot of people in attendance, name wise, are not even connected to the Lilly family, but they’re certainly welcome to be there.”
He said he hopes to see families attending.
“We want to see younger people involved,” he said.
The Lilly Reunion is held at 314 Ellison Ridge Road, off of US Route 19 South, at Flat Top.
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