After a hiatus in 2020, the WNC Bigfoot Festival will come roaring back this September to downtown Marion, North Carolina.
Held in 2018 and 2019, the celebration of the alleged half-human, half-ape hairy creature has become Marion’s biggest event and has drawn tens of thousands of people to the downtown. They have come from all over the United States and some foreign countries for the event. The WNC Bigfoot Festival has also been featured on national news media including CNN and National Public Radio.
But last year, the Bigfoot Festival and all the other outdoor events in Marion were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that restrictions are loosening, organizers are making plans for the 2021 event.
John Bruner with Bigfoot 911 told The McDowell News that the 2021 WNC Bigfoot Festival will be held Friday, Sept. 17 and Saturday, Sept. 18.
The festivities for Friday, Sept. 17 will kick off at 3 p.m. with an educational expo at the Marion Community Building. The expo is scheduled to last until 8 p.m. and, naturally, will focus on the unexplained phenomenon of half-man, half-ape creature that supposedly lurks in the woods and wild regions of North America.
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The speakers will include Daniel Beniot from the East Coast Bigfoot Researchers Organization in Virginia; Lori Wade, a Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization investigator from Tennessee; Rick Reles, BFRO investigator from Henderson County; and Zach Bales, an author from Kentucky who has a book called “The Bigfoot Atlas” detailing his trip to Bluff Creek, Calif., where the famous Patterson-Gimlin footage was made. Bruner will be there with Bigfoot 911.
On Friday, organizers will close Main Street and have vendors in place from 3 to 10 p.m.
The WNC Bigfoot Festival will kick off at 10 a.m. Saturday and run until 6 p.m. in the downtown. In addition to vendors, the festival will include a Kids Zone on Fort Street and Bigfoot experts speaking throughout the day, including N.C. Squatch Watchers, Dwight Campbell from Dirty South Squatching and Robin Moonshadow from Canada. More speakers will be announced later, said Bruner.
As at previous festivals, there will be a Bigfoot calling contest, a Bigfoot costume contest and a food court.
Bruner said he and other organizers recently opened the application process for the festival vendors for both Friday, Sept. 17 and Saturday, Sept. 18. The vendor spots for Friday, Sept. 17 sold out in just 21 hours, he added.
Bruner said he and other organizers of the festival could use additional sponsors. If anyone is interested, they contact the organizers at bigfoot911bobr@gmail or by visiting www.marionbigfootfestival.com.
PHOTOS: WNC Bigfoot Festivals in Marion, NC
Downtown Marion, N.C. was packed with people at the WNC Bigfoot Festival in 2019. Last year, the Bigfoot Festival and all the other outdoor events in Marion were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that restrictions are loosening, organizers are making plans for the 2021 event. John Bruner of Bigfoot 911 told The McDowell News that the 2021 WNC Bigfoot Festival will be held Friday, Sept. 17 and Saturday, Sept. 18.
This photo shows Marion Mayor Steve Little and John Bruner with Bigfoot 911 at the last WNC Bigfoot Festival, held in 2019. The 2021 WNC Bigfoot Festival is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 17 and Saturday, Sept. 18 in Marion, N.C.
The WNC Bigfoot Festival in Marion, N.C. is arguably McDowell County’s biggest event. These festival-goers enjoyed the downtown activities in 2019.
One of the many Bigfoots (Bigfeet?) that can be found at the WNC Bigfoot Festival in Marion, N.C.
Lynda Bivens of Morganton stands next to the tall Sasquatch statue in the middle of Marion during N.C.'s WNC Bigfoot Festival in 2019.
Downtown Marion, N.C. was crowded with thousands of people who came to the second annual WNC Bigfoot Festival in 2019. City Manager Bob Boyette said at the time he heard crowd estimates of 40,000 to 50,000. Marion is the county seat of McDowell County, which had 45,756 residents in 2019, according to Census estimates.
Scott Hollifield, editor of The McDowell News, was a Bigfoot stand-in for a day, helping promote the WNC Bigfoot Festival in Marion, N.C.
Marion's WNC Bigfoot Festival, a celebration of the alleged half-human, half-ape hairy creature, has become the town's biggest event. Here, Mayor Steve Little stands outside his office with a proclamation declaring Bigfoot the official animal of Marion.
Mica Town Brewing in Marion had a countdown to the WNC Bigfoot Festival in 2019 and offered its special Blue Ridge Beast beer.
The 2018 Bigfoot Festival in Marion, N.C. drew national attention to the town and McDowell County. In this photo, John Bruner with Bigfoot 911 and Mayor Steve Little pose for a photo at the courthouse with “Sasquatch” as he or it is declared the official animal of Marion.
Ethel and Maude found Bigfoot at the 2018 Bigfoot Festival in downtown Marion to draw inspiration for their fall variety show at Old Fort Elementary School.
Bigfoot 911 set up a display of the group's investigative research at Marion's 2018 Bigfoot Festival.
Thousands of people came to downtown Marion, N.C. in 2018 to enjoy a celebration of all things Bigfoot.
Many different kinds of Bigfoots trampled around downtown Marion during the 2018 Bigfoot Festival, meeting locals and visitors interested in the mythical creature.
All around Marion, N.C. in 2018, businesses had their windows painted with Bigfoot pictures by artist Toby Tyler of Hendersonville.
