Mothman Festival (2011 - 2015)

## **10. Mothman Festival 2011**

On Sunday September 17th and Saturday September 18th 2011, the 10th annual Mothman Festival took place downtown at Point Pleasant. The event was a celebration of the Mothman sightings in 1966-1967. It was also a celebration of the festivals 10th anniversary. The Mothman Festival has created a new tourism industry in the small West Virginia Ohio River community, after the movie came out in 2002.

### **Events**

Activities included guest speakers, live music, food, Mothman 5K Run on Main Street at 7:30am, a downtown tram tour of Point Pleasant, the mystery machine, TNT hayrides and Mothman bus tours. Also, Line Dancing on Main Street at 11:00am,Karaoke with DJ Scott on Post Office steps, Rock Wall Climbing with WV National Guard, Men In Black Dunking Booth, Rodders Club of classic cars, Miss Mothman Pageant, Mothman Pancakes and a meet up with Mothman Witnesses Tom Ury, Faye DetWitt and Lawrence Gray at 1:00pm 3:00pm.

         On Saturday The festival had screenings of the documentary "Eyes of the Mothman" with Director Matt Pellowski at 6pm and “Mothman Prophecies” at 9pm located at the State Theater in downtown Point Pleasant.

A new addition to the Mothman Festival was the Star Wars Re-Enacters which was a full re-enactment of the popular science fiction series.

### **TNT Hayride Information**

One of the highlights of the Mothman Festival is the eerie hayride for all ages through the TNT area. The hayride started on Saturday September 18th around 8pm on the grounds of the West Virginia Farm Museum that are located just outside the TNT area, adjacent to the Mason County Fairgrounds. Tickets were $5 for adults and $3 for kids under 10 years of age.

Tickets were sold at the Mothman Festival Information kiosk, located at the Mothman Statue beginning on Saturday morning at the kickoff of the festival. The TNT area was left "as is" and was virtually been unchanged in the 40 years since the events of the Mothman.

### **Guest Speakers:**

The guest speaker forum was held at the historic State Theater on Main Street with a panel of authors, writers, experts, and investigators.

#### **Saturday, September 17th**

* 10:00am - Chad Lambert - Creator, Mothman Comics
* 11:00am - Joe Clark - "Commonwealth Paranormal"
* 12:00pm - Alvin Caviness - UFO Investigator, *Caviness Report*
* 1:00pm - Andy Colvin - Author, *Mothman Photographer*
* 2:00pm - Susan Shephard - Author
* 3:00pm - Rosemary Guiley - Author/Investigator
* 4:00pm - Tom Ury - Mothman Eyewitness

### **Sunday, September 18th**

* 1:00pm - Jeff Wamsley - Mothman 101
* 2:00pm - Susanna Holstein - WV Ghost Legends
* 3:00pm - Unknown

### **Bands:**

Local talent performing live music at The River Stage.

#### **Saturday, September 17th**

* 2:00pm Hillbilly Carnival
* 3:30pm 40 lb. Snapper
* 5:00pm Jesse Crawford Band
* 6:30pm Packin’ Up
* 8:00pm Valley Road
* 9:30pm Blue Z Band

#### **Sunday, September 18th**

* 1:00pm - "Parry Casto"
* 2:00pm - "Soul of the Machine"
* 3:00pm - Unknown
* 8:00pm - "The Mothman Band" at Farm Museum Stage

* **Source(s):** http://cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/mm-cryptotourism/
* https://web.archive.org/web/20110714120356/http://www.mothmanfestival.com/
* https://web.archive.org/web/20110714120734/http://www.mothmanfestival.com/hayride.htm
* https://web.archive.org/web/20120506040529/http://www.mothmanfestival.com/guests.htm

## **11. Mothman Festival 2012**

    On September 15th and 16th of 2012, the 11th annual Mothman Festival was held on downtown Point Pleasant.

There was a Miss Mothman Pageant on Friday September 14th on main stage. There was also a TNT area hayride on Saturday, September 15th, 7pm at WV Farm Museum. Tickets went on sale at 10am Saturday at info booth. The price for adults was $5.00 and for children 10 and under it was $3.00.

There were vendor tents for Mothman merchandise, collectibles, t-shirts, jewelry, crafts, posters, books and more, karaoke contest with auditions on sat 2pm. Then finalists for karaoke on sun 2pm.

There was a free movie night which showed the “Eyes of The Mothman” documentary on Saturday on 6pm and “The Mothman Prophecies” movie on Saturday 7pm.

The Mothman Museum hours were 10am through 7pm on Saturday and 11am through 5pm on Sunday. $3 for adults and $1 for kids 11 or under.

### **Events:**

* Get some Mothman pancakes! (sat. only)
* See the scooby doo mystery machine!
* Star wars re-enactors: sat. at 1pm
* Downtown tram rides (tickets are $2.00)
* Lowe hotel haunted tours (info at front door)
* Mothman 5k run. sat. morning
* Face paintings by jody rife
* Visit harris steak house (aka “mothman diner”)
* Check out the Mothman statue on 4th st.
* Run and hide from the men in black
* See the historic floodwall mural paintings
* See grumpy peddler’s antique bicycle exhibit
* Visit the point pleasant river museum
* Live mothman painting session, 4pm saturday
* Original mothman witnesses: Faye Dewitt, Tom Ury, Sharon Shull 1-3pm in front of mothman statue
* Mothman bus tours
* 75 min tour of landmarks and the TNT area
* Tickets at mothmanlives.com booth
* Official mothman merchandise and info
* Visit the mothman museum beside the mothman statue at the historic state theater on main street
* Homegrown Point Pleasant bands

### **Speakers:**

There were several guest speakers at the Historic State Theater. Admission was free. Guest speakers on Saturday September 15th:

* 11:00 - Chad Lambert speaking on Mothman Comic Creator and Writer
* 12:00 - Jeff Waldridge speaking
* 1:00 - Stan Gordon speaking on Ufos and Bigfoot in Pennsylvania
* 2:00 - Rosemary Guiley speaking on Famous Monsters of West Virginia
* 3:00 - Susan Shepherd speaking on Newell Partridge and Bandit, Indrid Cold
* 4:00 - Tom Ury speaking on Gray Barker and The Silver Bridge book

Guest speakers on Sunday September 16th:

* 12:00 Joey Madia - Mothman play sneak preview
* 1:00 Fritz Zimmerman - Point Pleasant Native American Burial Grounds
* 2:00 Robin Bellamy - The Haunted Lowe Hotel
* 3:00 Sharon Shull - Niece of reporter Mary Hyre

### **Bands:**

There was free admission to the riverfront stage where live music was performed. Saturday September 15th:

* 2PM - Bunkhammer (Classic rock)
* 4PM - Two River Junction (Country rock)
* 6PM - 40 Pound Snapper (Blues and Rock)
* 2PM - Blues Z Band (Blues and Rock)

Sunday September 16th:

* 2PM - Jesse Crawford Band (Classic rock)
* 4PM - The Dub V's (Rock)

The "Mothman Band" performed at 8pm on The Farm Museum Stage during the hayrides.

* **Source(s):** http://cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/2012-mm-fest/

## **12. Mothman Festival 2013**

A celebration of Point Pleasant’s most famous citizen, The 12th Annual Mothman Festival, was held downtown when on September 21st and 22nd. Every September, car loads of curiosity seekers descend upon the town the quaint town of Point Pleasant West Virginia, filling hotels, crowding breakfast joints, and snapping loads of pictures.

1/2Why would so many people congregate in this relatively unknown all-American town, you ask? To celebrate the appearance of a mysterious winged monster half a century ago. That’s the strange story behind the 12th annual Mothman Festival.

The 2013 festival featured an added attraction which was the Mothman Ball on Saturday, 10 p.m at the State Theater. DJ KOS has been booked to perform live dance/house music with a backdrop of scary movie flicks. Costumes are encouraged. The following is a tentative itinerary for some of Point Pleasant’s largest tourist attractions.

Other things to do included a Walking Ghost Tour on Friday, Sept. 20 and Saturday, Sept. 21 with tickets $10 per person, $5 per child, children under 12 can go on the tour for free. The tour started at the Coffee Grinder. In addition, the popular haunted tour of the Lowe Hotel was also be held with information at the hotel.

Aerial TNT tours were held all day on Saturday, Sept. 21 at the Mason County Airport. Downtown tram rides were offered for $2 per person through downtown Point Pleasant.

The Mothman Museum was open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m on Sunday during the festival weekend. Cost was $3 adults, $1 kids 11 and under.

TNT Bus Tours took place and included a 75 minute tour of landmarks in the TNT area. Tickets were sold on mothmanlives.com. TNT Hayrides were at 7 p.m on Saturday, Sept. 21 at West Virginia Farm Museum and tickets were on sale at 10 a.m. that day, adults $5, children under 12 ride for $3.

There was also be a rock climbing wall, inflatable bouncing tents, face painting, karaoke, live bands at the Iron Gate Grille, Men In Black and Mothman costumes and Riverside Cloggers at noon and 3 p.m on Saturday, September 22nd.

In addition, the Mothman Pageants were held on September 19th, (Tiny, Little, Young and Junior Miss) as well as Sept. 20th (Little Mr., Teen, Miss, Ms. and Mrs).

### **Bands:**

Saturday, Sept. 21st featured the following live music at Point Pleasant Riverfront Park:

* Noon - "Moonshine Crossing"
* 2 p.m - "Bunkhammer"
* 4 p.m - "Two River Junction"
* 6 p.m - "40lb Snapper"
* 8 p.m - "Blue Z Band"

In addition, the Mothman Band performed at 8 p.m., Sept. 21 at the West Virginia State Farm Museum. Then on Sunday, September 22nd the following live music were featured at Point Pleasant Riverfront Park:

* Noon - "The Dub V’s"
* 2 p.m - "Blitzkrieg"
* 4 p.m - "Jesse Crawford Band"

### **Speakers:**

On Saturday, the following guests spoke:

* 10 a.m - Patrecia Gray speaking on Mothman Experiences
* 11 a.m - Chad Lambert speaking on Mothman Comic Book
* Noon - Fred Saluga speaking on UFOs and Cryptozoology
* 1 p.m - Stan Gordon speaking on Strange Pennsylvania
* 2 p.m - Rosemary Guiley speaking on Haunted West Virginia
* 3 p.m - Susan Sheppard speaking on The Derenberger Tapes
* 4 p.m - Lyle Blackburn speaking on Beast of Boggy Creek
* 5 p.m - Sharon Shull speaking on Mary Hyre/UFO Sightings
* 6 p.m - Robin Bellamy speaking on the History of Mothman
* 7 p.m - Jeff Waldridge speaking
* 8 p.m - Bill Bean speaking on Paranormal Experiences

Also on Sunday, the following guests spoke:

* Noon - Tom Ury speaking on his eyewitness Mothman account
* 1 p.m - Neal Parks speaking on Gargoyles, Angels and Demons
* 2 p.m - Dale Morton speaking on the Mothman Costume
* 3 p.m - Matt Pellowski speaking about Eyes of Mothman

* **Source(s):** http://cryptomundo.com/bigfoot-report/mothman-festival-this-weekend/
* http://cryptomundo.com/bigfoot-report/mothman-festival-bound/
* https://web.archive.org/web/20130915125708/http://www.mothmanfestival.com/
* https://web.archive.org/web/20130911000708/http://mothmanfestival.com:80/speakers/

* https://web.archive.org/web/20130911045252/http://mothmanfestival.com:80/events/

## **13. Mothman Festival 2014**

On September 20th and September 21st of 2014, the 13th annual Mothman Festival was held. It was centrally located in downtown Point Pleasant at Gunn Park which houses the Mothman statue.

1/2It was a celebration of Mason County’s most infamous resident, The Mothman. Activities are also traditionally planned at the Mothman Museum, State Theater, Riverfront Park, West Virginia State Farm Museum and Lowe Hotel.

On Saturday, the festival kicked off at 9:45 a.m. at the new home of the Mothman Museum on the corner of 4th and Main streets next to the Mothman statue. It was a grand re-opening of the museum followed by the Mayor’s welcome and the debut of the new Mothman costume.

Also, on Saturday Sept. 20, Mothman Hayrides were offered through the TNT area starting at 7 p.m. at the West Virginia State Farm Museum.

However, tickets were to be purchased starting at 10 a.m. at the information tent located in front of the Mothman statue in downtown Point Pleasant.

### **Speakers:**

Guest speakers on Saturday, Sept. 20 at the State Theater:

* 10 a.m - Patricia Gray
* 11 a.m - Chad Lambert
* Noon - Neal Parks
* 1 p.m - Sharon Shull, Faye Dewitt
* 2 p.m - Rosemary Ellen Gulley
* 3 p.m - Susan Sheppard
* 4 p.m - Craig Woolheater and Nick Redfern
* 5 p.m - Fred Saluga
* 6 p.m - Sherri Brake
* 7 p.m - Stan Gordon
* 8 p.m - Robin Bellamy
* 9 p.m - Andy Colvin

Guest speakers on Sunday, Sept. 21, at the State Theater:

* 11 a.m - round table discussion with various speakers
* Noon - Brian Seech
* 1 p.m - Chris McDaniel
* 2 p.m - Dale Morton (Mothman costume creator)
* 3 p.m - Joedy Cook

Following the speakers was a free presentation of the film “White Zombie,” also at the State Theater.

### **Bands:**

Bands on Saturday, Sept. 20 at Point Pleasant Riverfront Park:

* 3 p.m - Bunkhammer
* 4:30 p.m - Still Water
* 6 p.m - Blitzkrieg
* 7:30 p.m - 40lb. Snapper
* 9 p.m - Blue Z Band.

Bands on Sunday, Sept. 21, at Point Pleasant Riverfront Park:

* Noon - Jesse Crawford Band
* 1:30 p.m - Andy Park and the True Lovers
* 3 p.m - Sandergeist

* **Source(s):** http://cryptomundo.com/bigfoot-report/mothman-festival-landing-soon/
* https://web.archive.org/web/20140928005707/http://www.mothmanfestival.com/
* https://web.archive.org/web/20141020091918/http://mothmanfestival.com:80/events/

* https://web.archive.org/web/20141020092324/http://mothmanfestival.com:80/speakers/

## **14. Mothman Festival 2015**

1/4On September 19th and September 20th of 2015, the 14th annual Mothman Festival was held on main street in downtown Point Pleasant. The town's population nearly doubled with visitors from across the country and around the world arriving for the festival.

The festival was officially on Saturday and Sunday with kick starter events on Friday, including a free screening of the “Eyes of Mothman” documentary at 8 p.m. at the historic State Theater and the Miss Mothman Pageants starting at 7 p.m. Friday at the Trinity Christian Community Center.

The festival events began at 8 a.m. Saturday with the Mothman 5K walk/run in front of the Mothman Museum, followed by the festival officially opening at 10 a.m. with some opening remarks in the area of the museum/Gunn Park where the Mothman Statue sits. The 2015 festival was dedicated to the statue’s creator, the late Bob Roach, who had recently passed away that month. As Mothman festival organizers have pointed out, the festival isn’t just about Mothman, it’s about celebrating what Point Pleasant and Mason County have to offer and including local businesses and destinations. One of those destinations is the West Virginia State Farm Museum where the TNT hayrides originate, which takes the festival from one end of Point Pleasant to well past the other end.

### **Additions:**

New to the festival that year was be horse-drawn wagon rides touring downtown Point Pleasant. Tickets and information for this could be found at the information booth in front of the Mothman Statue.

The Mothman costume, created the previous year by the man who designed Marshall University’s Marco mascot, wandered the festival with the Men In Black. Festival organizers referred to him as a “special crypto friend.”

Another new addition in 2015 was a fleet of Ecto 1 vehicles and a 30-foot tall “Stay Puft” marshmallow man brought by old friends the Ghostbusters from both the West Virginia and Columbus, Ohio divisions. The Men In Black will also had their own official Ford LTD Crown Victoria, as seen in the “Men In Black” movie at the festival.

### **Visitors:**

Two well-known visitors also be arrived for the festival and they are Hillbilly Hot Dogs, which unveiled its new specialty Mothman Dog and Banjo Man (Neil James) from the TV show “Call of the Wildman.” Banjo Man did a meet-and-greet with fans of the show.

### **Other Events:**

Returning favorites to the festival were hay rides of TNT, bus tours of the TNT area, TNT area fly overs and tram rides through Point Pleasant. Tickets could be purchased for the hay rides, bus tours and tram rides in front of the Mothman statue on the days of the festival or booked in advance online. Tickets do go fast for these events and often sell out prior to the festival, though some seats remain at this time. The flyers were offered by, and at, the Mason County Airport north of Point Pleasant.

Also returning was, Hillbilly Ziplining on Main Street; the Grumpy Peddlers located in front of the Mothman Museum with their rare vintage motorbikes; the Mystery Machine; and Jody Rife bringing her unique face painting, including Mothman designs for the festival. Also open for business, Harris Steakhouse, the official Mothman diner, the Mothman Museum which celebrated its second festival in its new location near the Mothman Statue and the Lowe Hotel which offered haunted tours of the historic structure with tour schedules posted at the hotel.

In addition, several other downtown businesses and restaurants opened for business with unique Mothman souvenirs and food items. Also welcoming visitors was the US Navy Poster Museum and the Point Pleasant River Museum and Learning Center. There was also unique vendors selling everything from books on Mothman to T-shirts with Bigfoot and more, as well as a unique array of food vendors, all weekend long.

At 11 a.m on Saturday, there was a Miss Mothman Children’s Pageant at Riverfront Park. Then at Noon, there was Mothman Bicycle Numbers Run to benefit Point Pleasant Bike Trail, registration was at 11 a.m. near the corner of 6th Street and Main Street. All bicycles were welcome, even those with motors as were children and families though young children must be accompanied by an adult.

Also at Noon and 3 p.m River City Cloggers were on Main Street. At 8 p.m. on Saturday, there was a free screening of the “Mothman Prophecies” movie at the State Theater.

### **Bands:**

Free musical performances were offered in the amphitheater at Point Pleasant Riverfront Park. The schedule of bands for Saturday was as follows:

* 3 p.m - "Swamp Jeuce"
* 4:30 p.m - "5:42"
* 6 p.m - "Creek Don’t Rise"
* 7:30 p.m - "Two River Junction"
* 8 p.m - the Mothman Band performs at the Mothman Hayride at the W.Va. State Farm Museum.
* 9 p.m - "Blue Z Band"

Sunday’s bands at Riverfront Park:

* Noon - "Stephanie and The Mark IV"
* 1:30 p.m - "Stillwater"
* 3 p.m - "Moonshine Crossing"

### **Speakers:**

Admission was free to hear all guest speakers. The schedule of speakers at the State Theater for Saturday was as follows:

* 11 a.m - Chad Lambert
* noon - Stan Gordon
* 1 p.m - Susan Sheppard
* 2 p.m - Rosemary Ellen Gulley
* 3 p.m - Ken Gerhard
* 4 p.m - Bill Brock
* 5 p.m - Fred Saluga
* 6 p.m - Lyle Blackburn
* 7 p.m - Joedy Cook

The schedule of speakers at the State Theater for Sunday was as follows:

* 11 a.m - Round table discussion
* 1 p.m - Neal Parks; 2 p.m. Sharon Shull and Dottie Campbell
* 3 p.m - John Frick

* **Source(s):** http://cryptomundo.com/bigfoot-report/guide-to-mothman-festival/

* https://web.archive.org/web/20150923150211/http://www.mothmanfestival.com/
* https://web.archive.org/web/20150906111506/http://mothmanfestival.com/events/
* https://web.archive.org/web/20150923145459/http://mothmanfestival.com:80/speakers/