WNC Bigfoot Festival in Marion, NC: History & Visitor Guide

Every late summer, the little mountain city of Marion, North Carolina, fills its downtown with people in Bigfoot T-shirts, kids hunting for hidden Sasquatch silhouettes and vendors selling everything from footprint cookies to hand-carved figures. The WNC Bigfoot Festival is one of the biggest Bigfoot gatherings in the eastern United States, and it started with one local team and a story from the shore of Lake James.

Here's the history, what to expect, and how to plan your own trip.

Marion is the county seat of McDowell County in Western North Carolina, east of Asheville at the foot of the Blue Ridge. The area is surrounded by national forest, the Blue Ridge Parkway runs along the mountains to the north and west, and Lake James sits on the county's eastern edge.

In other words, it's prime country for a forest legend. Around here, searchers have a name for the creature: the Beast of the Blue Ridge.

The festival grew out of a local research group. A 2019 proclamation from the City of Marion, published by Mountain Xpress, says Bigfoot 911 was created in 2014 by John Bruner of Marion to pursue research in cryptozoology, with the team conducting extensive research in McDowell County and "documenting evidence that the team believes suggests that Bigfoot exists in McDowell County."

In a 2018 preview, WNC Magazine described Bruner as a recently retired paramedic "in the vanguard of McDowell County Bigfoot seekers." Members of his group claimed to have found footprints and said they saw the creature in 2017 near Lake James. Bruner told the magazine: "He was about eight-and-a-half to nine-feet tall, and had long, stringy, matted hair, kind of like a wet dog. His nose was flat on his face, resembling a gorilla, and he was muscular."

That's one team's account, and we pass it along as their claim. The North Carolina Main Street & Planning Center says the event "was inspired by a reported Bigfoot sighting at Lake James near Marion the previous year," with the Bigfoot 911 host partnering with the town to create "a fun and quirky celebration."

The first WNC Bigfoot Festival took place on Saturday, September 8, 2018. WNC Magazine's preview listed it as free, from noon to 6 p.m. on Main Street, with an 8 a.m. fun run, a bounce house, food vendors and "Bigfoot calling and knocking contests (the beast is said to frequently knock on trees)."

"We are gonna do it big and do it right," Bruner said when he announced the event.

He wasn't kidding. WLOS reported more than 90 vendors, inflatables for the kids, a classic car show and a Bigfoot calling contest. NPR's coverage described a crowd ranging "from sasquatch skeptics and complete nonbelievers to Bigfoot explorers quick to share tales of sightings and howls." In NPR's words, "There were no Bigfoot sightings, but stories were shared, thousands and thousands showed up for the occasion, and more than one sasquatch skeptic was converted."

The city's 2019 proclamation says the 2018 festival was "attended by over 30,000 people." The NC Main Street & Planning Center reports about 30,000 in 2018 and more than 40,000 in 2019, with visitors from at least 20 states and a few from Canada, Europe and Asia. It adds that "every downtown restaurant and food vendor sold out of food."

For a city of Marion's size, that's an enormous turnout.

At the second festival, on September 14, 2019, Mayor Steve Little presented a proclamation naming Bigfoot the "Official Animal of the City of Marion" for the day. The text is a fun read. It describes Bigfoot as a hairy bipedal creature "with a height of 7 to 10 feet tall and weighing more than 500 pounds," notes that reports have come from 49 states, and says the mayor had "met Bigfoot in 2018," a nod to the costumed Bigfoot who accepted the first proclamation onstage.

The Marion Business Association now organizes the event. Its official listing describes "a full day of live music, local artisans, delicious food, interactive exhibits, family-friendly activities, and Bigfoot-themed entertainment around every corner."

Highlights include:

The listing pitches it to "a true believer, a curious skeptic, or just looking for a day of unforgettable fun."

The 2026 festival was scheduled for Saturday, August 29, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Downtown Marion (ZIP code 28752), according to Discover Marion. The festival has moved around the calendar over the years, from early-to-mid September in 2018 and 2019 to late August in 2026, so always check the official listing for next year's date.

Find Marion on our Bigfoot festivals map, and see the full calendar in our Bigfoot festivals 2026 roundup.

We checked the public BFRO-based dataset behind our maps. North Carolina has 79 mapped reports in the public dataset (through 2021), from 1965 to 2021. The top county is Montgomery County in the Uwharrie region (9), followed by Onslow (5).

McDowell County itself has no mapped reports in the dataset. That surprised us, given the festival's roots. But the counties around it do show up. Buncombe (3), Yancey (2), Burke (2), Avery (2), Rutherford (1) and Mitchell (1) together have 11 mapped reports, including:

The dataset only covers reports sent to one organization that have map coordinates, so a blank county doesn't mean nobody has seen anything. Local groups like Bigfoot 911 collect their own reports. It's a good reminder that festivals and data tell different parts of the story.

See how North Carolina compares with other states in Bigfoot sightings by state.

Marion is part of a string of mountain towns that celebrate their local legends:

The WNC Bigfoot Festival shows how one group's passion and a city's sense of fun can turn a story into a tradition. In just a few years, Marion went from a quiet mountain town to a place where tens of thousands of people show up to celebrate the Beast of the Blue Ridge. Whether you're a believer, a skeptic or just there for the funnel cakes, it's a great day downtown.

Event details change. Confirm next year's date and schedule with the Marion Business Association before you travel.