the competition and will march in a parade through the town . This is the second time the competition has been held in the U . S .
In Richwood , the Mountain Color Art Show and Art Walk takes place each fall . The art show features pieces from award-winning and amateur artists from Nicholas and surrounding counties . Whether native Appalachians or adopted into the area , the artists ’ pride for the Appalachian heritage and culture shows through their works .
Unique Attractions
Bigfoot , monsters , hauntings and ghost towns prove Braxton County is embracing all things strange . Home of the Flatwoods Monster , Braxton County operates the Flatwoods Monster Museum in Sutton to celebrate the legends of this elusive creature . Stories from the 1950s say the monster appeared to be 10-feet tall with a head shaped like a spade and glowing eyes . The monster wore a dark , presumably metal , dress . Look for the painted Monster Chairs around the county . If that doesn ’ t satisfy your craving for peculiar things , the newer Bigfoot Museum encourages believers and skeptics alike to learn about the mysterious creature and sightings around Sutton Lake . To keep the hunt for Bigfoot alive , the town of Sutton has now had two Bigfoot Festivals that Andrew Smith , Braxton County CVB executive director , says are showing promise . In its second year , the 2022 festival brought around 4,000 people to the small town .
Smith says there is also a Queen-Anne style house across from the Flatwoods Monster Museum called the Haymond House where current owners claim to have experienced paranormal activity . Guests are welcome to visit the late 1800s home that has been host to sightings of orbs , shadows and figures as well as mysterious noises such as footsteps .
“ Focusing on this new market of paranormal tourism has given us a lot of different avenues to partner with different areas or attractions in West Virginia ,” Smith says . “ We ’ ve been successful in networking to help each other because we ’ ve noticed these attractions bring a lot of people into the state as a whole and then these folks visit other parts of the state . It seems to be a market we ’ re not even close to exhausting yet .”
Photo by Robbie Skinner .
Photo by Andrew Smith .
Braxton County is not the only place to use its history to promote paranormal tourism . Lewis County is home to the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum , which , on top of being a nationally recognized historic landmark , is known for its ghost inhabitants . Located in Weston , WV , walk-in tour season is from April to mid-November .
On top of folklore attracting visitors to the area , a variety of unique festivals take place year-round throughout the Mountain Lakes region . In Clay County , the Golden Delicious Apple — officially named the state fruit in 1995 — is the theme of a festival that takes place each fall to celebrate the finding of the first apple of its kind in 1912 . The festival offers an apple bake off , quilt show , live music and more .
Webster County , where timber and woodchopping are king , is home to the Woodchopping Festival every Memorial Day weekend . The festival brings in more than 100 world-class TimberSport athletes to compete for the title of Southeastern World Champion Woodchopper and a purse of prize money worth more than $ 30,000 .
“ It ’ s hard to explain to people what woodchopping is until they see it , hear it and smell the sawdust ,” says Alex Fliegel , Webster County CVB director .
This year will mark the 53rd year of the annual Nicholas County Potato Festival . Set for September 8-9 , the festival has been known to draw as many as 7,000 people when the weather is nice . Visitors of the festival can expect live entertainment , carnival rides , contests , a potato auction , parades , a car show , pageants and more .
“ The Nicholas County Potato Festival celebrates the agricultural history of the county , particularly potato farming ,” says Marianne Taylor , executive director of the Summersville Arena & Conference Center . •
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