Lurch Fest Lurches Toward August 3

Lurch Fest 2024 is a collaborative effort of many organizations, businesses, and individuals. Philippi Main Street, the Barbour County Historical Museum, Philippi Convention & Visitors Bureau, Create Philippi, and the City of Philippi are cosponsors, organizers, and workers of the 2024 Lurch Fest. The fest is being further supported by the BC Commission, the City of Philippi, BC Arts & Humanities Council, Philippi CVB, Leer Mines, Wright’s Funeral Home and Walnut Lane Florists, People’s Bank, Battlers Knob, Snyder Industries, and Delta Cooling.

“Even the Tygart River has stakes in this year’s Lurch Fest!” says a Lurch Fest spokesperson.

Saturday, August 3 kicks off the day’s event with the Save the Tygart Lurch Fest Paddle. The 3.6-mile float down the mighty Tygart River begins at the iconic Philippi Covered Bridge with registration at 9 a.m. at the boat ramp and the float starting at 10 a.m. The river remains the focus later in the afternoon when at 3 p.m., the Strutters Baton Corp will have colorful rubber duckies racing down the river. Registration for the rubber duckie race will be on the patio of the BC Historical Museum earlier in the day.

Live music will be non-stop beginning at noon with the line up showcasing Greg Short & Friends, The Greg Ice Band, Full Cirkle, Electric Blue, and Soda Pop Gypsies. To enjoy the music, guests to the day may bring their own chairs and pop up tents to place on the grass beyond the railroad tracks or find a chair near the bandstand.

Lots of food options will present themselves to Lurchers with nearly 15 food vendors and food tents offering a wide variety of sandwiches, specialty foods, and familiar festival foods. Lurchers can chase down their food with one of four craft beers or domestics or wine or sweet drinks from around the festival grounds.

Those festival grounds will be filled with 55 crafters, a silent auction, ax throwing/bow and arrow, antique hearses, a costume contest, photo ops with The Addams Family props, meeting with Sean Cassidy (Ted Cassidy’s son) and Jeremy Ambler of “The Walking Dead,” Lurch merch, misting stations, chatting with authorized Ted Cassidy biographer Christofer Cook, and the joy of being part of small-town Americana!

Both Sean Cassidy and Christofer Cook will greet guests at a pre-fest special evening event on Friday, August 2 at 6:30 p.m. in 17 North Event Center across the street from the Courthouse. The launching of Cook’s biography “Lurching Forward: Ted Cassidy’s Early Life, from Cradle to Creature” will take place at this event. Guests will also be part of a Q&A session between Cook and Cassidy, and the evening will end with a makeup transformation by Cook of Cassidy to his father’s characterization of Lurch.

The Barbour County Office of Emergency Management has collaborated with law enforcement from Philippi and Barbour County to ensure a safe environment for Lurch Fest 2024. Here & There Transit has added to the collaborative efforts of the community by shuttling paddlers early in the day.

Parking for Lurch Fest is available throughout downtown Philippi. As Lurchers walk from their parked cars to Museum Street for the fest, they’ll pass by business windows decorated for the annual celebration of Philippi’s native son, Ted Cassidy. The businesses are competing for top window decorating prizes.

Lurch Fest 2024 begins at noon and runs until 9 p.m. providing a day of fun for the thousands of anticipated fest-goers.