MARLINTON — Close to 20,000 people are expected to fill the streets of Marlinton for the 34th annual West Virginia Roadkill Cook-Off and Autumn Festival, scheduled to get underway on Sept. 26.

Lori Salmon, liaison for the Pocahontas County Commission, told The Inter-Mountain that the event continues to grow in popularity each year, and that there are so many people planning to attend that you “can’t stir them with a stick.”

“We are expecting upwards of 20,000 people for the weekend’s event. It is truly incredible how many people come out for this,” Salmon said. “The Roadkill Cook-Off and Autumn Festival is starting to get a real following, due mostly in part to Food Network coming out to the event several times.

“When they air it on television it just adds interest all over the country. The event is starting to get a little following of its own.”

The West Virginia Roadkill Cook-Off and Autumn Festival will kick off Friday, Sept. 26 with a Rockin’ Square Dance that will also feature beginner square dance lessons at the Pocahontas County Opera House. The square dance is free and will begin at 7 p.m.

Things will shift into high gear on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 9 a.m. with the opening of craft and food vendors across town, as well as the Hudson Cream Flour Biscuit Bake-Off and the Possum Trot and 5K Walk/Run.

The Biscuit Bake-Off will take place in the Municipal Building and is for both children and adults. The 5K race will be on the Greenbrier River Trail and will begin just outside the Railroad Depot area.

The fourth annual Hammons Family Fiddle and Banjo Contest and World Class Jam will get underway at 10 a.m., and music will continue throughout the day. Musical artists will begin playing at the downtown gazebo.

“We will have music all over the place all day long,” Salmon said. “A lot of artists will be performing at Discovery Junction, but there will also be music playing at different corners of the town throughout the day.”

The highlight of the event will be the Cook-Off, where visitors can enjoy a variety of food throughout the day.

“The food for the Roadkill Cook-Off is not really roadkill, but it has to be something that could be roadkill,” Salmon said. “It’s not going to be a possum that someone ran over and decided to cook at the event, there are health guidelines we follow.

“We’ve had a lot of bears in the past and we have one lady from Colorado coming this year who is going to be cooking moose. We’ve had a lot of venison and squirrels in the past and we’ve actually had some possum stew.”

The West Virginia Roadkill Cook-Off and Autumn Festival will be held rain or shine, and will run until 4 p.m. For more information, visit the festival’s Facebook page.