Trending
PHILIPPI -- For the past five years there has been one day each summer when it was normal for those visiting the city of Philippi to be creepy, kooky, mysterious, and sometimes spooky.
That day has once again crept up on Barbour County and will take place Saturday, with the sixth annual Lurch Fest, a one-day event that has become one of West Virginia’s most popular festivals.
“Lurch Fest is a really quirky event where you might see a little bit of everything,” said Lurch Fest Committee Chair Tammy Stemple. “A lot of people dress up and come out to have a good time. It’s a lot of fun and there is a little bit of something for everyone. It’s a very good day.”
Lurch Fest was started in 2021 as a way to honor Philippi hometown legend Ted Cassidy, the towering actor who played Lurch in the classic 1960s television series “The Addams Family.” Since its inception, the family-friendly street festival has continued to grow and attract visitors from across the United States.
“We had around 8,000 people attend throughout the day at last year’s event,” Stemple said. “Last year was our five-year anniversary and we figured it would be bigger than it had been, but it was beyond our expectations. The very first year we expected a couple hundred people and we ended up with a couple thousand. It’s grown ever since and we expect four, five or six thousand people to come out this year.”
This year’s Lurch Fest, which will begin at noon and run until dark, will feature Ted Cassidy’s son Sean, 42 craft vendors, 13 food and drink trucks, live music, a costume contest, a parade and more.
“We will have live music throughout the day and all of the bands will be playing on the stage down next to the museum,” Stemple said. “Dr. Jekyll’s Institute of Monster Studies will be here, which is a monster museum, and we will have a semi-truck that’s wrapped in Addams Family logos and Lurch logos that kids can stop by and see. We have two fire twirlers that will perform at night and the full statue of Lurch that people can see and get their picture taken with.”
Activities will be scattered throughout downtown Philippi, but the main hub for Lurch Fest is on Museum Street at the Barbour County Historical Museum along the Tygart River. Sign-ups for the Costume Contest will be from noon to 4:30 p.m. at the souvenir tent. There will be prizes given out to the best costumes in four categories, including Best Lurch, Best Addams Family, Best Original, and Best Ted Cassidy.
Before the event officially gets underway at noon, there will be two pre-show activities taking place, including the Lurch Fest 5K Fun Run. Check in for the race will begin at 7 a.m. and the race will begin at 8 a.m.
The other pre-festival activity will be the Save the Tygart Lazy River Raft Float. The event will be at the Covered Bridge and will begin at 10 a.m. There are several events also scheduled throughout the week leading up to Saturday’s festival.
On Thursday, Sean Cassidy hosted “Ted Talk,” giving a unique perspective on his father and answer questions from those attending, in Philippi.