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By Cara Beth Lewis

For the 15th time, the tradition of the Beast of Bladenboro Festival continues. With expectations of the biggest and best “Fest” yet, Boost the Boro’s upward trending success continues with record-breaking sponsorships, growing participation and interest, implementation of new ideas, and, as always, hard work and dedication to the festival that draws a crowd from near and far in small-town Bladenboro.

With no entry fee, Beast Fest offers a variety of food vendors, craft vendors, and more. The two-day event begins Friday, October 28th with food vendors opened for business and music to enjoy. Autumn Tyde Band will headline Friday night.

Saturday morning, the fun continues, with WECT News’s Mara McJilton as emcee. In addition to food and craft vendors, there will be local entertainment, a car show, a bike show, a cornhole tournament, a gun raffle, free bicycle helmets for kids, two bicycle giveaways, free horse-and-buggy rides, pecan pie contest, free face painting for kids, Halloween costume contest, pecan pie contest, carnival rides, Trunk or Treat, haunted hayride, and more! Cat5 Band will headline Saturday night.

The story of the Beast of Bladenboro will be read on Saturday for children and adults. The interesting story of the Beast is the namesake for Bladenboro’s beloved festival. While some claim it was a hoax, many people who lived in Bladenboro in 1954 remember living through the wrath of “The Beast” – a mystery that has never been solved. Read more about the legend of the Beast of Bladenboro here.

Beast Fest is organized by Boost the Boro, a nonprofit organization that exists to better the town of Bladenboro. All profits made for the festival go directly back into the community to support various local causes and to improve the town of Bladenboro in many ways.

Boost the Boro President Terry Nance shared, “We have been overwhelmed by the amazing support from our community as we planned this year’s Beast Fest. We are confident that this year will be the biggest and best yet!” He continued, “A lot of time, effort, and creativity has allowed us to host this great festival each year. We would like to invite everyone to join us for the 15th Annual Beast Fest! We are confident that you will not be disappointed.”

Check out the entertainment schedule for Saturday below:

There will be a wide variety of food and beverage vendors at Beast Fest this year as well. Make sure you come hungry! According to boosttheboro.org, “Food Vendors will begin customer service on Friday from 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm and again on Saturday from 10:00 am -10:00 pm. Each vendor is required to prepare their specialties on-site and ALL Food Vendors must obtain a Temporary Food Establishment Permit from the Bladen County Health Department and be personally inspected and approved to operate by the Department, prior to opening for business.” The list of food vendors for the 15th Annual Beast Fest is below:

On social media, the Beast Fest team has shared lots of information regarding the event and all that will take place. Visit the Beast of Bladenboro Festival Facebook page here.

A message from the Boost the Boro team:

“Boost the Boro is extremely grateful to all those individuals and businesses who support Beast Fest year-after-year. As we celebrate our 15th Anniversary of Beast Fest this year, our 50 plus members have worked hard to bring a variety of new events and entertainment that are fun, safe and suitable for the entire family. The continued support we receive allows us to provide practically all of these festival events completely free for the 10,000 plus who will attend Beast Fest this year, as well as make significant investments in our community and its citizens. None of which would be possible without the financial support from our business community and individual supporters.”

Treasurer, Don White, Jr., additionally shared the following on behalf of Boost the Boro:

“If you would like to assist us in these Community efforts or Beast Fest and have not been contacted, please stop by our Boost the Boro tent at this year’s Beast Fest and provide us with your information, or if you prefer, you can email us at Boosttheboro@gmail.com.”

Boost the Boro works hard to make this event safe and family-friendly. According to boosttheboro.org, “Our Festival is patrolled by either members of the Bladenboro Police Department or The Bladen County Sheriff’s Department throughout the festival. We also have stand-by EMS services available and on site at the festival and additional police personnel will be on site during the evening events. Our Beast Fest Staff also patrols the parking areas of the festival and is available to assist individuals with rides to and from their vehicles, if requested.”

Beast Fest is a great opportunity to enjoy the fall season we are in, fellowship with the community, support local businesses, and have fun!