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By Charlotte Smith

Boost the Boro, Inc., President Terry Nance lead the Beast Feast committee meeting Thursday evening to prepare for the upcoming popular festival.

This history of the Beast Fest is an interesting one. In 1953 a series of vampire like killings of pets and livestock were reported. “The creature doing the killings was described by most witnesses as a “large-like cat creature about 4 to 5 feet long,” stated the Beast Fest organizers.

The locals became afraid to leave their homes after dark and eventually began to refer to the creature as “The Beast of Bladenboro”.

Men came from miles around with loaded weapons to find the beast, but to this day, the wild animal has not been caught. There are documentaries on the beast. Some say its a folk tale, but others are convinced the beast did exist. A sighting of the carnivore has not been reported recently, however, the town has found a way to celebrate this historic tale.

The Beast Fest has become one of the fastest growing festivals in Southeastern North Carolina gaining recognition from UNC-TV and other regional news outlets. The organizers state “2019 will be our 13th year and we challenge ourselves to make Beast Fest an event that everyone in the family, regardless of age or financial situation, can enjoy.”

The festival has live entertainment each year and there is no admission charge to the festival.

During the meeting Joyce Walters gave an update on the entertainment scheduled for the event. She said she will release the line up the first week in October.

The Fun Time Carnival Rides, food vendors, art & craft vendors will all be on site. Claudette Guy is in charge of organizing the vendors, along with her daughter, Ashley Norris.

Penny Walters gave an update on the t-shirts. The Beast Fest t-shirts and sweatshirts are in high demand every year.

Photos from Beast Fest 2018:

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Don White gave an updated list of the sponsors: