On June 25, The West Virginia Bigfoot Museum is scheduled to debut their brand-new museum expansion. The expansion will have its grand opening to kick off this year’s West Virginia Bigfoot Festival in Downtown Sutton beginning at 9:00 am.
This new space will triple the size of the current museum and will also provide a separate store front next to the Mountain Laurel Country Store. The museum currently has nearly 30 Bigfoot casts in its possession but previously only had space to display a dozen casts at a time. This new expansion will not only allow The West Virginia Bigfoot Museum to display the entirety of its casts, but it will also provide additional space for new displays, including some made by Dr. Jeff Meldrum, a professor and anthropologist from Idaho State University.
Museum co-founder, David Petolicchio, has stressed the importance of trying to keep the museum a free and educational experience for both tourists and locals alike. The new expansion will be no different, “We hope to continue our tradition of providing a free and fun destination that can be accessible to people of all income levels.” Petolicchio noted that donations, merchandise sales, and the generosity of patrons help them keep the museum a free experience.
The West Virginia Bigfoot Museum officially opened at the first West Virginia Bigfoot Festival in June of 2021, a now annual event. The festival is organized by The West Virginia Bigfoot Museum and the Mountain Laurel Country Store and has developed a significant following.
Petolicchio is a proponent of improving the downtown and the business community in Sutton and hopes that the Museum will be a catalyst for that progress, “Sutton has more potential than a lot of people realize and we meet countless tourists every year that confirm that. We want to use the nationwide following of this museum and our festival to promote our community and to rebuild our downtown.”
The West Virginia Bigfoot Museum is hosting their West Virginia Bigfoot Festival Banquet on Friday, June 24 at the Days Inn in Flatwoods and their West Virginia Bigfoot festival and vendor show in Downtown Sutton on Saturday, June 25.
