Mode of Program Participation
Academic Scholarship
Participation Type
Paper
Presentation #1 Title
Woodbooger Tourism
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Tales of wildmen in the woods highlight the uneasy relationship between the natural world and settled communities. This paper discusses the evolution of the Woodbooger legend, a Bigfoot unknown to Norton residents until 2011. It has since become a city mascot with its own sanctuary (Norton City Council, 2014). Research questions explored are: How is a creature “found” by a television show a legend? Why do residents want tourism? How does the Woodbooger festival’s impact on the community compare older city festivals?
With the decline in coal mining, windfarms have been debated as an alternative industry, but considered unpopular since maintaining mountain vistas to attract tourists contrasts with installing windfarms (Portnoy, 2015). Worldwide, tourism economies are controversial, some seeing them as income while others criticize the cultural and environmental damage caused. Both sides of that argument are examined through the lens of this emergent legend.
Festivals involve community coordination (Falassi, 1987). Business owners, council members, and Parks & Recreation employees were all interviewed about the role they play in maintaining this tall tale. Through literature and interviews, the continuing impact of the Woodbooger on the city is explored. The Woodbooger’s forest home is akin to an otherworldly or thin place (Béres, 2012) created by a land that time forgot, (McKean, 2012). The denseness of the woods in Wise County, known as the heart of Appalachia (Shifflett, 1991), helps to perpetuate the myth that Appalachia continues to be a place where time stands still (Straw and Blethen, 2004).
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Elizabeth Coberly is a PhD student in Recreation and Folklore at George Mason University
Woodbooger Tourism
Tales of wildmen in the woods highlight the uneasy relationship between the natural world and settled communities. This paper discusses the evolution of the Woodbooger legend, a Bigfoot unknown to Norton residents until 2011. It has since become a city mascot with its own sanctuary (Norton City Council, 2014). Research questions explored are: How is a creature “found” by a television show a legend? Why do residents want tourism? How does the Woodbooger festival’s impact on the community compare older city festivals?
With the decline in coal mining, windfarms have been debated as an alternative industry, but considered unpopular since maintaining mountain vistas to attract tourists contrasts with installing windfarms (Portnoy, 2015). Worldwide, tourism economies are controversial, some seeing them as income while others criticize the cultural and environmental damage caused. Both sides of that argument are examined through the lens of this emergent legend.
Festivals involve community coordination (Falassi, 1987). Business owners, council members, and Parks & Recreation employees were all interviewed about the role they play in maintaining this tall tale. Through literature and interviews, the continuing impact of the Woodbooger on the city is explored. The Woodbooger’s forest home is akin to an otherworldly or thin place (Béres, 2012) created by a land that time forgot, (McKean, 2012). The denseness of the woods in Wise County, known as the heart of Appalachia (Shifflett, 1991), helps to perpetuate the myth that Appalachia continues to be a place where time stands still (Straw and Blethen, 2004).
