FAIRMONT, W.Va. (WBOY) — The Charley Clayton Memorial Peep Festival is a brand new event coming to Fairmont on April 1 and 2 that is being held in honor of Marion County native Charley Clayton, who passed away at age 26.
The event is scheduled to begin at noon on Saturday and conclude at 11 p.m. on Sunday and will be held on the Fairmont State University Campus at Colebank Hall. A teen and adult beauty pageant will be held on April 1, and the following day will include live music featuring five different musical acts:
- Dice Man
- be.IN
- Prosper.
- DJ Gov Name
- Spike Yee & Proper
Event organizers and friends of Charley Clayton told 12 News that during a pageant in 2018, Clayton was asked the question, “If she could start a new festival in the state what would its theme be?” Because of her obsession over Peeps, Clayton’s answer was an easter festival themed around bunnies and the marshmallow candy, an answer that eventually became a running joke among Clayton and her friends.
Sadly, Clayton passed away in July, 2022, so her friends decided to honor her memory by creating the Peeps festival Clayton always dreamed of making.
A raffle will also be held with proceeds going towards the Charley Clayton Memorial Scholarship Fund which will be awarded annually to a senior from Marion County. Additionally on Sunday, a three-mile fun run will begin at 9 a.m.
The event will host over 15 different vendors and an assortment of local food options:
Food
Vendors
- Country Roads Charcuterie
- Appalachian Fiber Flow
- Saturn Abstracting, LLC
- Blessed Gifts of WV
- Elevated Rock & Minerals
- Spring Fox Studios
- Harvest is Life
- Lynked by K
- Emilia Alice Designs
- Personally Palmer
- Blush Mobile Tan
- Shabae’s Bakeshop LLC
- Loose Threads
- Calliope & Co
- Electric Jane
- KAB Design Co.
- Once Upon a Craft
