POINT PLEASANT — Once again, the year is setting up to be busy and fruitful for local tourism.

Events are set to officially start in April and will continue each month with new and updated events as well as familiar favorites.

Denny Bellamy, chairman of the Mason County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the upcoming year has a full schedule. In addition to regularly scheduled events, Bellamy described his intention of focusing on bus tours, and two paranormal groups will visit the area in February and March.

The Paranormal Research Society will be in town Feb. 19-22 for a field trip, which will explore the legend of Mothman. The tour also will include the cast of the television show “Paranormal State.” In March, the Kentucky Shadow Chasers are slated to visit the area for their first ShadowCon Convention. According to Bellamy, the group already has booked the Lowe Hotel and will tour that facility along with the TNT area and Moundsville Prison.

April will feature the beginning of the regular tourism events with the Point Pleasant River Museum’s Shanty Boat Night. The event is slated for April 24 and will feature entertainment and dancing. May will be busy with several events on tap, including the Antique Gas and Steam Engine Show at the West Virginia State Farm Museum, the Siege of Fort Randolph at Krodel Park and the Memorial Day Parade and Memorial Service, which is hosted by the Mason County Post 2 Amvets and Ladies Auxiliary.

Bend Area C.A.R.E.’s 19th Annual Catfish Tournament will open June’s events. Tournament proceeds will go toward the organization’s Kids for Christmas program. Also taking place in June will be an antique tractor pull at the farm museum and the Woodland Indian Gathering, which is replacing Native People of the Point, at Fort Randolph.

July will get off to a patriotic start with the 19th Annual Point Pleasant Sternwheel Regatta, which will include a Fourth of July parade, entertainment, games and activities. Other patriotic events set for July include the New Haven Fourth of July Parade and Liberty!, which is a Fort Randolph event designed to celebrate the declaration of the country’s independence.

Also on tap for July will be a riverboat cruise hosted by the river museum. The event is new and will feature the Belle of Cincinnati as well as entertainment, food and dancing. This is the only scheduled riverboat visit of the year.

As the summer heats up in August, so will the schedule of events. Longhunters and Landgrabbers, a Fort Randolph event, will take place as well as the Mason County Fair Parade and week-long event. Another antique tractor pull also is scheduled at the farm museum.

Although the summer will be coming to a close, members of the CVB certainly will be active in September with Tribute to the River, Fort Randolph’s Militia Muster and another antique tractor pull at the farm museum. The Second Annual Fall Gospel Jubilee also is set for September and will take place at the farm museum.

Returning to the Point Pleasant Riverfront Park will be the Cabela’s King Kat Tournament, which came to the area for the first time last year. Mothman will be celebrated during the Eighth Annual Mothman Festival, which will feature hayride tours, vendors, Mothman movies and documentaries and a Miss Mothman pageant. Another fishing opportunity will take place in September with Bend Area C.A.R.E.’s 10th Annual Fall Catfish Tournament.

Battle Days will kick off October’s events and will feature a parade as well as several re-enactors and activities as the area observes the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the Battle Monument that stands in the center of Tu-Endie-Wei State Park. The farm museum’s Country Fall Festival also is set for October, along with the Harvest Fest and All Hallows Eve event at Fort Randolph.

The arrival of November will feature the Veterans Day Parade and Celebration as well as the arrival of the holiday season. Point Pleasant’s Holiday Parade will take place Nov. 20 and will officially kick off the Christmas Fantasy Light Show at Krodel Park, which runs through Dec. 31.

The month of December will wrap up the year with holiday events as well. Christmas on the Frontier, which will be Fort Randolph’s final event of the season, along with parades in the Towns of New Haven, Mason and Henderson, are scheduled. The farm museum also will host its Holiday Light Festival Dec. 11-21.

A complete list of schedules and event descriptions is available at the tourism center. For more information, call 304-675-6788.