POINT PLEASANT — Thousands of people gathered in downtown Point Pleasant for the Ninth Annual Mothman Festival, which took place over the weekend.

This year’s event featured a variety of activities and entertainment. According to Jeff Wamsley, festival director, this year’s festival drew more than 3,000 people.

“The festival went very smoothly with a very noticable increase in attendance this year. The weather was also perfect,” Wamsley said.

Festival action got started on Sept. 17 with the annual Miss Mothman Pageant, where Brittany Sayre of Point Pleasant was named the 2010 Miss Mothman Queen.

The festival officially kicked into gear on Saturday with the inaugural Mothman 5K Run/Walk, which drew several participants (see related story). Other activities on Saturday included the Mothman Children’s Pageant, live entertainment from local bands, guest speaker forums and a Rodder’s Car Club Cruise-In. The popular TNT area hayrides also took place and proved to be a crowd favorite.

Sunday’s festival events also featured live entertainment and guest speaker forums. Festival-goers had the opportunity to dine on the famous Mothman Pancakes, visit with “Turtleman” and take tours of historic downtown Point Pleasant over the weekend as well. In addition, those in attendance could have their pictures taken with the Ghostbusters, Men in Black and the Mothman.