Whether you’re a diehard believer that Bigfoot walks among us or a skeptic who thinks there are valid explanations for alleged sightings, you’re invited to SasqWatch: Beyond the Footprint, a two-day festival scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 27, and Sunday, Sept. 28.
Being organized by the East Lewis County Chamber of Commerce, SasqWatch: Beyond the Footprint will be held at Cowlitz River Rentals, according to the chamber’s Facebook page. Cowlitz River Rentals is located just off U.S. Highway 12 in Randle, across the highway south of its Silverbrook Road intersection just east of Peters Road.
Ten speakers will be featured across the two days of the festival, and attendees will also enjoy a “SasqToss” cornhole tournament, a “SasqTrot 5K” fun run and a live musical performance from Michael Ray Hall, along with a selection of vendors and food trucks.
Speakers include Sasquatch researchers Dr. Jeffery Meldrum, Dr. J Robert Alley, Sara Brown, Jonathan Brown, Thomas Sewid, Jonathan Easley, Barbara Shupe, Jack Bowers, Thom Cantrall and Shane Corson.
Attendees will also have the chance to share their own sightings and experiences with the paranormal during a scheduled town hall portion.
The event’s full schedule is as follows:
Sept. 27
• Vendors and food trucks will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Jack Bowers, a veteran who claims to have had multiple cryptid run-ins throughout his life, begins his presentation at 10 a.m.
• Barbara Shupe, a local paranormal researcher who has been documenting her encounters with the unexplained in the region for years, begins her presentation at 11 a.m.
• The “SasqToss” cornhole tournament begins at 1 p.m. Registration is $25 per player. Bragging rights, along with a possible blurry photo, are up for grabs. The tournament pits two-person teams against each other in a double-elimination format and follows American Cornhole Association rules.
• Jonathan Easley, paranormal researcher and documentary film maker, begins his presentation at 1 p.m.
• Dr. J Robert Alley, a retired University of Alaska Southeast-Ketchikan adjunct professor of anatomy and physiology who specializes in gait analysis and pedorthics, begins his presentation at 2 p.m.
• Sara and Jonathan Brown, local paranormal researchers who run the Salish Sasquatch YouTube channel and claim to have had many personal encounters — with Jonathan also being a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation — begin their presentation at 3 p.m.
• Dr. Jeff Meldrum, a professor of anatomy and anthropology at Idaho State University, begins his presentation at 5 p.m.
• Michael Ray Hall begins his musical performance at 7 p.m.
Sept. 28
• “SasqTrot 5K” fun run begins at 9 a.m., registration is $25 per runner and participants get a custom finisher medal.
• Vendors and food trucks will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Jack Bowers hosts the town hall portion for attendees to share their own stories from 9 to 11 a.m.
• Shane Corson, a member of Olympic Project Bigfoot Research, begins his presentation at 11 a.m.
• Thom Cantrall, long-time Sasquatch researcher and author who claims to have been healed by Bigfoot, begins his presentation at 1 p.m.
• Thomas Sewid, Kwakwaka’wakw First Nation member who spent decades living in British Columbia’s Broughton Archipelago Park which is known for frequent Sasquatch — or Dzoonakwa, as his tribe calls them — encounters, begins his presentation at 2 p.m.
Tickets are available online for $40, or $50 at the gate when the event starts. Camping spots at Cowlitz River Rentals can also be secured for $20 a night, and registration for the “SasqToss” cornhole tournament and “SasqTrot 5K” fun run can also be done online.
To purchase tickets, go to SasqWatch: Beyond the Footprint’s website at https://tinyurl.com/ye27jt2k.
For more information about the festival, visit https://www.beyondthefootprint.com/ or message the East Lewis County Chamber of Commerce on its Facebook page at https://tinyurl.com/yj2wzty6. To learn more about the chamber, visit https://elcchamber.org/.
