First Forest County Bigfoot Festival draws hundreds of fans

Bigfoot left a big impression in Marienville last weekend.

The first Forest County Bigfoot Festival drew hundreds of fans of the wooly biped to town where they conducted a Bigfoot search and a Bigfoot caller contest. Even the person with the biggest feet went home a winner.

“It is going great,” said Robin Sharrow, executive director of the Forest County Business Alliance Saturday. “Over 100 people registered for the Bigfoot hunt before noon on Saturday. It’s not bad for a first-year event. I think we found our niche.”

Tracy Slater is a Marienville native who says she has seen Bigfoot “a lot.”

“He is everywhere,” she said with a smile. “You just never know where he might pop up. I am very excited about this festival. It’s good for the town. I was, honestly, surprised how many people are here. It’s good to see everyone out and about after the last year.

Jason Whitaker of eastern Tennessee is a vendor of Bigfoot merchandise. “We do a lot of Bigfoot festivals mainly on the East Coast. We go to the Carolinas, Alabama, and Florida,” he said.

The festival had a series of speakers who claim to have either seen a Bigfoot or who have studied the biped. The speakers included Mary Fabian of the Pennsylvania Bigfoot Project.

The festival included a Bigfoot calling contest, a contest for the biggest feet, vendors, kids’ activities, and live music.