2024 Fouke Monster Festival Was Some-Kind Of Squatchy Fun

Do you watch those Bigfoot shows on TV, follow the Bigfoot social media channels, or maybe watch video clips on YouTube? Does the idea of hunting cryptids give you the willies, in a good way? If the answer was yes to any of these questions, and you didn't go to last weekend's Fouke Monster Festival, then maybe you should make the effort next time. It was pretty cool. 

I am not now, nor have I ever claimed to be an expert on all things cryptid or Bigfoot/Sasquatch/Skunk Ape/Fouke Monster'ish, but I love it. I love hearing the stories and watching the investigations on TV and YouTube. Now, after meeting and hearing some of the folks at the 2024 Fouke Monster Festival last weekend, I think I also have a few new podcasts to check out.

The 2024 Fouke Monster Festival took place at the Fouke Middle School since they outgrew another local venue a few years ago. When I first arrived there was plenty of seating available but as the day went along, the seats started filling up pretty well. While speakers were at the podium, bus tours were driving around the area showing points of interest such as:

• Where movies like "The Legend of Boggy Creek" were filmed.
• Sighting reports, stories, and more.

Probably the most famous Bigfoot researcher/author there last weekend would be Lyle Blackburn. Lyle has 4 Bigfoot books and another 4 books available on Amazon, has been interviewed numerous times for different TV shows and podcasts, and is a Texas legend when it comes to Bigfoot lore.

It's not a huge event, but it's one of the biggest in Fouke, Arkansas I guarantee you.

At one point while Tex Wesson was telling his stories, he stopped and asked the audience, "How many of you have seen a Bigfoot", I swear to you over half the hands in the audience went up! Mine wasn't one of them, unfortunately, maybe one day. It's hard to call BS on literally hundreds and thousands of people all over the world who have had experiences with this thing, and many other things for that matter.

Here's some podcast info you might need:

Blondes & Boos Podcast
Tex's Front Porch
Lyle Blackburn's podcast Monstro Bizarro
Curious Realm Podcast

How About a Few Pics:

The Monster Mart in Fouke has swag you can grab at any time when you visit, plus a pretty neat little museum dedicated to the monster, footprint castings, and snacks. What more can you ask for from a neat little side trip? Be sure you go when the store is open because they do roll up the sidewalks at night in Fouke.

You have another chance to get squatchy this year, in the piney woods of East Texas, at the 2024 Texas Bigfoot Conference. This event is scheduled for October 18 & 19 in downtown Jefferson and includes a pretty stellar speaker lineup so far, including:

• Dr. Haskell Hart
• Chester Moore
• Ken Gerhard
• Lyle Blackburn
• Dr. Jeff Meldrum (below)

If you have read this far... I guess I'll see you there!

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