Andy Close
MARIENVILLE, Pa. – Bigfoot is coming to Marienville.
(Bigfoot is busy working out, getting ready for his big festival this weekend in Forest County. Photo courtesy Forest County Bigfoot Festival Facebook.)
Yes, the ever-elusive Bigfoot will be on full display at the first Forest County Bigfoot Festival, an event that all started over a bottle of Clarion River Red wine that Dave Yeany was enjoying with his wife, Zenobia one evening.
The rest, as they say, is history, with the event slated for this Friday, June 11, through Sunday, the 14th.
“It’s getting to be quite the event,” Yeany said. “It’s taken on a life of its own, to tell you the truth. We’ve been getting tremendous feedback on it.”
They took their idea to the Forest County Business Alliance, which was all in as well.
“We’ve been working on it for over a year,” Yeany said. “We were wondering if we were going to be able to have it because of COVID, but things are working out.”
The event is for believers and non-believers alike and is jam-packed with activities.
There will be several keynote speakers, and that is just the tip of the iceberg.
Things get underway on Friday evening with food vendors, a pair of speakers – Ryan Cavalline and David Rupert, as well as a movie showing of Mountain Devil 2.
Other speakers over the weekend include Mary Fabian, Mike Familant, Jason Trost, Fred Saluga, Ed Keelmen, and David Wargo.
“We have a pretty good list of vendors, about half a dozen or more food vendors,” Yeany said. “I think we’re putting together a quality event.”
There will be live music, vendors selling Bigfoot apparel, as well as a geocaching event and a ‘hunt’ for Bigfoot. Three different bands will perform on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday – Trixx, Route 8 and Concord Station.
“It’s kind of tongue and cheek,” Yeany explained. “It’s a hunt for 10 Bigfoot silhouettes. You capture him with your phone. You have to bring in evidence of bigfoot. For a $10 fee, you get a license to hunt Bigfoot in a 10-15 mile radius of the festival. Whoever gets all 10 or the most in the shortest amount of time is the winner.”
The hunt will begin at 6 p.m. Friday and conclude at noon on Sunday.
There will also be a Bigfoot calling contest, as well as a ‘biggest foot’ contest and a 5K run held Sunday morning and a ‘Kids Korner,’ where Bigfoot is ‘guaranteed to be,’ according to Yeany.
“There’s just a tremendous interest in this,” Yeany said. “We thought it was an idea that could appeal to a wide range of people. We thought it was something we could have fun with. There are a lot of tourists around in the summer and it gives people something to do. It’s been a journey from the idea on our front porch, to where it looks like it’s going right now.”
For more details on the event, visit forestcountybigfootfestival.com.
