‘Bigfoot’ at Big Gem?

Movie company plans to film in Page County

Page News & Courier (Virginia), Thursday, June 23, 2005

http://www.dnronline.com/pnc-story3.asp

By Dawn Schauer

Staff Writer

No, there really isn’t a hairy, bigfoot monster running loose in Page County.

But over the next few weeks, a handful of actors and a film crew of more than 30 people will be shooting portions of an independent film titled "Bigfoot" in the town of Shenandoah’s 68-acre Big Gem Park.

John Poague with Capital Film Studios of Manassas is spearheading the project.

Capital Film Studios is scheduled to shoot "Bigfoot" from June 27 through July 14. About three days of filming will take place inside Big Gem Park.

The independent film company will also be shooting scenes at locations along the South Fork of the Shenandoah River and hopefully at one or two homes in the town of Shenandoah, Poague said.

"Bigfoot" is a story about six college-aged kids who go camping and tubing on the river and encounter a bigfoot monster, Poague said.

"It’s not your ‘Harry and the Hendersons’ Bigfoot," he said. "This one’s a little more menacing."

The film will not reference the town of Shenandoah specifically, so as not to imply that such a creature exists in or near the town, Poague said. All references in the film are general, he said.

Poague said there is some violence based around the bigfoot killing youngsters, and anticipates the film will receive an "R" rating. Capital Film, however, will also create a version of the film that should get a "PG-13" rating.

"I can assure you that this is not a pornographic film, nor is it cluttered with unnecessary profanity, as our target audience is 16- to 30-year-olds," Poague wrote in a letter to town officials.

Poague said the film’s impact on the town should be positive in that "it will be known as a town that welcomes independent filmmakers as well as big-budget films." He anticipates that a minimum of $20,000 will flow directly into the community during the shoot through lodging, food, supplies and fuel.

Shenandoah town officials are excited about the town’s involvement in the film.

"I was very pleased that our site was chosen for filming because of all the natural areas in our beautiful county," said Dane Buse, local Big Gem project coordinator. "[Poague] recognized the wide range of attractive features that are available on our [Big Gem] site."

Poague said he’s visited the Shenandoah Valley and Page County with his kids, who are active in Cub Scouts. And according to Poague, he "just happened across" the Big Gem property.

Poague said Big Gem is an ideal location to shoot portions of "Bigfoot."

Besides being heavily wooded, Poague is confident that he can get his film equipment and crews into the park without disturbing the park or having to worry about a lot of people.

"It is our hope that on the days that we are in the area that no one even know we’re there," Poague wrote in a letter to town officials. "We will enter with the smallest possible crew and will keep a low profile."

Poague also told town officials that the film company will clean up trash and debris before it leaves Big Gem. And he doesn’t expect any impact on the town’s traffic or quietness as the film company intends to be as "invisible to the community as possible."

"To me, this is an exciting prospect because, having lived throughout the country, I can think of few places that offer such beauty in natural, historical and human resources as Shenandoah and Page County,"

Buse said.

For Poague, "Bigfoot" is the third film he’s directed. Poague, 41, has been in the film industry for about 20 years, including six years working in Los Angeles. He founded Capital Film Studios in 2004 to produce high-quality, independent full-length feature films.

Poague’s second film, "The Wickeds," was released nationally about two weeks ago through video companies like Blockbuster and Netflix, he said.

He’s also talking to Showtime about a release, Poague added.

His first film, a crime drama — "In the Name of Justice" — went straight to a video release, Poague said.

Poague hopes "Bigfoot" can do even better than his first two films.

"We might have a shot for theatrical release with this film," Poague said earlier this week.

According to the company’s Web site, Capital Film Studios anticipates producing five full-length, independent feature films within the next two years.

We can be reached at pagenews@shentel.net .

Charges reduced against man in shooting

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

By MARMIAN L. GRIMES and MARGARET FRIEDENAUER, Staff Writers

State prosecutors on Monday reduced charges against the 28-year-old Tanana man accused of shooting his friend at a camp on the Yukon River early Saturday morning.

Carl Erhart faces a single count of manslaughter in connection with the death of 18-year-old Lawrence Kennedy. Erhart was originally arrested on second-degree murder charges on Saturday.

Charging documents released Monday give the following account of the events leading up to Kennedy's death:

Kennedy, Erhart and another man, Christopher Grant, went to Erhart's father's cabin to cut brush on Friday. When they arrived, they each did a line of cocaine and drank alcohol. They set to work cutting brush and after they finished, went back inside the cabin and snorted more cocaine and continued drinking.

The three men were sitting around a table talking about bears and Bigfoot and Kennedy was holding a .457-caliber rifle. Erhart told Kennedy that he shouldn't handle the rifle and Kennedy gave the rifle to Erhart. Later, Erhart picked up the rifle and headed to the bedroom.

"Lawrence asked Carl what he would do if a bear or Bigfoot showed up," documents state. "At this point Carl turned around with the rifle in his hand in an overhand motion and said, 'This is what I would do,' and pointed the rifle toward the window. Carl stated in essence that when the rifle barrel came down, the rifle discharged."

The account continues: "Kennedy stood up and went to the door of the cabin saying something to the effect of 'I think you shot me.' Erhart and Grant tried to attend to his wounds, carried him to the boat and began heading back to Tanana. Rough waters forced them to shore about two miles upriver of Tanana. Grant ran to Tanana for help while Erhart stayed with Kennedy and tried to keep him warm."

Court documents state that Kennedy appeared to have been shot in the chest and died.

Erhart had his first court appearance on Monday afternoon.

More than three dozen somber people filed into a Fairbanks courtroom, filling most of the five rows of seats as they awaited Erhart's appearance via video from Fairbanks Correctional Center.

When he did, his face was clenched in a pained grimace and his eyes remained lowered during the entire short proceeding. He didn't enter a plea to the crime, as felony defendants generally enter pleas only after a grand jury indicts them on charges. He is, however, scheduled to have a bail hearing today.

"He is interested in attending the proceedings in Tanana upon Mr. Kennedy's return," said defense attorney Ken Covell. "This is clearly a tragic event ... It appears to be an accidental event."

Magistrate Ron Smith spoke briefly to Erhart during the afternoon hearing, advising him to put away guns when alcohol or drugs are being used.

Accidents happen, Smith said, "If you are using drugs and handling guns, they are likely to occur."

Smith's comments echoed those of the stunned village.

Community leaders in Tanana on Monday said the incident has drawn residents together and that leaders hope the cooperation will continue as they try to address what they say is a prevalent alcohol problem.

The Rev. Ginny Doctor is an Episcopal minister who regularly travels to Tanana and was there when the incident occurred this weekend.

"I'm very proud of the community," Doctor said. "They have really rallied together. And I'm hopeful that this indicates there will be change."

She said the community of 600, about 130 miles from Fairbanks, supported both the Kennedy and Erhart families, because they consider both people victims of the tragedy.

"They're not angry with him," Doctor said of Erhart. "They understand that these kind of things happen when people are abusing alcohol."

Doctor has been ministering in Tanana for more than 10 years and has seen the effects alcohol can have on small communities.

"I've been in and out of there since 1993 and I don't know how many people I've helped bury because of alcohol abuse," she said. "It's just nasty, nasty stuff. If I could stop it, I would."

Lester Erhart, Carl's father and a member of the city and tribal councils, asked Monday that the city-run liquor store be closed. He said the city can decide to close the doors without a council vote and expects the city may do so on his request. He said as tribal judge, he sees how alcohol abuse affects the community.

"It causes a lot of problems, I can tell you that," he said.

City council member Pat Moore said alcohol isn't the only problem in the small community. He is also concerned with illicit drug use in the village, an even harder problem than alcohol to confront he said.

"Just dealing with alcohol is the easiest thing to deal with," he said of Erhart's request to shut the liquor store. "There's no quick easy fix to shut down the drug dealers."

Monster hunters

By Lauren Ober / The Citizen

Auburn, New York

http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2005/06/21/news/news01.txt

Take the camerawork and suspense of "Blair Witch Project," mix it with the mockumentary wit of "Best in Show," throw in some of the buddy humor of "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure," and you've got what Mike DeForrest and Rob Morphy hope will be a hot new television show.

DeForrest and Morphy, Auburn natives and monster hunters, recently inked a deal with a major television network (they are not at liberty to reveal which one yet), to produce a television pilot based on their Web site, www.americanmonsters.com. They begin production on the pilot in South Carolina in July.

For as long as they can remember, the two best friends have been intrigued by otherworldly creatures such as Sasquatch and the Loch Ness Monster. For Morphy, the fascination with all things monster was sparked by Alan Landsburg's television show, "In Search Of."

"What I loved is that it is so plausible, so easy to believe that there are creatures out there we haven't discovered," Morphy said. "All the time there are new discoveries of new animals that legitimize the hunt."

DeForrest and Morphy could be called cryptozoologists, which Morphy explains is one who "searches for hidden animals heretofore unknown to science." Cryptozoology isn't an official science, but for plenty of people around the world, discovering creatures like the Murphysboro Mud Monster or the Gloucester Sea Serpent has become their life's passion.

For the two men, monster hunting, or rather monster seeking, falls somewhere between a hobby and an obsession. They've both done extensive research on monster legends and have traveled all over following monster leads.

The pilot came to fruition after filmmaker and Aurora native Gabe Torres read about the pair's monster hunting exploits in an article in The Citizen. Torres contacted DeForrest and Morphy about possibly turning their Web site concept and their own monster hunting experience into a television show.

"I was always a big fan of monsters as a kid," said Torres, who shot the short film, "The Legend of Firefly Marsh," in Aurora. "When I saw their Web site, I said, 'This is a TV show. This could be fun.'"

The two have the Honey Island Swamp Monster to thank for their big break. In August of 2002, DeForrest and Morphy traveled to a little corner of Louisiana deep in Cajun bayou country to search for the 350-pound, half-human, half-reptile.

For six days, the pair shot footage of the swamp and talked to eyewitnesses who had allegedly seen the creature. They even camped out in the bayou by themselves, seeing if they could capture the monster on film. More than actually finding the creature, the two wanted to chronicle the legend and preserve the story.

And they wanted to have a few adventures themselves. Morphy is emphatic about the fact that there are plenty of areas in the world left to explore and that is part of their whole concept.

"There's still wonderful adventures left to have. There are still plenty of spaces that have been barely touched," he said. "It's real easy living in a GPS world to think the whole world has been explored."

With their documentary in the can, the two were able, with Torres as executive producer, to put together a presentation reel to shop around to major networks. They pitched their idea to a couple of major players, who weren't totally sold on the idea. Finally they got a bite and they hope to have the pilot finished by the fall.

Torres said the presentation reel, which was shot as a documentary-style show, has been transformed into a scripted show using actors as the monster hunters instead of DeForrest and Morphy. The two will still serve as producers and technical consultants and will be on air as monster experts.

Though the show will use characters, Bob and Patrick, to explore these legends, Torres is insistent that they will not be making light of those who really believe.

"The show will be in line with Christopher Guest's mockumentaries. It will deal with real characters based on Rob and Mike who are believers," Torres said. "The show is comedic, but surreal. The eyewitnesses are never made fun of."

Casting for Bob and Patrick is almost complete and crews have already done some scouting in South Carolina. If the show gets picked up, DeForrest and Morphy might end up foregoing their day jobs - P.A. announcer for the Auburn Doubledays and freelance video producer, respectively. It would be the break they've been waiting for.

"Television is a great stepping stone into films. We need to start a foundation with a television dynasty first. The series can open up many more doors," Morphy said.

Morphy believes that if the backyard, grassroots concept worked for icons like George A. Romero, it can work for them.

"It's a niche that's definitely not been explored. I want the next generation to see the things that pleased me," he said. "I want to be part of the great pantheon of creators."

Staff writer Lauren Ober can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or lauren.ober@lee.net

Bigfoot presence can no longer be ignored

Saturday, June 18, 2005

Arkansas Democrat Gazette

Am I the only one who sees a disturbing pattern here?

It’s obvious that Arkansas is becoming a hotbed of bigfoot sightings and that can only mean one thing — an active sasquatch cell is finally stirring and the Natural State is ground zero.

It’s hardly a wonder. Vast tracts of our sparsely populated state are veritable wildernesses. The only sign of life is the occasional camouflaged turkey hunter or a rusting Deltic Timber sign.

"Sasquatch" is the anglicized derivative of the Salish Indian word "sesquac" meaning "wild, filthy, hairy, stinking man." Bigfoot sightings may have begun in the Pacific Northwest, but they’ve spread across the country in the last 50 years.

You can find out all about the whole phenomenon on the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO) Web site, www. bfro.net. The site has everything — maps, documentation, extensive sighting reports and exhaustive evaluations.

The organization (pronounced BEE-fro ) was founded in 1995 with the mission "to resolve the mystery surrounding the bigfoot phenomenon, that is, to derive conclusive documentation of the species’ existence."

The BFROs are believers.

BFRO says it seeks the "collection of empirical data and physical evidence from the field."

Did you catch that? BFRO collects empirical data. That’s the most irrefutable sort. It’s the kind of data such as that provided by Carl "Cooter" Scroggins of Black Diamond in Miller County.

While trapping nutria in the Sulphur River Wildlife Management Area, Scroggins had a close encounter.

"I had the spooky feeling that I was being watched," Scroggins reports on the Web site under Arkansas Sightings. "It made the hackles on the back of my neck stand up."

Photos of Scroggins reveal that he is one of the extreme minority of humans who actually have congenital, vestigial hackles.

Scroggins also reported that his dogs kept whimpering and eventually broke free and disappeared into the swamplands of Mercer Bayou. "I also smelt a real bad stink," he added.

BFRO reports that 10 to 15 percent of all bigfoot encounters are accompanied by an intense, disagreeable stench not unlike the infamous bunga bangkai flower. The origin is thought to emanate from the bigfoot’s axillary organ with its apocrine sweat glands.

Scroggins found tracks and made a plaster cast and submitted the photos to BFRO.

Investigators concluded the bigfoot would wear an impressive size 22 EEEE sneaker and be a mature male approximately 7 feet, 10 inches in height and weighing 680 pounds.

How such a massive creature could remain undetected seems implausible until you consider the location.

Arkansas’ Sulphur/Red River corridor is heavily wooded, crisscrossed by creeks and bayous, and is fearsomely inhospitable to humans.

In fact, only U.S. 71 carries the slender thread of civilization through this forbidding land.

But it’s not only southwest Arkansas where sasquatch seems to be active. Sightings have occurred in 27 Arkansas counties, from Baxter in the north to Union in the south. That there have been five sightings in Saline County should give central Arkansas citizens cause for pause.

One enterprising entrepreneur has opened a Bigfoot convenience store franchise in Fouke to cater to the expected crowd of curious. A bigfoot was allegedly spotted attempting to purchase a Big Slurp there last Tuesday. The stench cleared the store.

Until next time, Kalaka reminds you to report all bigfoot sightings to the Game & Fish Commission. Should sasquatch become a problem, a hunting season will be declared and that should take care of that.

MTV Movie News

Movie File

06.15.2005 9:01 PM EDT

http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1504185/06152005/story.jhtml

"Everybody likes fake poo," declared "Herbie: Fully Loaded" heartthrob Justin Long, and with his freshly grown porn-star moustache, we're not going to argue. Long is working with the creators of "Napoleon Dynamite" on "The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang," a comedy about some white-trash entrepreneurs and the exploitation of an urban legend. The mullet-bearing Long plays a "crazy redneck character who plants evidence of a Bigfoot track, and then wants to take it a step further," by planting the titular Sasquatch dump ... er ... dumpling. Describing his character as a cross between Matt Dillon and Sam Rockwell, he said the film is "about this kid Jeremy, who is obsessed with the Bigfoot legend. He comes from a small town in the Northwest. I play this crazy redneck character — hence, I have a mullet."

Sasquatch comedy filming in Oregon

Location shooting by the creators of "Napoleon Dynamite" will continue through early July

Monday, June 13, 2005

Portland, OR ,USA

By STEVEN AMICK

The Oregonian

The Hollywood team that created last year's offbeat hit "Napoleon Dynamite" chose the Portland area to film a comedy about a Bigfoot hunter to be released next spring.

Producers of "The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang" filmed this month in Oregon City, Gladstone, Estacada and West Linn. They will continue working in Oregon until shortly after July Fourth.

The movie, written and directed by Tim Skousen and produced by Jeremy Coon, follows a group of young friends who discover large footprints in the woods.

Carl Weathers, ("Arrested Development," "Predator," "Rocky") plays Dr. Artimus Snodgrass, a world-famous Sasquatch expert trying to determine whether the prints are Bigfoot tracks.

During a break in Friday's filming at Mary S. Young State Park in West Linn, Weathers said it feels good to be back in the Northwest.

For a decade before he moved last year to Venice, Calif., the former Oakland Raiders football player lived and raised cattle on Washington's Whidbey Island.

"I appreciate the beauty and serenity of the woods here," said Weathers, 57. "Also, Portland is a magnificent city. Since I was first here, in the mid-'70s, it's been transformed; the culture, the diversity, the architecture."

Bob Schmaling, project manager for the Oregon Film and Video Office, said "The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang" is a relatively low-budget motion picture. "They'll spend under a million dollars in Oregon," Schmaling said. Much of that money, however, is providing jobs for Oregonians.

About half of the 60 or so members of the principal cast, as well as about 500 extras, are local.

Actors Justin Long and Joey Kern enjoyed an evening along Portland's Northwest 23rd Avenue on Thursday night.

"Joey and I both lived in New York for a long time," Long said, "and parts of downtown Portland are very much like New York."

Kern nodded. "People here," he said, "are a lot more alternative than I thought."

The woman who stared down suspicion

By Andy Parker

Monday, June 13, 2005

The Oregonian

Portland, Oregon

There was the time years ago when the sheriff called her up and asked for a pretrial haircut -- not for himself but for Dayton Leroy Rogers, the Canby lawn-mower repairman who'd killed seven women.

Other than that, Alveta Gibboney can't recall being anywhere near the limelight.

That changed last week after the retired hairdresser noticed a school bus heading toward a dead end just past her house in the foothills east of Molalla.

She'd seen it go by several afternoons. "Nobody had any reason to be driving a school bus up there. No kids live up there no more."

So after a while, she flagged down her 16-year-old stepdaughter's bus and told the driver what she'd seen.

"She said she was gonna drive up there and see about it, and I said, 'Not without me you ain't.' "

So the 57-year-old who'd suffered two heart attacks back in January hopped aboard, and the two women headed to the dead end high above the Molalla River, fearing the worst.

The steep, thickly timbered 37 acres where Harold and Alveta Gibboney have lived for 25 years is the Oregon you always see in the movies -- a dense, soggy green wonderland of towering firs, plush mosses and waist-high sword ferns.

Through the years, several Bigfoot sightings were reported on nearby ridges. And when Dayton Leroy Rogers went looking for a place to dump his victims, he chose a spot just down the road.

Past a clear-cut hillside, not far from where the pavement ends, you'll find the house Harold Gibboney built by himself 40 years ago, surrounded by a comforting jumble of flowers, yard art and pets. They've got dogs -- 18 in all -- cats, horses, even a raccoon that Alveta bottle-fed after finding it screaming in the middle of the road, still so tiny its eyes hadn't opened.

Harold is 73 but looks a full 20 years younger. A barrel-chested man with a head of thick, wavy white hair and a matching beard, he still logs these hills by himself with his self-loading hydraulic log truck, just as he has since the 1960s. That's the way he likes it.

Harold's lived in the hills above Molalla his whole life. Alveta grew up just down the road in the Silverton area. She and Harold met after they'd both been through two marriages.

Her childhood memories aren't all that good. Growing up, she was sexually abused, repeatedly. It's that memory that got her to thinking about that bus at the end of the road.

So last Wednesday, she and her daughter's bus driver rode up to the dead end. Through the windshield of the parked bus, they saw a partially clad woman she recognized and a man pulling up his pants.

After persuading the mentally disabled 21-year-old woman to get off the bus and telling her grandson to go get a gun, Alveta told the man to stay put, that she was an undercover officer. Twice, the man tried to pull his bus past, but with Alveta barking instructions, the Molalla bus driver blocked the road.

Regardless of whether he ends up being found guilty, Alveta wasn't about to let him get away until the police got there. Her own childhood memories are still too horrible to allow her to just look the other way and wonder.

After the police came and took the man away, word spread quickly about what Alveta had done. Four TV crews and three newspaper reporters showed up. Three radio stations called for interviews.

In the days since, the Gibboneys' phone hasn't stopped ringing -- friends, family and long-lost relatives calling to congratulate her.

Alveta admits she's enjoyed all the attention. Still, she doesn't really see herself as a hero. She tries to do the right thing, but as her minister tells her, "I still cuss too much."

And make no mistake about it, she does cuss, a lot.

"None of us," she says, "is perfect."

Maybe so. But for one June afternoon, Alveta Gibboney was about as close to perfect as any us can ever hope to get.

Skunk Ape festival draws crowd of believers, skeptics

June 12, 2005

Naples, FL

By TRACY X. MIGUEL

tmiguel@naplesnews.com

Naples Daily News

The four-wheeler was about triple 7-year-old Erica Burkard's size, yet that didn't intimidate her from climbing onto the swamp buggy.

As the tires splashed through the water and crushed the limestone-covered road, the noise got louder and louder at the Trail Lakes Campground in Ochopee.

And the ride got bumpier.

Erica and her sister, Tori Long, 13, sat shoulder-to-shoulder, laughing each time the swamp buggy, owned and driven by Trail Lakes Campground resident Steve Cribbs, 51, tilted to the side.

"We are going down ... wow ... wow," said Erica.

"Hold on," said their aunt, Sandy Long.

It was the first time the youngsters, both of Ohio, who were on vacation in Naples, had seen Ochopee and ridden such a big-wheeler.

It was also the first time they'd heard the tales which have circulated locally for decades of South Florida's skunk ape, a homegrown counterpart of Bigfoot in the Northwest, during the third annual Everglades Skunk Ape Festival.

Despite never having seen a skunk ape and unsure if she believed in it, Naples resident Sandy Long, 30, said they were having a good time.

The festival, hosted by David Shealy, Collier County's skunk ape expert, attracted more than 30 believers and skeptics to a day of live music of Kimberly Lamp, of Copeland, food and a Ms. Skunk Ape contest, at the Trail Lakes Campground on Saturday.

Shealy said he was disappointed with the afternoon turnout, but he expected more than 100 people to attend by the end of the festival.

"The crowd is a little bit small, but the people who do come are die-hards," he said.

Shealy's first sighting of the skunk ape was 30 years ago. He was 10 years old, and he and his brother, Jack, were out hunting when they saw it. The skunk ape has characteristics that make it different from Bigfoot. It weighs about 300 pounds, has reddish-brown hair, is 7 feet tall and has a distinctive odor.

Since then, Shealy has devoted his time to showing his videos and pictures of the skunk ape to the public.

In the past, Shealy has appeared on TV shows such as "Inside Edition," "Extra" and "Unsolved Mysteries."

This year, there have been two sightings of the skunk ape in the Big Cypress National Preserve and County Road 92 heading toward Marco Island, said Shealy. The sightings weren't by Shealy.

Shealy said that he would like to get support from local businesses and the county for the festival.

Yet Shealy isn't the only person who believes in the skunk ape.

Among attendees was Jason Kauntze-Cockburn, of West Palm Beach, who saw Shealy on "Unsolved Mysteries" and decided to make the trip to Ochopee.

At 41, Kauntze-Cockburn calls himself a skeptical believer.

"I've been intrigued in Bigfoot since I was 10 years old," said Kauntze-Cockburn.

Kauntze-Cockburn said he has looked for Bigfoot all around the country and looked at things that people claim as evidence, but he admits that the so-called evidence could be from a bear or a deer.

"I believe it, but I still need you to prove it to me," he said.

URL:

http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/news/article/0,2071,NPDN_14940_3849199,00.htm

l

Tracy Boulian/Staff

photo

Tori Long, 13, right, laughs as her sister, Erica Burkard, 7, left, dances to the music of Kimberly Lamp, a singer, songwriter and guitar player from Copeland, during the Skunk Ape Festival at Trail Lakes Campground in Ochopee on Saturday. The girls, both from Ohio, were staying in Naples for the summer with their aunt, a resident of Naples. The day included music, swamp buggy rides and more.

The Islander: Tale of the Ape

Weekend festival will pay tribute to a mythic -- though malodorous – figure

June 10, 2005, Naples. Fla., USA

Naples Daily News

By MEGHAN NUTTER, Staff Writer

Something is lurking in the Everglades. Nobody is exactly sure what it is, but many have witnessed it, or at least its smell.

When the odor of rotten eggs, manure and skunk permeates the air, folks keep their eyes peeled for the Skunk Ape.

The supposed apelike creature is said to roam the Everglades, occasionally being spotted by a human. Some believe it is a Sasquatch, possibly a relative of Bigfoot, that is said to roam the Pacific Northwest.

Whatever it is, it has gained a lot of attention by locals, and those farther flung, and this weekend a huge party will be thrown in its honor.

The third annual Skunk Ape Festival will kick off at noon Saturday, June 11, at Trail Lakes Campground in Ochopee and will run until 9 p.m. with live music and food.

There will be eyewitness testimonials, of course, as those who have seen the Skunk Ape share their stories with the crowd.

Additionally, a Ms. Skunk Ape contest will allow local ladies to show off their knowledge of the creature.

The whole shebang will be carried off by local man David Shealy, who had his first encounter with the Skunk Ape 30 years ago.

"The Skunk Ape has always been a part of my life," Shealy said. "When I was 10 years old I saw my first sighting of the Skunk Ape when I was hunting with my brother."

The Skunk Ape was a favorite topic of dinner conversations with family and friends when Shealy was a kid. And ever since he first spotted it, Shealy has been looking for the creature and said he has even captured it on film and on a seven-minute video.

"There is a certain amount of truth in everything," Shealy said. "Hundreds of people aren't going to say they have seen something if there isn't anything there to see. They are seeing something; what it is exactly, I don't know."

What Shealy does know is that the Skunk Ape generates a lot of excitement and the festival is a good family-oriented event.

He remembers a similar festival when he was a child in Ochopee. It was started by local man Bill Mitchell, who at that time owned the Oasis Visitors Center.

The festival had carnival rides, canoe races, sky divers and, of course, the Skunk Ape.

"It was the first time I had ever seen carnival rides," Shealy said. "I was basically living in the dark out here in the Everglades. I had heard about the Skunk Ape, but that was the first time anybody went public with the information."

In 2003, in memory of Mitchell, Shealy decided to throw a Skunk Ape Festival. It grew a little in 2004, and this year Shealy hopes to draw an even larger crowd. He has dedicated this year's festival to Tommy and Danny Mitchell, sons of the late Bill Mitchell.

Local musician Kimberly Lamp will sing as well as co-host the show. Between performances, those who have seen the Skunk Ape will get up to share their stories with the crowd. Also, throughout the day, the recent documentary The Ochoppee Skunk Ape will be shown. The film by Nate Martin stars Shealy and portrays his life's obsession with the Skunk Ape.

The animal exhibit at the campground will be open during the festival for children to view the alligators, snakes, parrots and other animals. A handler will be there to answer questions.

Skunk Ape merchandise will be for sale, along with food, and festivalgoers can bring coolers and lawn chairs.

And — who knows? — the Skunk Ape itself just may make an appearance. So if that rather distinct odor wafts past your nostrils, keep your eyes open and your camera ready, and you might have your own Skunk Ape tale to tell.

Copyright 2005, Naples Daily News. All Rights Reserved.

SKUNK APE FESTIVAL

— When: noon to 9 p.m. Saturday, June 11

— Where: Trail Lakes Campground in Ochopee

— How to get there: Take U.S. 41 East to Ochopee. The campground is two miles east of the Big Cypress National Preserve Headquarters. The Skunk Ape Festival sign is on the shoulder of the highway near a concrete gorilla. Campsites are available.

— Admission: $10

— Information: (239) 695-2275 or www.skunkape.info

Skunk Ape Festival June 11th

Thursday, June 9, 2005

Everglades Echo

http://www.evergladesecho.com/articles/2005/06/08/front/top_stories/news02.txt

The third annual Skunk Ape Festival, hosted by Dave Shealy, will be on June 11, 2005 from noon to 9 PM at Trail Lakes Campground.

Kimberly Lamp will be co-host and entertainer.

Many side events will follow throughout the day.

The elephant trainer from Lion Country Safari will be available to talk with anyone interested.

The Ms. Skunk Ape Contest will be held at the festival. It is judged solely on personality and Skunk Ape knowledge. Any female over 18 can enter. Previous winners were 1st year, Michelle, a Marine Biologist and 2nd year, Misty Haney.

The new film "The Ochopee Skunk Ape" will be viewed on 3 separate occasions throughout the day in the Campgrounds Rec Hall.

The 1st Skunk Ape festival was held by Bill Mitchell, owner of what is now the Oasis Visitors Center in the Big Cypress Preserve. The last festival was held 25 years ago. Then Dave Shealy decided to carry on the tradition, making this an annual event. There will be a special dedication to Tommy & Danny Mitchell, son's of the late Bill Mitchell.

"Do I think there will be a live sighting?...Of course, there is always that possibility," stated Dave Shealy.

Surprised guests are expected.

Admission is $10.00 per person. Campsites available.

Bring a cooler, lawn chair, bug spray & umbrella. Super Dogs & Bubba

Cola also available.

For more information call Dave Shealy at 239-695-2275 www.skunkape.info.

Does Bigfoot exist? Upcoming conference aims to find answers

Wednesday, June 8, 2005

Conroe, Texas

By Kassia Micek

Conroe Courier staff

Anyone looking for Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster may want stop by the fourth annual Southern Crypto Conference June 18 at the Lone Star Convention Center.

The conference is from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and will feature seminars by leading cryptozoological researchers.

"This is not a paranormal conference," conference organizer Chester Moore said. "It's a biological pursuit of animals not known yet. A lot of these so-called legends are being proven true. To me, crytpozoology is the forefront of zoology."

Moore will talk about his expedition for giant catfish in the reservoirs of Florida and Texas.

"There have been, for as long as I can remember, stories of giant catfish as large as Volkswagens," said Moore, adding that he will show results of his dives and perform a dive in Lake Conroe during that weekend.

MK Davis will lead a seminar where attendees can come up with their own computer analysis of the 1967 Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot video.

"It's considered to be the ultimate evidence of the Bigfoot creature," Moore said.

Dr. Kent Hovind will discuss dinosaurs in the Bible and whether there are living dinosaurs.

"There's a lot of tales from remote corners of the world of living dinosaurs," Moore said.

Kriss Stephens, who worked with Moore for the Animal Planet piece of "The Animal X Bigfoot Expedition" that took place in East Texas and aired this year, will inform attendees how to photograph and collect documentation while investigating mysteries.

Ken Gerhard, author of "Monsters are Real" and American Primate Conservation Alliance and Center for Fortean Zoology field investigator, will talk about his expedition to Belize, where he looked for the Sisemite and Dwendi, two Bigfoot primates that reportedly roam Belize's dense jungles.

Paul Nation will share the findings and eyewitness interviews of his trips to remote forests of Papua New Guinea, where he searched for alleged living pterodactyls.

There also will be a panel discussion of what it will take to prove the existence of Bigfoot. The Interactive Cryptozoology Museum includes life-size replicas of Bigfoot creatures, the Loch Ness Monster and other cryptozoological beings and will be available to attendees, along with vendor booths from cryptozoology authors and researchers.

General admission is $10. VIP packages cost $30 and include seating in the front two rows, a conference laminate, special edition poster, early access into the conference and an entry into the VIP ticket holders drawing for a cryptozoological field mission for a family with Moore and Stephens.

Tickets can be purchased at the door or on the Southern Crypto Conference Web site, www.cryptokeeper.com/conference.htm. Additional conference information can be found on the Web site. All conference proceeds will go toward field research and conservation efforts.

For more information, send an e-mail to thirteenprod@yahoo.com or call Moore at (409) 882-0945.

Kassia Micek can be reached at kmicek@mail.hcnonline.net.

Bigfoot legend lives large in Northwest lore, locales

June 5, 2005, Portland, Ore., USA

JOHN TERRY

The Oregonian

Second of two parts

One of the myriad Web sites devoted to he/she/it/them puts it succinctly:

Born: c. 1811

Birthplace: United States and Canada

Best Known As: Big, elusive humanoid beast of North America.

The year 1811 was long before the beast, mythical or otherwise, became known as Sasquatch or Bigfoot. But it is the first formal record of such a critter.

The fellow who set it down was neither slouch nor faker in the exploration department. David Thompson is famous for tracking the Columbia River from its headwaters to the sea and establishing trading posts for the North West Co. on the Kootenai, Pend Oreille and Spokane rivers, several years before John Jacob Astor's crew set up shop at Astoria.

On Jan. 7, 1811, Thompson and party were slogging west across what we now know as the Canadian Rockies when they saw something worthy of a detailed journal note, which Thompson later expanded in "Narrative of His Explorations in Western America."

"I saw the track of a large Animal -- has 4 large toes abt 3 or 4 In long & a small nail at the end of each. The Bal of his foot sank abt 3 In deeper than his Toes -- the hinder part of his foot did not mark well. The whole is about 14 In long by 8 In wide & very much resembles a large Bear's Track. It was in the Rivulet in about 6 In snow."

In his "Narrative" he added: "We were in no humour to follow him; the Men and Indians would have it to be a young mammouth and I held it to be the track of a large old grizzly; yet the shortness of the nails, the ball of the foot, and its great size was not that of a Bear, otherwise that of a very large old Bear, his claws worn away, the Indians would not allow."

In 1840, the Rev. Elkanah Walker wrote that members of the Spokane Tribe spoke of hairy giants that inhabited remote parts of their territory.

Indeed, Native American tradition across America is replete with creatures generally referred to by some native term for "Big Man." In his 1980 book "In the Spirit of Crazy Horse," author Peter Mathiessen quotes Joe Flying By, a Hunkpapa Lakota:

"I think the Big Man is a kind of husband of Unk-ksa, the earth, who is wise in the way of anything with its own natural wisdom. . . . Some of the people who saw him did not respect what they were seeing, and they are already gone."

In the Chinook language, the term "Skookum" connotes a large, powerful entity who bestows ill fortune and makes bumpy noises in the night.

In 1893, no less a no-nonsense personality than Theodore Roosevelt wrote of his Western adventures and passed on an account of such creatures he attributed to "a beaten old mountain hunter named Bauman."

In his 1978 "The Apes Among Us," author and Sasquatchologist John Willison Green recounts Albert Ostman's 1924 claim that, while prospecting in the British Columbia wilderness, he was kidnapped and held for six days by the creatures:

"They look like a family, old man, old lady and two young ones, a boy and a girl. The boy and the girl seem to be scared of me. The old lady did not seem too pleased about what the old man dragged home. But the old man was waving his arms and telling them all what he had in mind."

Also in 1924, miner Fred Beck reported that a cabin he occupied with others in the wilds above Kelso, Wash., was assaulted by giant creatures that pounded on the structure, threw rocks and at one point thrust a hairy, outsized, menacing arm through the wall.

About this time the term "Sasquatch," derived from Northwest native dialects, came into vogue in reference to the creatures.

In 1967 came a defining event in Sasquatch history. Sasquatch hunters Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin took to the hills around Bluff Creek, Humboldt County, Northern California, and came up with about a minute of 16 mm film showing a form of Sasquatchian magnitude galumphing through some underbrush,

obviously of no mind to be photographed.

A newspaper account, noting the size of the creature's tracks, called it "Bigfoot." The nickname stuck. So did the controversy surrounding the sighting.

Doubters point to such as retired logger Rant Mullen who in 1982 confessed to creating large footprints out of alder and whomping fake tracks into soft earth in various Northwest locales. Likewise road contractor Ray Wallace, who died in 2002 at age 84, told his family he had planted Sasquatch tracks in the area of the Patterson-Gimlin film.

Bigfoot partisans grant fakes abound. But, they say, experts have identified significant animalian tracks that can't be duplicated in wood and can't be equated with any other known biped.

Sasquatch sightings are frequent -- more than 500 in Oregon alone over the years. Many are by people otherwise trustworthy -- police officers, foresters, college professors, outdoor enthusiasts. Recent sighting hot spots include Northern California, the Cascade Range mountains above Estacada, and the Wallowa and Blue mountains.

Scientific inquiries are inconclusive. DNA samples from supposed Sasquatch hair and scat can't be verified. No skeletons or other remains have been found.

And although he or she (the Patterson-Gimlin film shows clear signs of femininity) is regularly the subject of news stories and TV documentaries -- trailing only Liz Taylor, Elvis and UFOs in tabloid coverage -- Sasquatch is shyly resolute in refusing to show face or provide other solid evidence of existence.

After 200 years, the reclusive, smelly (extreme body order is an often-reported characteristic) beasts seem content to remain an enigma wrapped in mystery cloaked in fur.

Search for Bigfoot after sighting draws a blank

June 4, 2005

http://archives.moneyplans.net/frontend204-verify-7325.html

Forks, Washington state, USA

There has been a sighting of the legendary Bigfoot in Washington State.

A man spotted the hairy, human-like creature near his house in Forks.

An animal-control officer and Forks police carried out a search but found no trace of the Sasquatch.

"We were unable to locate, identify or capture the Sasquatch," said Forks Police Chief Mike Powell.

He said it was a relief because he wouldn't know how to deal with a Bigfoot.

Mr Powell said: "I don't know why we would impound him or where we would keep him."

Sightings of the creature, reputed to lurk in Northwest forests, are rare.

Forums on Sasquatch, UFOs land in Seattle

Friday, June 03, 2005, Seattle, Washington USA

By Mark Rahner

Seattle Times staff reporter

For devotees of the bizarre, it's the weekend equivalent of the old McDLT sandwich that kept the hot and cold sides separate — but make that the McDET. For its fifth year, the Northwest UFO/Paranormal Conference is adding a Seattle Sasquatch Symposium — scheduling the UFO/paranormal material for Saturday and the Sasquatch stuff for Sunday.

The featured guest is Robert Gimlin, of the widely scrutinized 1967 Patterson-Gimlin footage that some believe shows a Sasquatch strutting in a forest and looking back over its shoulder.

It all takes place from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. both days in the Northwest Rooms of the Seattle Center. The cost: $12 per speaker or $50 a day — with discounts for members of the Seattle Museum of the Mysteries, which is sponsoring the event; $140 buys the whole shebang plus banquet buffets both nights. See www.seattlechatclub.org/2005Con.html for the full details and schedule.

Other guests include:

• AGHOST — Ghost Hunters of Seattle Tacoma.

• Dr. Nick Begich, mind-control expert.

• Peter Davenport, director of the Seattle-based National UFO Reporting Center.

• Budd Hopkins, alien-abduction author.

• Dr. John Bindernagel, a wildlife biologist asking, "The Sasquatch: Is it North America's Great Ape?"

There will also be several other guests from both sides, a theremin demonstration, a Bigfoot panel and more.

And if Sasquatch turns out to be an alien, there might be a reorganization of the event next year.

Bigfoot sighting in Manitoba

A group of children in Canada claims to have sighted Bigfoot.

June 2, 2005, Newswatch 50

A young girl and her friends reportedly encountered the elusive creature near the same place where a Canadian man claimed to have gotten video of the creature last month. The young girl and her play mates made the sighting in Paupanekis Point, Norway House, Manitoba, which is located on the south end of the same First Nations reserve where ferryman Bobby Clarke videotaped a large, dark, bipedal creature walking along the bank of the Nelsen River.

The girls were close to a residential area, which borders the woods, at around 7:30-8:00 pm on May 20, when the encounter occurred. The woods are bordered by knee-high grass, which is where the creature was standing in plain view, apparently watching the children play. One of the girls fainted from fright, after seeing "a huge creature." None of the children were hurt, but they are understandably still quite shaken, and afraid to be left alone.

Footprints were found where the actual sighting occurred, as well as deeper into the woods. The sizes of some of the tracks measure 3larger than a man’s size 16 shoe2 said one witness, and have a clearly defined outline of the toes. The tracks have been preserved, photographed, and videotaped by Norway House residents. Hair samples have also been found at several locations, including on the inside edge of one of the footprints, and at another location, clinging to a pine tree where more tracks, and a strong lingering odor was also reported. The odor was described to be a mix between wet dog and skunk.

This rash of sightings is not the first in this area. In 1976, multiple sightings, spread over a length of time, were reported in Poplar River, 76 miles south of Norway House.

Creetcher Feature

Sasquatch Horror Collection

New York Press, Volume 18, Issue 25

By Jim Knipfel

Retromedia/Image DVD

New on DVD this week, and just in time for camping season, comes the eagerly anticipated Sasquatch Horror Collection.

Bigfoot is part of the national psyche, and over the years there have been enough Bigfoot movies released to consider it a legitimate subgenre. The Abominable Snowman, The Legend of Boggy Creek, The Creature from Black Lake, The Capture of Bigfoot, Sunn Classics' The Mysterious Monsters—there are more Bigfoot movies out there than most people care to realize. Even long after the infamous "home movie" of Bigfoot tromping through the woods of Northern California was revealed as a hoax, people are still making Bigfoot movies (consider the unfortunate Lance Henriksen feature, Sasquatch and the surprisingly funny They Call Him Sasquatch, both from 2003).

That's why, to purists at least, calling the three-disc set the Sasquatch Collection might be pushing it a bit, as only one of the films actually deals with Sasquatch.

The earliest of the three, 1954's Snow Creature was directed by Billy Wilder's less-talented brother, who had a minuscule budget, a cast of unknowns and a simple plot—yet made a more interesting movie than you might expect. Researchers in the Himalayas stumble across a cave full of Yetis, capture one of them and return it to the U.S. While Customs officials in Los Angeles debate how the Yeti should be classified, the creature escapes from its crate. Havoc aplenty ensues.

My favorite of the trio, Snowbeast, at least has the benefit of a bigger budget and an all-star cast (Bo Svenson, Yvette Mimieux, Clint Walker). The 1977 made-for-tv extravaganza finds a hairy, bloodthirsty monster terrorizing a ski lodge. Sadly, most of that big budget seems to have gone into renting the lodge and paying the actors, leaving little left over for "special effects." In fact, they couldn't even buy a whole monster suit, having only enough money for one scruffy paw (the only part of the monster you see.)

Finally, there's Sasquatch: The Legend of Bigfoot, the only true Sasquatch film in the lot. Even as a kid in 1977, I found the movie's poster much creepier than the film itself. Ed Ragozzino, directing the only feature he would ever make, decided to use a tiny budget to his advantage, making the film a docudrama, a la Boggy Creek, allowing him an excuse for the bad sound, bad lighting and lack of a script. It concerns (as usual) a group of researchers heading into the woods to find Bigfoot. Sadly, when they do, they learn he's not too keen on being found.