Festival honoring legendary cryptid held in Kentucky
One of America's most famous cryptids now has a festival in its honor in Kentucky. Stanton held its first-ever Bigfoot Festival on Friday and Saturday.
Tourism leaders said the crowd was much larger than anticipated, with thousands of people coming to buy souvenirs and hear stories from cryptid investigators.
'You come with an open mind, and most people we talk to feel very safe here. If you talk about Bigfoot in certain circles, you're gonna get laughed at. Here, everybody's either here because they believe or they want to believe, so that makes it good,' said Steve Lindsey.
Festival honoring legendary cryptid held in Kentucky
Clinton County man arrested on forcible incest charges after nearly 10-year search
Work continues on Burnside traffic connector project
Investigators claim there have been dozens of reported sightings of Bigfoot in the Red River Gorge area.
FOX 56 previously reported that there were just under 400 Bigfoot sightings, with the top five counties being:
Counties
Sightings
% of sightings
Anderson
27
6.78%
Bullitt
26
6.53%
Ohio
16
4.02%
Carter
15
3.77%
Adair
14
3.52%
Interest in Bigfoot became popularized in 1958 after Ray Wallace, a road contractor working in northern California, made plaster impressions of giant footprints that he found near his worksite.
The founder of the Kentucky Bigfoot Research Organization, Charlie Raymond, previously told FOX 56 that he had investigated more than 500 credible sightings.
'Well, I moved to Kentucky about 30 years ago, and I knew there had to be Bigfoots in Kentucky,' Raymond said.
Read more of the latest Kentucky news
Organizers of the event said they already have ideas of how to make the festival more legendary in 2026.
Matthew Duckworth contributed to this story.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
PAWS Chicago Pet of the Week: Fiji
CHICAGO — Saturday's PAWS Pet of the Week is Fiji, a male pup who loves to relax. When Fiji arrived at the WGN Studios on Saturday, he was feeling extra sleepy, due to his busy day. Fiji is well-behaved and incredibly sweet and would love to continue his nap with his new owner. Think Fiji is the perfect fit for you? Head to PAWS Chicago's Lincoln Park Adoption Center to find out how you can bring him home today. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
New York Post
a day ago
- New York Post
Save the Squonk: PA's ugliest, saddest creature to be cheered up at weekend festival
Pennsylvania's ugliest creature — a depressed fictional pig named the Squonk — will take center stage Saturday at Squonkapalooza, a festival drawing in people across the country to celebrate the mythical being and make it smile. Squonkapalooza organizers Lisa Russell and Joe Fogle described the Squonk as 'saddest of folklore creatures,' who 'cries constantly because it's so ugly.' 'It has loose fitting skin and warts. Its closest relative is the boar or pig,' Russell, who dresses up as the official Squonk mascot, told The Post. Advertisement 'It has two webbed feet only on the left side,' added Fogle. The Squonk is the 'saddest of folklore creatures,' who 'cries constantly because it's so ugly,' Squonkapalooza organizers told The Post. Squonkapalooza The origin of the Squonk — said to reside in the Keystone State's Hemlock Forest — dates back to 1910, with a book called 'Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods' — and Pennsylvanians have adopted the beast as their own. Advertisement 'It's the cryptid we can claim as our own. It's not big and scary like Bigfoot or Mothman. They hear its story, feel sad, pity him, but they want to lift him up like they would their friends and neighbors,' Fogle said. This is the third annual Squonkapalooza, which is held at the Bottle Works Ethnic Arts Center in the southwestern city of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and welcomes people of all ages, who travel far and wide for the one-of-a-kind festivities. 'People have told us they've come from the west coast, east coast, deep south and far north. Several of our vendors also travel from out of state. Including me, when we started this festival I was living in Washington, then Colorado and now Illinois,' said Russell. This is the third annual Squonkapalooza, which is held in the southwestern city of Johnstown. Squonkapalooza Advertisement The event includes a Compliment Contest, where participants can try and cheer up the ever-sad Squonk. 'It can range from a simple pick-me-up, like 'I love you Squonk,' Fogle said, but 'some have written poems, sang songs. 'Basically anything that can uplift the Squonk.'
New York Post
2 days ago
- New York Post
Why Kevin James doubted pal Ray Romano's ‘Everybody Loves Raymond' would work
Everybody loved Raymond — Kevin James, not so much. The comedian and actor admitted he initially had doubts about his friend Ray Romano's sitcom during the July 28 episode of 'Sibling Revelry with Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson.' 'The fact that he got a show… I couldn't believe it because he's such a low-energy guy,' James, 60, said. 'Sitcom guys were, to me, like the big, wacky [characters]. I'm like this — this is death. It's not going to happen.' Advertisement 7 Kevin James and Ray Romano at the 'Everybody Loves Raymond' 100th episode party. FilmMagic, Inc Turns out, the 'Grown Ups' actor underestimated his buddy. 'Everybody Loves Raymond,' which premiered on September 14, 1996, on CBS, ran for nine seasons until 2005. Advertisement The sitcom starred Romano as the title character, Ray Barone, alongside Patricia Heaton as Deborah Barone, Brad Garrett as Robert Barone and the late Peter Boyle and the late Doris Robert as Ray's parents, Frank and Marie. 7 Ray Romano as Ray Barone in 'Everybody Loves Raymond.' ©CBS/Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection 7 Patrica Heaton as Debra Barone and the late Doris Roberts as Marie Barone in 'Everybody Loves Raymond.' ©CBS/Courtesy Everett Collection The series earned 15 Emmys out of 69 nominations, including Outstanding Comedy Series in 2003 and 2005. Advertisement Just last month, the show was honored with a special exhibit at the Paley Museum in New York City in celebration of its 30th anniversary next year. It wasn't until James' own sitcom, 'The King of Queens,' premiered on the same network two years later that he fully grasped the scale of 'Everybody Loves Raymond's' success. 7 'The King of Queens' premiered on CBS two years after 'Everybody Loves Raymond,' in 1998. ©CBS/Courtesy Everett Collection 7 Kevin James as Doug Heffernan and Leah Remini as his wife Carrie in 'The King of Queens.' ©CBS/Courtesy Everett Collection Advertisement 'The first few years of going with Ray — even when our shows came out, we'd go to the same CBS functions and things like that,' James recalled. 'Red carpet things were so rough because they knew him, but my show had just come out… so they're taking a thousand pictures of Ray.' He remembered 'kind of standing there and nothing's clicking.' When he tried to step closer to Romano, the photographers asked for Romano alone. 'It was tough,' James added. Still, 'The King of Queens' went on to enjoy its own success, running for nine seasons until 2007. The series starred James as Doug Heffernan, Leah Remini as his wife Carrie and the late Jerry Stiller as Arthur Spooner. James' performance even earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2006. 7 Ray Romano and Kevin James know each other from their stand-up days. WireImage 7 Ray Romano guest-starred on Kevin James' sitcom 'Kevin Can Wait' in 2016. CBS via Getty Images The 'Zookeeper' star, who knew Romano from their stand-up days, said he 'learned everything from Ray on how to do a sitcom' — especially how to tone down a scene when the moment called for it. 'He was so good on his sitcom, and the way he threw things away — I was like, 'Wow, I have to watch him and learn from him, because I'm going to be too big on camera,' James shared. 'So even in 'The King of Queens,' when I see episodes now, I'm like, 'Gee, throw it away, kid.' I'm like, 'Gee whiz. I wish I could go back and redo it.'' Advertisement Romano and James also found success in film, with Romano lending his voice to Manny in the 'Ice Age' franchise, and James starring in hits like 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop' and 'Here Comes the Boom.' The two appeared together on screen when Romano guest-starred on James' sitcom 'Kevin Can Wait' in 2016.
