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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.'