Image Credit: WIKIPEDIA/Patterson-Gimlin Film

A Sasquatch conference is in the works in Merritt and it’s already attracting people from around the province.

Host Sheldon Quewezance, who has a podcast about the mythical man, said it’s the perfect time to launch the First Annual Nicola Valley Bigfoot Conference, an idea he’s tossed around for a few years.

“Now the pandemic is over and the floods are not affecting us as much it’s time to bring people together and put a spotlight on Bigfoot,” he said.

Sasquatch researchers, an author, a cryptozoologist, a Sasquatch historian and a Sasquatch communicator are scheduled to explore the theme What We’ve Learned about Sasquatch in the all-day event, while several vendors and a concession will be on site.

Quewezance said there aren’t any Sasquatch conferences held in the Interior.

“It's pretty exciting, there's nothing like this in the province other than small groups getting together,” he said. “Sasquatch is known to be in forests here and people don’t really talk about it much. I’ll be playing host and guiding the event, but I’m really leaning on my knowledgeable, talented presenters.”

Tickets went on sale a few days ago and Quewezance is getting inquiries from people from the Merritt area, Fraser Valley, Lower Mainland and Washington State. Thirty tickets have sold and he hopes 200 will attend the conference, with plans to expand for more next year.

He’s looking for more vendors to purchase a table for the day. So far he has a few local artists onboard. Vendors don’t need to be selling Sasquatch related items to qualify.

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Quewezance has been fascinated with the idea of looking for Bigfoot since he was a kid and joined the Sasquatch community in 2017.

He searched for Sasquatch with a group and started the Nicola Valley Bigfoot Podcast when the pandemic limited group walks in the woods. 

“My podcast is doing well, I put it on hiatus at the moment to focus on family and work and organize the conference,” he said. “It’s doing well and I’m still having a lot of fun connecting with others in the Sasquatch community.”

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The Bigfoot conference is at Shulus Community Arena at 2164 Neale Road in Merritt from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 13.

Tickets are limited and there is no guarantee any will be left for at the door sales.

Go here for tickets or vendor inquiries.

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