There will be plenty of Bigfoot sightings at this new Kentucky festival
From Mothman to Wolf Man, The Snallygaster and beyond, Kentucky — and on a larger scale Appalachia — have long been home to a bevy of cryptids, or creatures believed to exist that haven’t been proven yet.
Now one with arguably the most lore of all is getting its own festival in the heart of the Daniel Boone National Forest.
The inaugural Red River Gorge Bigfoot Festival will ascend on Stanton’s city park May 31 with a variety of sasquatch-related activities including Bigfoot guest speakers, Bigfoot calling, tattoo and cryptid cosplay contests; “movie on the lawn” showings of “Harry and the Hendersons” and “The Legend of Boggy Creek” and more.
In an effort to tie together a love for Bigfoot hunting with a love for the land we all walk on no matter the size of our feet, organizers also plan a number of partnerships with local organizations. This includes Powell County Search and Rescue with first aid education, the Red River Gorge Climbing Coalition with climbing education and land conservation and local naturalists.
“It’s not like a carnival where you have 30 things going on that don’t really fit together, but somehow you’re in the middle of it all trying to catch a pig,” says Miranda Fallen, one of the festival’s nine committee members. “We wanted it to be cohesive with stuff that makes sense to both Red River Gorge and Bigfoot enthusiasts alike.”
This isn’t Kentucky’s first festival gathering devoted to Bigfoot. Among the many, the Wildman Days street festival started in 2018 in Lawrenceburg but COVID shut it down in 2020.
The seeds for this year’s Red River Gorge gathering — a partnership between Stanton Parks and Recreation, the Stanton Tourism and Convention Commission, and the Kentucky Bigfoot Research Organization (KBRO) — were first planted at local restaurant Toad’s BARn & Grill, where the KRBO’s founder, Charlie Raymond, has been hosting speaking engagements since June 2024. According to Fallen — whose parents own the dining spot — each iteration has attracted between 100 and 200 people, giving her and Raymond the realization that a larger event around the subject could catch on.
“My favorite part of Charlie’s speeches is that he gives you his facts before going into debunking things like why we’ve never found a Bigfoot body, giving his speculation and what he believes to be fact. It’s really interesting and educational and described in a way that everyone, regardless of their understanding of Bigfoot, can comprehend.”
A ticketed, pre-festival VIP dinner nearby at Natural Bridge State Resort’s Woodland Center Park featuring a private meal and five Bigfoot speakers set for May 30 quickly sold out. Fallen also anticipates a solid crowd for the main festivities at Stanton City Park the following day, which has drawn out nearly 5,000-8,000 people daily for the town’s premiere attraction, the Stanton Corn Festival, every August since 1989.
“We would be happy with half that attendance this year, but we also understand that it could be a lot more,” says Fallen. “Last year West Virginia held its first Bigfoot Festival that attracted over 24,000 people, and that was for a ticketed event!”
Highlights of the speakers include Dr. Jeff Meldrum, a Professor of Anatomy & Anthropology at Idaho State University, and Cliff Barackman who was on the Animal Planet TV show, “Finding Bigfoot.”
Alongside speakers and other Yeti adjacent activities, the family friendly festival will also host a slew of kids’ activities such as inflatables, the Kentucky Reptile Zoo, arts and crafts, and a life-size version of the “Yeti In My Spaghetti” board game. Over a dozen food trucks and 125 vendors will be on site as well.
“It’s been a lot of hard work bringing this idea to life, but it’s been so rewarding seeing how people have reacted to it so far,” says Fallen. “I can’t wait to see how it all comes together once May comes around.”
Red River Gorge Bigfoot Festival
Where: Stanton City Park, 127 Halls Lane, Stanton, Ky.
When: May 31
Tickets: Free
Schedule of events: RRGBigFoot.com
This story was originally published May 26, 2025 at 5:00 AM.