Blue Bridge Squatch Fest (KY)

The Blue Bridge Squatch Fest will be held in Owensboro, Kentucky on September 26, 2026. This fall festival is dedicated to Bigfoot, cryptids, and all things paranormal. Organizers say the inaugural Blue Bridge Squatch Fest promises dozens of vendors, expert speakers, contests, and family-friendly activities.

Festival activities will include Bigfoot calling contests for both adults and kids, a cryptid costume contest featuring characters like Bigfoot, Mothman, and Dogman, and a drawing contest for children ages 16 and under. Because old people are terrible at drawing.

The event is set for September 26 at the Kentucky Sound Stage on Frederica Street.

Fred Chism, the organizer, said inspiration struck after attending a Bigfoot festival in Staunton, Kentucky, that far exceeded expectations. Fred said, “They prepared for maybe 3,000 or 4,000 people”. “They had 12,000 go through it. And that’s in the middle of nowhere.” The good folk of Staunton should take offense to this comment.

That experience convinced Chism that Owensboro would be a prime place to host a large-scale cryptid and paranormal event.

Guest speakers include well-known figures in the cryptid and paranormal community: Charlie Raymond, founder of the Kentucky Bigfoot Research Organization; Zach Bales, a filmmaker and museum curator from Somerset; and John Reiners, an author and paranormal investigator. Two local researchers, Don Neil and Don Adkins, will present recordings and video footage connected to reported Kentucky sightings.