Community Gems: The Sasquatch Festival

You’ve heard of sitting on Santa’s lap, but what about Sasquatch’s? After famous Bigfoot sightings in the early 2000s, Cave Junction made national news and is to this day listed as one of the top places to conduct Bigfoot searches around the nation. Recently the 2,000-some person city, recognized as the ‘Gateway to the Oregon Caves,’ decided to start its own Sasquatch festival, hosted by the Illinois Valley Chamber of Commerce. Mark your calendar for May 4 and 5, because whether you are a true believer or a skeptic, the first ever Annual Sasquatch Festival in Cave Junction will be a time for the community to come together and enjoy a celebration for all ages.

According to City Councilor Jean Ann Miles, Chamber Vice President, Tina Casey-Jones, and Nancy Garcia, also involved with the Illinois Valley Chamber of Commerce, the idea for the Sasquatch Festival came about over a lunch at Wild River Pizza, in downtown Cave Junction. “We wanted to do something annually that establishes the city’s identity,” said Councilor Miles. “Too often Cave Junction is viewed as a Wild West town, but we want to turn that around and showcase the wonderful things we have to offer.” Having a Sasquatch Festival in May will be the kickoff to the summer tourism season, and will give local businesses and artisans a theme to tie them together for years to come. Featuring wine, arts, golf, and live music—all from Southern Oregon, the city expects a couple thousand people to show up throughout the weekend, nearly doubling the city’s daily population. In addition to browsing booths and shopping, there will be a Bigfoot costume contest, a howling competition, and numerous photos ops with ‘Bigfoot.’ The city even has plans for book signings and testimonials with Bigfoot eyewitnesses and Sasquatch experts.

“Cave Junction has so many creative, amazing people. It’s like Laguna Beach artistry without the prices,” laughed Councilor Miles. With the Chamber of Commerce’s plans for over 100 booths and local vendors, the Sasquatch Festival will definitely be an opportunity to display Southern Oregon’s creative talent. But even if artistry is not everyone’s forte, a Sasquatch Golf tournament is being sponsored by the Illinois Valley Golf Course to augment the two days of entertainment.

So, if you have a Bigfoot costume in the back of your closet and are looking for an excuse to wear it—search no farther. Or maybe you just want to sample high-quality local wines and food—come out to Cave Junction on Saturday, May 4, and Sunday, May 5. Located right off Highway 199 and Laurel Road, in the beautiful Illinois Valley, the First Annual Sasquatch Festival will be a weekend of entertainment like no other.

Thanks to the newest addition to our SOREDI team, our SOU intern, Abigail Skelton, we will continue to feature some of the popular attractions located in our Southern Oregon communities. We consider each one of our towns and cities to be “jewels in the crown” that makes up Southern Oregon. If you have a story idea sparked by an inspiring local attraction, please e-mail our Communications Manager, Codi Spodnik and maybe Abigail will be giving you a call to follow up.  If you are a SOREDI Member and you have some great news, please e-mail it to Codi so we can share it in our newsletter