| Bigfoot
Encounters Will Bigfoot show up at his own festival |
By Eddie Glenn, Press Staff writer Thursday, September 29, 2005 Honobia, Oklahoma -- About a year and a half ago, the Daily Press ran a story about Bigfoot sightings in Cherokee County, along with a photo of what the anonymous photographer claimed was the elusive hairy beast himself (or herself; it was kind of hard to tell from the photo). Before long, the Press was inundated with phone calls from all over the country (and Canada) about what has perhaps become Cherokee County's most famous - if existent - resident. Calls also came in from local folks, who urged reporters to accompany them on "spotlighting" missions for Bigfoot, with guarantees that we'd see him, if we stuck around long enough. After a while, the hubbub died down, but occasionally, someone still calls up with some Bigfoot news. The most recent reports have been from the Lost City area. Of course, few people want to identify themselves when they call in with Bigfoot stories. Their anonymity is understandable, however. After all, he's still considered a somewhat fictitious character, and no one wants to be considered a nut. One southeastern Oklahoma town, however, has taken advantage of its reputation as a frequent hang-out of Bigfoot. Honobia (pronounced Ho-nubby), in Pushmataha County near the LeFlore County line, will be hosting the first "Bigfoot Fall Festival" this Friday and Saturday, and the folks in Honobia don't seem to mind if people think they're nuts. You can think whatever you want about Honobians, as long as you pay for your campsite and your Bigfoot T-shirt. Other activities will include arts and crafts, music, contests, Bigfoot tours, and - of course - photos with Bigfoot. "It's going to be extremely busy," said festival co-organizer Karen Pierce. "People have been calling from all over the state. They especially want to know about the Bigfoot storytelling." At 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. each day, residents of Honobia and the surrounding area will share their own Bigfoot sighting stories with festival visitors, and there are likely to be quite a few tall (and furry, and smelly) tales going around. Cherokee County has had two official sightings, LeFlore County has had a whopping 15! In fact, Bigfoot sighting in the Honobia area, according to Pierce, have been increasing. "There have been a lot more sightings, just in the last couple of months," she said. "There seems to be a clan of them, and evidently they're communicating with each other." Pierce said people reporting Bigfoot sounds describe them as being similar to the scream of a woman in distress, although there also seems to be a grunting sound that's quite common. Of course, with a clan of the creatures around, one has to wonder, what do you call more than one Bigfoot - Bigfoots or Bigfeet? "We've never been able to figure that out," said Pierce. "It's a topic of discussion that comes up quite often, but we're really not sure." Eddie Glenn, a staff writer from the Daily Press, is originally from LeFlore County. Regrettably, he's never seen a Bigfoot, but he hopes to. Getting there According to Bigfoot Fall Festival co-organizer Karen Pierce, the best way to find Honobia is to get a state highway map. However, on the days of the festival, you can follow the Bigfoot footprints painted on the roads from Talihina southward, Clayton eastward, and Octavia westward. Tahlequah Daily Press, Oklahoma September 2005 Portions of this website are reprinted and sometimes edited to fit the standards of this website under the Fair Use Doctrine of International Copyright Law |