Smoky Mountain Bigfoot Conference: Sasquatch in Southeast Tennessee

Smoky Mountain Bigfoot Conference will be sharing stories of investigations and sightings. Photo provided by Google Images.

The first Smoky Mountain Bigfoot conference has been scheduled for Saturday, July 27. The event is set to last from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.. This conference will be hosted in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. at the Gatlinburg Convention Center and offers an opportunity for Bigfoot fans at Milligan to attend an event dedicated to the Bigfoot.

This is set to be the biggest Bigfoot Conference in the Southeast, according to gatherupevents.com. The Gatlinburg Convention Center is a large building, the main room that will host the event is 148,000 total square feet. This makes the conference center more than capable of hosting a sizeable group of people.

The conference center is a two-hour drive from Johnson City, which allows local Milligan students to attend the event. There are students on campus who follow the “Finding Bigfoot” show on Animal Planet and are interested in the folktale of Sasquatch.

“I am a huge Bigfoot fan. I have seen every episode of Finding Bigfoot and do some freelance investigating myself. I was pleased to learn there will be a convention so close to home with one of my favorite characters from the show,” said sophomore Tara Sumatra.

The main attraction of the event is an appearance by Cliff Barackman, co-host of Animal Planet’s “Finding Bigfoot.” Along with hosting the show, Barackman is also a Bigfoot field researcher. He will be telling stories about his investigations and sightings of the Sasquatch. There will also be several other speakers, each followed by a Q and A session.

There are two categories of tickets, general admission and VIP. There is a limited number of tickets, and customers are encouraged to order their tickets as soon as possible before spots run out. The general admission tickets cost $25 a piece. This type of ticket offers admission to the main event itself from nine to five.

The VIP/reserved seating tickets are already sold out, showing the level of popularity this convention holds in the area. Plans are in the works for a VIP dining experience with Barackman and possibly a hike out in the Smoky Mountains. That will have limited availability and only be available to VIP ticket holders, according to pigeonforge.com.

“I am very interested in this convention. I live in Knoxville so it will be a close drive. I guess I will need to try to reserve tickets soon before they sell out,” said sophomore Cory Fancher.

For the first time ever, a Bigfoot conference is coming to East Tennessee. This Conference offers the chance for locals to join in with the festivities and reserve a ticket for this upcoming summer. They will have to hurry though, spots are limited, and tickets are going fast.

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