Fouke Monster Festival 2022

“Here, the Sulphur River flows….”

On Saturday, June 18th, myself and a friend attended the Fouke Monster Festival. Not only does this festival celebrate the legendary Fouke Monster, it celebrates all things Bigfoot, Sasquatch, Yeti, Booger, and pretty much anything else that falls into the field of cryptozoology. It’s also a celebration of the town of Fouke, Arkansas, its people, and the places surrounding it that make this festival so much more than just another Bigfoot convention.

It took us awhile to get into the community center where the festival was held. Admission, even for those that preregistered, was slow, but the festival adjusted its schedule and made sure that everyone got their dollar’s worth at the event. A welcome message was given by Lyle Blackburn, one of my favorite researchers in the field of cryptozoology. Then the mayor of Fouke, Terry Purvis, said a few kind words (and jokingly warned all of us that the Boggy Creek highway sign better stay put) before a day’s worth of panelists gave presentations to the crowd.

Marvin Leeper started off the presentations by recounting stories centered around The Legend of Boggy Creek. My favorite story that he told was of his own high school where the kids were excited to see the film until one of their teachers told them that it was about Boggy Creek in Arkansas and not Boggy Creek in Oklahoma to which one of the students replied loudly, “Well….Hell.”

Leeper was followed by Chester Moore, Ken Gerhard, and Lyle Blackburn. While I enjoyed all of their presentations, Ken Gerhard’s panel on the Minnesota Iceman grabbed my attention. Prior to this event I was not aware of the Iceman nor did I know of its ties to Walter Mondale and Jimmy Stewart. It was an interesting talk and I hope to catch Gerhard at another event in the near future.

I didn’t get to listen to all of Lyle Blackburn’s presentation because I was scheduled to take a tour of Fouke hosted by Craig Woolheater, but I did talk to Lyle at his table and purchased his Momo book and had it and my copy of his Boggy Creek Casebook autographed. I thanked Lyle for answering my question about hurricanes and Sasquatch sightings on his podcast, Monstro Bizarro, which I highly recommend. He was an extremely nice guy and an all around cool dude. Be sure to check out his website for information on upcoming appearances, to purchase his books and other items, and to check out his podcast and his band, Ghoultown.

The highlight of the Fouke Monster Festival for me was the actual tour of the Fouke area. Prior to the festival, my experiences in Fouke began and ended at the Monster Mart. Don’t get me wrong, the Monster Mart is a definite must see (I visited three times while at the festival), but it is only a small portion of the legend of Boggy Creek. To get a better perspective on the events surrounding the film and the Fouke Monster itself, I highly recommend taking a tour of key sites in the area. I got to see where Boggy Creek begins (pictured above) and a number of the sites where sightings and encounters occurred not only in the film, but over the entire history of Fouke. It was an excellent tour and if you attend the festival in the future, I highly recommend taking advantage of this great tour.

Of course, no trip to Fouke is complete without a visit to the Monster Mart. Every single time that I have visited the Monster Mart, they’ve added something new to their growing Boggy Creek exhibit. I love this place. I love Fouke, Arkansas. I love the Fouke Monster Festival. Check it out for yourself!

Below is a gallery featuring photos from the driving tour of Fouke, a few more shots from the festival, and photos from the Monster Mart.

Thanks for checking out my review of the Fouke Monster Festival. If you visit the festival or just happen to be driving near the area, swing by the Monster Mart for some awesome Boggy Creek souvenirs and a great exhibit and be sure to visit Allen’s Burger Center for some home style hamburgers and other delicious treats! Oh, and the festival also celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of The Legend Of Boggy Creek. I might just be revisiting that film in a couple of months!