Bigfoot Conference Topic?
Posted by: Loren Coleman on June 25th, 2007
It is not too early to sign up for the 2007 Texas Bigfoot Conference.
All kinds of things happen at the Texas gathering.
If you will note, below, here’s Paul Cropper and me captured in 2005, photographically, as a strange creature is seen sneaking up on us.
Yes, I wore that shirt to scare away the Sasquatch, it seems, and besides my luggage was lost overnight by the airlines, when I first arrived.
Once again, the 2007 conference will be held in Jefferson, Texas; this time is will take place on Saturday, November 10, beginning at 10:00 am at Jefferson High School, in the large, conference-friendly commons area. Click here for registration information and the conference schedule.
There will be a lunch break on Saturday. The Junior Class of Jefferson High School, the Bulldogs, will be serving meal choices, as well as having a concession stand for the duration of the event. All proceeds from these food sales at the conference will benefit the junior class as their annual fundraiser.
General Admission is $15.00 at the door.
Other options exist:
VIP Package – $55: Reserved seating Saturday, Lunch Saturday (student fundraiser), Saturday night catered BBQ dinner with the speakers,
Reserved Seating Conference Package – $25: Reserved seating Saturday, Lunch Saturday (student fundraiser).
General Admission Package – $20: General Admission Saturday, Lunch Saturday (student fundraiser).
Vendor Tables are $75 for non-speakers.
You never know who will be seen doing what at this Texas conference. Below is a photograph of speakers and organizers from the 2005 event. As you can see, all kinds of primate behavior is in evidence. I still am wondering why that guy was looking at my shoes. Do you think it might have something to do with male dominance behavior?
Also, don’t forget to take a tour of the area. Several Bigfoot sightings have occurred around Jefferson, Texas, including a historically significant flap in 1965. The movie Creature From Black Lake was filmed near and at Caddo Lake, a mere 15 miles from the conference site. Fouke, Arkansas, the home of the Fouke Monster and setting for the various movies in the Legend of Boggy Creek series, is only an hour away.
The scheduled 2007 speakers (and their projected topics) include:
1. Jeff Meldrum on “The North American Ape Project.”
2. W. Henner Fahrenbach on “Sasquatch Evidence Analysis.”
3. Rick Noll on “Emerging Trends and Advancements in Technology in Sasquatch Research.”
4. Kathy Strain on “Native American Legends, Folklore and Traditions for the Four State Region of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas & Louisiana.”
5. Alton Higgins on “Further Evaluation of Purported Sasquatch Photos.”
6. Peter Aniello on “Collection of Geospatial Data.
7. Loren Coleman on…well, here is where your input comes into play.
What subject area of Yeti and Bigfoot studies or history or personalities, if you were coming to this conference, would you like me to talk about? I’m going to take a survey here and see what creative ideas people have for my slide/PowerPoint lecture. The person who comes up with the chosen idea that most closely ends up being the match to the topic that appeals to me and the conference organizers wins. You will get autographed copies of two of my books, The Field Guide to Bigfoot and Other Mystery Primates and Bigfoot! The True Story of Apes in America. These will be awarded to the winner at the November conference. (If you already own these two books, then we can discuss others I’ve written you might be wish to have.)
Leave your ideas and suggestions below, under “Comments.” Separate backchannel emails on this topic to me will be appreciated, of course, but they do not count in terms of winning the book prizes, unless posted below here at Cryptomundo.
BTW, the Texas Bigfoot Conference reserves the right to refuse admittance to anyone. Rude or confrontational behavior will not be tolerated. Sorry, I had to put their disclaimer in here so there won’t be any question about this being their event, needless to say.
Contact info to reserve your reservations or vendor table by using PayPal or other methods: please email the organizers here . Or call toll free, (877) 529-5550.
See ya all in Texas.
Who are all those people in this photograph, anyway?
Photos courtesy of Paul Cropper.
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
Hello Loren,
I know it’s lengthy but here is what I’d suggest:
How to Select the Best Locations for Installing Motion-triggered Video Cameras and how Native Wisdom can Help.
Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick: A Cryptozooligist’s Field Guide to Bigfoot
The Many Feet of Bigfoot: Diversity Among Cryptid Apes
(as evidenced by variation in footprints, hair samples, sightings, etc.)
“Patterson/Gimlin: Why Didn’t We See An Ape?”
“Bigfoot and Yeti: What Clues Are In Native Legends and the Fossil Record?”
“Protocols for a Concerted Field Search for the Sasquatch”
“Working With the Media to Document Bigfoot”
“Bigfoot: Sorting the Encounter Data for Search Protocols”
“How Many People Have Seen The Sasquatch?”
“If Another Patterson/Gimlin Film Were Shot Tomorrow, Would Anyone Notice?”
“The Perception Game: Could People NOT Be Seeing Bigfoot?”
Start with those.
It’s been awhile, but here’s who I think I recognize in the photo. On the far left in the light blue shirt is John Frietas. Herman Willett, from Memphis, TN, is behind him. Next to John is his wife Montra Frietas. I’m standing behind Montra. Kathy Strain is next, with her husband Bob Strain kneeling in front of her. Joe Kent, “The Memphis Flash,” is behind Kathy. Chris Buntenbah and Monica Rawlins, both members of the TBRC Board of Directors, are next. Then there’s Loren Coleman, of course, seemingly oblivious to whatever Montra is putting in or taking out of his shirt pocket. Standing on the far right is Melissa Hovey. That might be Marci Woolheater, Craig’s wife, standing between Loren and Melissa. Jeff Meldrum is in the back row, far left, standing next to Chris Murphy. I don’t recognize the man standing by Chris or the fellow on the far right wearing a hat. Matt Crowley is next, then Craig Woolheater in the red shirt. The guy with the beard looks like Scott Herriott.
I think I scored at least a 70%. 🙂
Looking forward to seeing everyone in November.
How about, How to unify the Bigfoot community to reach a common goal?
How about something along the lines of the “Why no Sasquatch sightings?” thread? Maybe something about the changing face of how the media portrays Bigfoot, with various examples of how Bigfoot has been reported and treated by the media through the ages?
How about: “The Media Sasquatch vs. the One Folks Are Seeing”?
Another idea could be a look at possible ancestors for Bigfoot in America, with a presentation of some of the pros and cons of each theory as well as what it could mean for researchers if each one is true.
How many ideas can we post? So many I’d like to see done. How about a piece on Bigfoot sightings in general, with focuses on what makes a reliable witness as well as possible ways to weed out bad reports. There could also be time given to what to look for and what kinds of useful information can be gleaned from reports, like behaviors, location, and other clues. It could delve into ways to do follow up research on sighting locations, too.
Bigfoot the real vs the imaginary. The oral tradition vs evidence, in other words the stories vs what is thought to be true. It could cover a large amount of material or concentrate on a few points in detail.
Great for powerpoint!
I know probably 99% of who those folks are in the photo. Do you want their names?
”Sasquatch: What Do We Think We Know?”
Everything the evidence, images, tracks, anecdotal reports, analyses, discussions and accumulated statistics has revealed over the years – EVERYTHING!
I’d be interested in a lecture on Cryptozoology and the media. You could talk about how you are approached for shows and what it’s like to see the finished product (did they “creatively edit” anything, etc).
You could also talk about shows like Animal X and whether or not they hurt the scientific search for cryptids.
Good luck! 🙂
”Sasquatch: What Do We Think We Know?”
Everything all the evidence, images, tracks, anecdotal reports, analyses, discussions and accumulated statistics has revealed over the years – EVERYTHING!
Sustaining Sasquatch: The Enviroments and Resources Needed to Sustain a Breeding Population of Bigfeet (and the areas of the world which qualify)
Topic Suggestion: Elaborate on the idea of seasonal sasquatch movements in Maine.
Loren, maybe you could talk about the Russian Snowman. I just finished reading Dmitri Bayanov’s In the Footsteps of the Russian Snowman and I haven’t heard of anything recently on the Russian Snowman.
Or maybe you could talk about the Malaysian Bigfoot sightings.
Or maybe you could talk about the new animals that have been discovered recently.
Or maybe you could talk about some important cryptozoologists and what they did for the field of cryptozoology.
Here’s one…and no one has made a presentation on it recently (or if at all) at one of these conferences…but I think it’s important:
“Sasquatch Vocalizations: Ancient Algonquin, A Proto-language, or Just Plain Noise?”
You would have to have some recordings of sounds…both the screams and then perhaps some of that stuff related to “Sierra Sounds” type of recordings…and whether any experts can concur it sounds like a real language or is it something else…
If I win, I want those books autographed with your signature, and dated also. That’s how I have all of my signed publications…. LOL
Common Denominators Among Bigfoot Sightings: Sighters, Settings, and Social behavior.
personally, though i know how upset lots of people would be at the very thought, i’d love to hear about the paranormal aspects of some bigfoot sightings. touchy subject or not, i find it fascinating.
Bigfoot – Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. Technology and what can be expected in the years to come.
“The Bigfoot Phenomena In North America: Perspectives From A Cryptozoologist”
How about:
When is a Sasquatch not a Sasquatch?—The Florida Skunk-Ape, Devil Monkeys, and other non-Bigfoot primates in North America.
How about:
“How Viable Is the Theory That Sasquatch Is Widespread Over Almost The Entire Continental United States-where is it theoretically plausible their terrain spreads to and where is it not?”
Comparisons between Bigfoot and other hairy hominids of the world.
I have a few great topics:
“Absence of Evidence: Why the Bigfoot Community Still Flogs the Patterson Film, 40 Years Later”
or
“If Bigfoot Science is as Good as Jeff Meldrum Says It Is, Where’s the Hard Evidence?”
or
“Bigfoot Skeptics and Bigfoot Believers: A Panel Discussion”
Ben- I think Fahrenbach is probably covering that stuff in his own presentation “Sasquatch Evidence Analysis”. 🙂 The skeptics and believers idea is nifty though. Do these events usually offer such platforms for that sort of debate?
Another idea for a presentation, how about something about the effects of hoaxes such as the Johor debacle or the Wallace casts on the field of cryptozoology? Or just a compilation on the well known hoaxes accompanied by a photo show?
MM: Hah!
To be honest, one of my disappointments at the last 2 Bigfoot conferences I attended (though they were well organized and I enjoyed them both) was that there was no real meeting of the minds, no real discussion.
We need less people giving talks (one-way conversations) and more people discussing and debatimg, answering each other’s questions and clarifying issues.
I was really hoping for a panel debate/discussion. I spoke to Jeff Meldrum a month or so ago when I was in Idaho, and he also lamented that there wasn’t more debate. Though I have real issues with Jeff’s arguments and evidence, I respect him and we agree on a lot of things. One thing we agree on is that the lack of real debate is harming the BF community and search for Bigfoot.
I want Jeff (and others) to air and discuss their arguments and evidence, and I want a chance to ask comments and critique what they are offering. And, of course, I would hope my own arguments and evidence would be analyzed and criticized. That’s how science works, that’s how truth comes about.
Ben- I agree. I think peer review is one of the most important points in science and this field is no different.
How bout… Big Foot population’s… Are their as many population’s as believed to be…? Personally I don’t believe their are as many Bigfoot populations as people tend to believe… I think their would be way more sightings if their was as many as is believed to be… I believe they exist, but just not in the many thousands as said to be… anyway, I think a population topic would be kool… Amongst all the rest of everyones ideas…
Ben and Jeff are both, in essence, newbies and seem to be reflecting only their recent (1990s’) speakers’ insights for conferences. They seem to have missed out on all of the past debates or have forgotten hominology’s bloody history. The debates started long ago, within Yetis, Almas, and Sasquatch circles:
Grover Krantz vs René Dahinden. John Kirk vs Jack Lapseritis. Dahinden vs Lapseritis. Edmund Hillary vs Ivan Sanderson. John Napier vs the 1960s’ Bigfoot community. Greg Long vs everyone. Krantz vs John Green. Green vs Peter Byrne. Ray Wallace vs Byrne. Ivan Marx vs Byrne. Byrne vs Dahinden. Green vs Byrne. Dahinden vs Green. Scott Herriott vs Green. Green vs Mark Hall. The British Museum vs Eric Shipton. Marlin Perkins vs Tom Slick. William Montangna vs Roger Patterson. Sanderson vs Bernard Heuvelmans. Russians vs Americans. Chinese vs Russians.
I see no lack of debates occurring, between people who take a skeptical position with regard to someone else’s evidence, approach, or theories, as well as those debunkers who object to Bigfoot, in general, during past conferences and other venues.
Perhaps I should do a slide/PP presentation, “The History of Debate in Hominology,” to highlight the various debates, positions, and personalities that have come and gone?
That sounds like a pretty good idea, Loren! “The Bloody history of debate in Hominology”. Personally being someone who has not attended any such conferences, I’d be very interested to see something like that.
Loren,
Good idea. I think a stroll down memory lane led by someone with a historical perspective would be time well spent.
Loren wrote: “Ben and Jeff are both, in essence, newbies and seem to be reflecting only their recent (1990s’) speakers’ insights for conferences. They seem to have missed out on all of the past debates or have forgotten hominology’s bloody history.”
I’m sorry, I must have misunderstood; I thought you wanted ideas for upcoming conferences. I am aware of many of the debates in the 1960s and 1970s; I don’t know what they have to do with the status of Bigfoot and conferences in the 21st century….
Ben, yes, perhaps you are confused. This specific posting on this blog is about topics for an individual talk, and you changed the thread to complaining about what you would like to see at conferences re: a panel.
And now you come back and try to re-state the goal here incorrectly with this: “I thought you wanted ideas for upcoming conferences. I am aware of many of the debates in the 1960s and 1970s; I don’t know what they have to do with the status of Bigfoot and conferences in the 21st century….”
Yes, we all understand you wish to have a time and place to critique and argue the points of others’ talks, but that’s not what the survey here is asking for from commenters.
Please re-read above. Thank you.
Loren
You asked what topics we’d like to hear you speak on. All the topics I suggested are ones I’d like to hear your thoughts on, ranging from skeptic debates, the P/G film, and Sasquatch “science.”
I guess I didn’t phrase it in the form of a question…sorry.
Shucks, Ben. I guess you missed my subtle subplot, in which I was trying to start a debate with you about this!
🙂
And on that note:
Footprint Follies: Why Lovingly Fondling Ancient Plaster Relics Will Never Find the Sasquatch
Sasquatch Debates: Why a Simple Field Study Will Likely Yield More Evidence
😀
The Not So Bigfeet: A Plea For Affirmative Action in Response to Discrimination Against Pedally-Challenged Bigfeet.
Bigfoot Barbeque (And Other Succulent Sasquatch Sensations).
So You Think You Want a Bigfoot: Questions to Ask Before Buying Your First Sasquatch.
The Bigfoot Next Door: The Secret Life of Your New Neighbors.
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Bigfoot (But Were Too Afraid to Ask).
Whatever Happened to Harry? The Disturbing Truth About the Henderson Incident.
Here’s the one I really want to see:
“Public Opinion on the Sasquatch: Do Most People Really Think It’s Not Real?”
Bigfoot in Popular Culture
Major personalities in Bigfoot studies through the ages and the the contributions they have made or lasting effects they have had.
Theories of migration in relation to Bigfoot.
Theories of Bigfoot population based on scientific formulas used in science for numbering other animals.
Study of hair samples and the analysises.
Differences and similarities of Bigfoot-like creatures throughout the world as well as the evidence for and against each one.
The statistical significance of anecdotal evidence.
Particularly its use and efficacy in professional evaluation, in criminal and civil law, coupled with that ought to be an examination of the notion of legal expertise (as relates to law), and how that could be applied to the wealth of first-hand accounts that are often dismissed out of hand due to their anecdotal nature (eyewitness accounts), as well as those heralded as “experts” in and around this area of debate.