Sasquatch Days 2014
Posted by: John Kirk on May 19th, 2014
Tourism Harrison Hot Springs and the Sts:ailes nation are jointly presenting Sasquatch Days on June 7th and 8th. The activities are just too many for me to detail here, but you can look at the link to peruse all the attractions that are part of this festival. I do want to give a shout out to my really good friends and sasquatch bros Thomas Steenburg and Bill Miller who will have a booth and be making presentations. They are both really approachable and enjoy talking to anyone about the ‘Squatch. Pay them a vist and you won’t be disappointed.
Sasquatch Days has a long history in Harrison Hot Springs. The original Sasquatch Days were a two-day event that took place on May 23 & 24th, 1938. It was a major event attended by some 2000 First Nations people from a host of different bands from both Canada and the United States. The Honorable A. Wells Grey, Minister of Lands from the province of BC was on hand to open the event and so was invested Chief Sespatch, honorary Chieftain of the Chehalis Band (known today as “Sts’ailes”).
This intercultural celebration includes canoe races, traditional salmon barbeque, medicine walks, cultural boat tours, arts & craft activities, games, entertainment and most importantly talks on the Sasquatch from Sts’ailes experts and local Harrison Hot Springs Sasquatch investigators.
Harrison Hot Springs has always been a center of Sasquatch activity and little wonder as the very word Sasquatch derives from the Sts’ailes word “Sa:sq’ets” meaning ‘wild man’. The Sasquatch is sacred to the Sts’ailes and as the symbol of their people it is only fitting that this celebration stick with the name given to this very popular event that last took place in 1938.
This two-day event will begin at 9:30 am Saturday June 7th with a short procession to Harrison Lake Plaza where a welcoming ceremony will be held at 10:00. Each day will feature artisan activity tables, medicine walks and opportunities for intercultural sharing. Saturday morning the main event starts as war canoes gather for a friendly competition that will continue with final races on Sunday. Of course, no canoe race is complete without a traditional salmon barbeque that will take place Saturday and Sunday afternoon.
The Salish Dancers…open the Cultural Stage at the St. Alice Hall on Saturday.
The joint hosts for this event, Sts’ailes First Nations and the Village of Harrison Hot Springs, invite visitors to this unique event that brings two communities together in an opportunity to learn about the traditions of the Sts’ailes people and share cultural experiences.
About John Kirk
One of the founders of the BCSCC, John Kirk has enjoyed a varied and exciting career path. Both a print and broadcast journalist, John Kirk has in recent years been at the forefront of much of the BCSCC’s expeditions, investigations and publishing. John has been particularly interested in the phenomenon of unknown aquatic cryptids around the world and is the author of In the Domain of the Lake Monsters (Key Porter Books, 1998).
In addition to his interest in freshwater cryptids, John has been keenly interested in investigating the possible existence of sasquatch and other bipedal hominids of the world, and in particular, the Yeren of China. John is also chairman of the Crypto Safari organization, which specializes in sending teams of investigators to remote parts of the world to search for animals as yet unidentified by science. John travelled with a Crypto Safari team to Cameroon and northern Republic of Congo to interview witnesses among the Baka pygmies and Bantu bushmen who have sighted a large unknown animal that bears more than a superficial resemblance to a dinosaur.
Since 1996, John Kirk has been editor and publisher of the BCSCC Quarterly which is the flagship publication of the BCSCC. In demand at conferences, seminars, lectures and on television and radio programs, John has spoken all over North America and has appeared in programs on NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, TLC, Discovery, CBC, CTV and the BBC.
In his personal life John spends much time studying the histories of Scottish Clans and is himself the president of the Clan Kirk Society. John is also an avid soccer enthusiast and player.
