bigfoot fun in the Gorge
KBRO throws a bigfoot party
Saturday I arrived
127 Halls Lane
there I survived
fun that was insane
styles I watched
in the in between
t-shirts of sasquatch
I had never seen
on the front
and on the back
for bigfoot we hunt
but first a snack
we all believe
we're ready and able
if we can just leave
this picnic table
Heaven was displayed
it may sound silly
by the food that was made
by a truck branded Hillbilly
all the while
it was the case
there was a smile
on every face
after the show
it was all empty shelves
the KBRO
really outdid themselves
The 1st Red River Gorge Bigfoot Fest was a blast. I talked with a lot of people at the festival and a lot of them wanted to know if I was local or from out of town. And then they usually explained that they were trying to figure out where so many people came from. A lot of them said something along the lines of “I’m just shocked at how big this thing is and how many people are here.” The festival started at 10:00. I got there at 9:30 and the parking lot was already starting to fill up. And later in the day I could see traffic backed up a long way on the two lane road waiting to get in.
In the weeks leading up to the festival I had googled “what are the biggest bigfoot gatherings in the country?” and the Red River Gorge Bigfoot Fest was on almost every list. So I knew it was probably going to be huge.
It was truly an impressive event. The list of speakers was top notch. I saw Jeff Meldrum & Cliff Barackman there. Tom Shay & then Charlie Raymond kicked things off Saturday morning. They were followed by Brett Burns & then the Mountain Monsters. And Cliff Barackman & then Jeff Meldrum were the last two speakers. Then they had a bigfoot calling contest. The bigfoot calling contest allowed for a lot of variation and creativity which made it humorous and entertaining.
The festival shut down around 7pm. There were movies that were being shown at the Lions Club Park. The two movies were Harry and the Hendersons & The Legend of Boggy Creek. I knew that I was probably not going to stay around and wait for them to start but I decided I wanted to kind of take a scenic drive to the Lions Club anyway. And I’m glad that I did. It was a beautiful scenic drive. One of the parking shuttle drivers had told me to drive a couple of stop lights into town and take a left at the Advance Auto store. And that is what I did. When I got to the giant field next to a tree line where the movies were being shown the police officer told me that the films would probably start right at dusk. So I parked my car in a line and talked with a guy in a bigfoot shirt that I had already taken a picture of earlier in the day. And he said that they had already announced that the movies might be starting a little later. I looked over to the tree line and I could see some poles on the ground and the material that would be stretched to make the screen for the movies. Then I rearranged some things and headed for home.
I drove back out to the entrance to the field at the Lions Club Park. There were 3 police officers standing there. I rolled the window down and told them that I had decided to head back home. And this is the exact response that one of them leaned into the window and told me. “Okay. But you are more than welcome to stay and watch the movies brother.”
I obviously enjoyed the bigfoot festival very much. What’s not to like about hanging out with a bunch of good natured open minded people who enjoy all of the hoopla and mystery that is bigfoot. But as I drove away I felt that the experience was definitely enhanced by the location. Just the fact that it is the Red River Gorge carries its own weight. But to me I think the best thing was just how nice and friendly the people were there. Like the police officer who put his own twist on goodbye the town of Stanton, Kentucky seemed welcoming and charming in a kind of “Mayberry” way.
Or maybe we were just all operating under the spell of bigfoot. I’ve noticed that most students of Bigfootology seem to be a little more humorous and happy. But in any case I was a little bit wistful when I pulled out of that field and the town of Stanton and made my way onto the Bert Combs Mountain Parkway.
For any of you that might not know KBRO stands for the Kentucky Bigfoot Research Organization. Their founder and leader is Charlie Raymond. He will be the first video in the group of pictures that I am providing a link for below. But first I will put in a link to the KBFRO website.
And below is the link to the pictures and videos that I took at the festival.
Link to Red River Gorge Bigfoot Fest pictures and videos.
21OCT25
SS # 1. Red River Gorge Bigfoot Fest 2025. A You Tube Slide Show.