Happy Memorial Day…plan your next excursion now…

Celebrating Sasquatch Days in Harrison Hot Springs

Sts’ailes (formerly Chehalis Indian Band) and the Village of Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia, send an open invitation to join in celebrating Sasquatch Days on June 9 & 10, 2012 in Harrison Hot Springs.

Sasquatch Days serves as an opportunity to share Sts’ailes heritage with surrounding First Nations, communities, and guests through war canoe races, medicine walks, cultural boat tours, and artisan demonstrations and sales. This engaging and entertaining experience is further enhanced by Sasquatch stories and discussion from local Harrison investigators and Sts’ailes oral storytellers. There is also the added bonus of a traditional salmon barbeque and cultural celebrations all along the beautiful backdrop of the Harrison Lake.

“As a community we are quite excited for the revival of the Sasquatch Days,” says Sts’ailes Chief Willie Charlie, “It goes a long way in showing the partnership between Sts’ailes and the Village of Harrison Hot Springs to reignite this event after nearly 70 years since it was hosted at the [Harrison] Lake.” “Historically, Sts’ailes continued such celebrations through various events within our community village. Today, we are happy to return the celebrations to ‘Qwó:ls’, one of our traditional village sites”. ‘Qwó:ls’ refers to the ‘boiling water’ or ‘medicine water’ of the Harrison Hot Springs.

An intriguing part of this celebrated event is the Sasqauatch theme. The very word ‘Sasquatch’ is an anglicised version of the Halq’emeylem word ‘Sas’qets’, which refers to this elusive creature that holds cultural and spiritual significance to First Nations, including the Sts’ailes. The Sasquatch will be celebrated throughout the weekend and featured in the Saturday morning procession that will open the weekend festivities.

Chief Charlie also shares that “we know our land and our history, and we are taught to celebrate and to remember through stories, song and dance. Before there were roads and vehicles in our community we used the waterways and canoes to travel. The painted stone and rock formations along the rivers, lakes and streams are our ancestors’ physical reminders on how to conduct oneself as ‘Xwelmexw’ – people of the land. Today, our canoe racers still have the good fortune of experiencing those reminders everyday on the water and on June 9 & 10 the rest of the people have the opportunity to tap into some of that experience.”

For more information about the event go to click here.

Willow Creek, California’s Bigfoot Days are well known. But the custom is also found elsewhere in the USA.

Such as down in Washington State…

Bigfoot Daze 2012

Happy Bride to Wed Bigfoot! This is a recent press release headline issued by the Western Bigfoot Society, who sponsors the annual Bigfoot Daze at Bigfoot Park in Carson, WA, every last weekend in August since 1992.

At the beginning of 1999′s event, Society members Molly Atwood and Daren Richardson (who was dressed as the hairy house himself) got married on sight. Daren even claims to have seen the real Bigfoot before. Besides shows of such animal attraction, there will be educational seminars about this mythic creature, stilt races, a dance contest, horse shoe pitching, live music, a chili cook-off, a wedding cake competition and lots of good grub, including Bigfoot Hunter Burgers, Abominable Potato Salad, and Yeti Spaghetti. This event is free and open to the public. Bigfoot wigs and Bigfoot bad breath not included.

When: Last weekend in August every year
Where: Carson, WA, U.S.A.