A quest for Bigfoot: New conference in the B.C. Interior celebrates the legendary giant

Sasquatch experts and enthusiasts are getting set for a new conference in Merritt, B.C., dedicated to the exploration of the legendary hairy giant.

The Nicola Valley Bigfoot Conference on May 13 will feature historians, researchers and enthusiasts in the community who say they have come across the elusive creature.

Sheldon Quewezance, co-ordinator of the event and host of the Nicola Valley Bigfoot podcast, says the Nicola Valley is known for its legends and sightings of Bigfoot, a large, ape-like creature.

He says he created the event to bring people together who say they may have come across the giants in B.C.'s Interior.

"I really didn't expect to go down this rabbit hole, but the community is very, very overwhelmingly supportive [of the event]," he said.

Quewezance says the conference is not meant to prove the existence of Bigfoot, but to be a safe space for people who say they've seen the creature.

"[It's a] place for everyone to kind of come together and … share their stories with others who aren't going to judge them or tell them they're crazy."

Not 'a taboo subject' in B.C.: event co-ordinator

Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Quewezance says no one else seemed intrigued by the idea of a human-like creature strolling through the forest.

"In Saskatchewan, sasquatch really wasn't talked about much ... it's all flat lands ... and there's not really many forests to be seen," he said, adding that all changed when he moved to B.C. in 2003.

"I started seeing more people talk about it. It's not really that much of a taboo subject [here]."

When he came to Merritt, a city in the Nicola Valley, an area in the southern Interior region of B.C., Quewezance says he heard stories of countless Bigfoot sightings.

This inspired him and some friends to start their own search for the creature.

"We thought ... maybe we can find something. And we did."

In 2018, Quewezance, his brother, and two friends were sitting in a truck in the woods. He says it was a new moon that evening, so there was little natural light in the area.

"I was shining my flashlight along the treeline ... and I caught a glimpse of something," he said, adding at first he assumed it was a cougar from the glowing amber eyes.

"I focused the [flashlight] beam closer and there was a thing standing there ... It was black ... It was peeking from behind the tree and I could see its hand wrapped around the tree."

Quewezance says the creature then disappeared without a sound the moment the group looked away.

Signs and sightings

Tania Stewart, marketing and promotions manager with Tourism Nicola Valley, says a lot of people in Merritt have stories to tell about Bigfoot roaming through the "thick forests of the valley."

Strewart, who grew up in the area, describes telltale signs of a Bigfoot claiming its territory: "I've had rocks thrown at me ... People have found a lot of tracks ... and they like to leave broken, bent trees to say stay away."

Newspaper clippings from the Merritt Herald document sightings from as far as 1969 and as recent as 2004.

In 1969, a group of Merritt Army Cadets claimed to have seen a "huge hairy man" with footprints measuring 15 inches long.

In an article published in 2004, a man named Tim Martindale said he witnessed two hairy, human-like creatures bending down, drinking water from a pond.

Soon after, Martindale began researching other incidents in the area, and told the Merritt Herald there had been "96 sightings between Merritt and Princeton since 2000," with many of those sightings allegedly experienced by well-respected professionals.

Quewezance, who is a member of the Saulteaux First Nation, adds First Nations in the Pacific Northwest have passed down stories of Bigfoot for generations.

"These beings are a very big part of their belief system and culture," he said, adding he isn't worried about whether people believe him or not.

Rather, he enjoys gathering stories and learning more about Bigfoot, which is exactly what the conference is about, he says.

"Everyone has their own prerogative and can voice their opinions and this happens to be mine."