-By Jessica Schultz-
October is in full swing and that means that spooky season has arrived. It’s time to get out and enjoy some great season events. One of the more unique events is the Chautauqua Lake Bigfoot Expo held at YMCA Camp Onyahsa (located at 5411 E. Lake Rd in Dewittville, NY) on October 22nd from 10:30-6:30pm. This is a once-a-year event that is sure to entertain and inform the attendees. The Villager had a chance to speak with event creator Peter Weimer about this year’s expo.
The Villager (V): CHQ Lake Bigfoot Expo, what made the event a reality?
Peter (P): “I created the Chautauqua Lake Bigfoot Expo as a Tourism Special Event in 2012. As a Bio in the Tourism Special Event World, I also created the I Love New York Windsurfer Championships from 1981 – 1986, and I was the first Ice Castle Extravaganza chairman in 1987 for the first five years as well as The Great I Love NY Balloon Rally Chairman in Mayville in 1987 and 1988. From my involvement in doing Sport, Travel and Outdoor Shows for 27 years, in Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Buffalo in promoting We Wan Chu Cottages as a vacation destination, I met Larry Battson who was doing “The Rattlesnake Round Up” as a “Show Act” and would draw 450 to 500+ people (adults and lots of kids) and who happened to be a Bigfoot Researcher and we became good friends… In 2011, I asked Larry if he’d be interested in helping me set up a Bigfoot Expo of which he was a guest speaker in 2012 and 2013 and the rest is history…”
V: What’s new for 2022?
P: “I am flying in, Dr. Jeff Meldrum who is a Full Professor of Anatomy & Anthropology at Idaho State University (since 1993). Jeff is a National Authority on Sasquatch / Bigfoot and has appeared in more than a dozen TV Shows over the years on the History Channel, Animal Planet, National Geographic, and more speaking about Bigfoot / Sasquatch. And, for the First time in North America and probably in the World, I am offering 6 to 8+ hours of a Bigfoot Expo / Conference as a Video on Demand for $2 within 2 to 3 days after the event, in hopes of breaking even. (I have been unsuccessfully, able to raise any sponsors locally in helping to defer the expense of putting on this Bigfoot Expo because nobody believes… And so, I am hopeful that this will be the first Bigfoot Expo in nine tries to either break even or not lose as much money as I have in the past… Google my name and the word Bigfoot and there are thousands of pages on Bigfoot and I.”
V: Who will the five speakers be and what are each of their topics?
P: “The featured guest speakers are: Dr. Jeff Meldrum, Jeff is a Full Professor of Anatomy & Anthropology at Idaho State University (since 1993). His research centers on the evolution of hominin bipedalism. His professional interest in the footprints attributed to sasquatch began when he personally examined a line of 15-inch tracks in the Blue Mountains of southeastern Washington, in 1996. Steve Kullis is a Licensed Private Investigator, Notary Public, a trained forensic interviewer and has been a professional investigator since 1988. Steve has had a lifelong fascination with the Bigfoot phenomena since an early age. Steve began his quest first in 1998 originally expecting to be disappointed and has since authored three books, “50 Large,”, “What Would Sasquatch Do?” and “The Sasquatch Playbook.” Paul Mateja has been actively involved with bigfoot /sasquatch research since 2004 and has personally investigated over 200 reports. He has attended or organized BFRO expeditions in New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Paul currently concentrates his investigations to western New York State and western and north-central Pennsylvania. Seth Breedlove is an Ohio filmmaker. He has written, edited, produced and directed shorts and features about a variety of topics but is best known for his production company and the films they’ve produced under the Small-Town Monsters banner. Before film, Breedlove wrote for a number of websites, newspapers and magazines and learned some of the skills he employs as a director while working as a reporter. Breedlove has also appeared on numerous television and radio programs. In 2013, Breedlove began working on the concept for a series entitled Small Town Monsters. In general, he set out to capture true accounts from tiny communities often forgotten by the larger media outlets, and from the era (1960s and 1970s) of high intensity monster encounters. And for myself, my interest in Bigfoot began 30+ years ago when one of my friends, Larry Battson, released a series of cassette tapes regarding his experience and research in the Bigfoot area. In 2011 Larry approached me to assist him in bringing a Bigfoot Conference to Chautauqua Lake. The first annual Chautauqua Lake Bigfoot (CLBF) Expo took place on May 6th, 2012. This event brought in National Bigfoot speakers from around the country to talk about their knowledge and experience with Bigfoots.”
V: There will be vendor tables, what types of items will they be offering?
P: “We have a few vendor tables that will be selling Bigfoot related memorabilia, as well as each speaker will have a table, selling their Books, Bigfoot items and in Seth Breedlove’s case, DVDs and Blu Rays of his films. Dr. Jeff Meldrum will have a double size area to showcase his Books, Footprint casts and more.”
V: Anything else you would like to add?
P: “Since creating the Chautauqua Lake Bigfoot Expo in 2012, I am up to 45 eyewitnesses from Chautauqua County that have reached out to me, resolving themselves in knowing they have seen a Bigfoot… Eight from Cattaraugus County and more than a dozen eyewitnesses from Warren County, PA… My history in doing Tourism Special Events gave me no clue that this was going to happen to me when I created the Chautauqua Lake Bigfoot Expo… It has obviously impacted myself and my Life in ways that I never imagined.”
Thank you, Peter, for taking the time to share all of this info on your upcoming event. The 2022 Chautauqua Big Foot Expo cost of admission is $20 per adult and $12 for children 16 and under. Visit ihaveseenbigfoot.com to order pre-sale tickets online as well as fill out the special release form. Credit cards will not be accepted onsite for day of ticket purchases, only cash or check at the door day of the expo. You can call 716-789-3383 or email wewanchu@wewanchu.com for more information. This is not a pet friendly event.