By Tim Binnall
A bevy of Bigfoot buffs in Maine unleashed their best bellows at a colorful Sasquatch calling contest over the weekend. Held in the town of Glenburn on Saturday, the competition was reportedly organized by Tocci’s Checkout Convenience Store, which made headlines with a similar event last summer. Beyond being a fun way to spend an afternoon, Michael Vashon of the Maine Bigfoot Foundation explained that the gathering serves as valuable community outreach for the organization, showing potential Bigfoot witnesses that "there’s somebody I can go to" should they encounter the elusive cryptid.
When the dust finally settled on Saturday, Josiah Pante was awarded the title in the adult division, and 4-year-old Aliza Ayer was declared the winner in the kids division. Each received a prize of $100 and the rather unique Bigfoot-related bragging rights. A self-professed Sasquatch believer, Pante modestly mused, "this is not my call. This is what has been echoing through the woods for hundreds, thousands of years." Tocci’s competition is one of several such events that have sprung up at cryptid festivals across the country in recent years, following in the prodigious footsteps of Whitehall, New York's wildly popular Sasquatch Festival & Calling Contest, which originated the concept back in 2016.