Sasquatch celebration brings fun — and bit of mystery — to a small Oregon town

The Glide Sasquatch Festival in Glide, Oregon, pulls in Sasquatch experts and skeptics alike for a day in honor of the Bigfoot
The story of Glide, Oregon, is a very common small-town industry tale. Big mill moves in, brings the townspeople and energy with it. Big mill moves out, leaves a mill-sized hole, strands local businesses and people with little to start again. If that was not enough, the Archie Creek wildfires of 2020 burned 131,542 acres of the nearby Umpqua Forest and forced the evacuation of Glide. For a town as small as it is, the sun seemed to be setting on the tale of Glide.

But, a new tradition in Glide is taking off that might set a big tone for the town. Last year, Glide started putting on a festival for Sasquatch, Oregon’s famous big-footed cryptid. Originally slated for only 500 attendees, instead 2,500 guests turned out to squatch around. Ahead of last Saturday’s 2023 festival, organizers were estimating about 5,000 people would attend, although final attendance numbers are not yet out.