Five hundred are projected to make the pilgrimage to Dillard this weekend to connect more with the most-discussed, but least-seen, long-haired creature in history as the Georgia Bigfoot Conference makes its return to Rabun County.
The 2024 version of the two-day and seventh annual event will be back at The Dillard House Resort on Friday, March 15, and Saturday, March 16.
Friday begins for visitors at 3 p.m. and runs until 8 p.m.; and the doors open at 8 a.m. Saturday as the day’s string of speakers take the conference until 5:30 p.m.
The Friday gathering will be part of a Forward Rabun/Rabun County Chamber of Commerce “After-Hours and Business Center Stage Event.”
Tickets for the various events may be bought at www.GeorgiaBigfootConference.org through PayPal.
“This is not Rabun County’s event. This is Bigfoot’s event,” said Dr. John Stamey, organizer of the conference; chairman of the Matman Foundation, Inc.; and host of the “ScaryCast” podcast. “I am glad to do it each year. Bigfoot has always been good to me.”
Stamey said he personally has had 10 encounters with Bigfoot in his career. He encourages people to be respectful of Bigfoots and their existence.
With vendors on-site Friday and Saturday selling Bigfoot merchandise, both days will be filled with knowledgeable Sasquatch speakers talking about their experiences.
Friday will have a “Bigfoot Round Table” hosted by “Bad Ass Monster Hunter” Matthew Delph and Bigfoot Experiencers Les and Claudette Durrant from Blue Ridge, Ga. The evening also will have a reception next to The Dillard House at R.M. Rose Distillery; and music will be provided by band members of Kornbread Kreek, whose roots are in Appalachia.
On Saturday, the speaker to start the day will be Georgia conference veteran Delph, whose encounter with a Bigfoot involves a Sasquatch-propelled rock past his head. Delph will be followed by Jessica Jones, host of popular “Spaced Out Radio” podcast; and keynote speaker and scientist Dr. Brooks Agnew before the lunch break.
Friday’s second keynote speaker Ron Morehead of “Sierra Sounds” will begin the afternoon session. The sounds of Sasquatch have been recorded in the Sierra Nevado Mountains in eastern California, dating back to the early 1970s.
Following Morehead will be speakers Mark Muncy, a paranormal author; Sonya Thompson, a zombie actor on “The Walking Dead” television series; and Ryan Tremblay, host of “Monster Radio.”
Stamey will be the conference’s concluding speaker.
Jones and Thompson are returning speakers at the conference.
The event brings in local tourism and much more to Northeast Georgia, Stamey said.
“We have a really great conference. It is going to be a lot of fun,” said Stamey who also plans to host the first-ever local “World UFO Conference” in Clayton on June 28 and 29.
“We’ve had a lot of success up there because people like Bigfoot up there,” said Stamey of Mrytle Beach, S.C., noting his appreciation of Rabun County’s representatives who promote tourism and the chamber as well as the team at The Dillard House. “Rabun County is really where Bigfoot is at.”
In September 2017, large tracks reportedly were discovered in the Timpson Creek community in Rabun County. A footprint cast was made and locals confirmed the imprint was not of a bear which led to speculation as to its creator.
Stamey plans to hold the Bigfoot conference and World UFO Conference in Rabun County again next year. He has two other events planned for Myrtle Beach, and also a Bigfoot conference in a yet-to-be-announced western North Carolina city.
“We’re not stopping,” Stamey said of keeping the conferences going locally. “I am looking to be back in Rabun County in 2025 in the capital of Georgia – Rabun County. At least, I consider Rabun County the capital of Georgia.”
This year’s March 15-16 Georgia Bigfoot Conference at The Dillard House Resort includes a reception and welcoming party at the R.M. Rose Distillery on Friday from 5-7 p.m.
After the event being held at the Rabun County Civic Center, the conference moved to The Dillard House in 2023 as it found a new Rabun County home.
The full lineup of events includes:
FRIDAY, MARCH 15
-1:30 p.m. - Vendors may arrive and set up
-3-5:30 p.m. – “Bigfoot Round Table” hosted by “Bad Ass Monster Hunter” Matthew Delph and Bigfoot Experiencers Les and Claudette Durrant from Blue Ridge, Ga.
-5-8 p.m. Reception at R.M. Rose Distillery (next to The Dillard House)
-5:30 p.m. Concert by members of the band Kornbread Kreek
SATURDAY, MARCH 16
-7 a.m. - Vendor setup
-8 a.m. - Doors Open
-8:45 a.m. - Speaker Matt Delph (Director of Mountain Empire Cryptid Research Organization (MECRO))
-9:45 a.m. - Speaker Jessica Jones (host of the popular “Spaced Out Radio” podcast)
-10:45 a.m. – Keynote Speaker Dr. Brooks Agnew (scientist)
-noon-1 p.m. - Lunch at Dillard House approximately $30 per person with speakers at each table
-1 p.m. – Keynote Speaker Ron Morehead (“Sierra Sounds”)
-2:30 p.m. - Speaker Mark Muncy (paranormal author)
-3:30 p.m. - Speaker Sonya Thompson (actor and “Queen of the Zombies”)
-4:30 p.m. - Speaker Ryan Tremblay (host of “Monster Radio”)
-5:15 p.m. - Speaker Dr. John Stamey (host of “ScaryCast”)
-5:30 p.m. - Conference closes