Encounter Atlas
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Cryptid and UFO festivals, 2026 and 2027
Mothman, Bigfoot, Rougarou and little green men all get their own parties. Here is the next 12 months, month by month. Next up: Texas Bigfoot Conference, Oct 16 to 17, 2026.
Dates marked announced come from organizers or local news. Others show when the event usually happens; we add exact dates as soon as they are published.
October 2026This month
- Oct9
West Virginia Bigfoot Festival
Hosted by the West Virginia Bigfoot Museum. After years in Sutton it moved to Veterans Memorial Park in Summersville for 2026.
- Oct16
Texas Bigfoot Conference
The original Texas Bigfoot conference, run since 2001 in a historic Piney Woods town, with big-name speakers and vendors.
- Oct23
Rougarou Fest
A free, family Halloween-season festival in Cajun country honouring the swamp werewolf, with costumes, music, food and local culture.
- Oct30
Squatch Watch Vancouver Island
A three-day Sasquatch conference in the Comox Valley with presenters, a vendor market and a gala dinner, partnered with the Queneesh Indigenous Community Society.
- OctTBA
Belleville UFO Days
A village parade, games and alien costumes in Library Park, started after a 1987 police sighting of a strange object over town.
- OctTBA
Shag Harbour UFO Expo
Three days of talks near the anniversary of the 1967 Shag Harbour incident, with a bus tour to the crash area and the old CFB Shelburne site.
November 2026This month
- Quiet month. A good time to visit a museum instead.
December 2026This month
- Quiet month. A good time to visit a museum instead.
January 2027This month
- Quiet month. A good time to visit a museum instead.
February 2027This month
- Quiet month. A good time to visit a museum instead.
March 2027This month
- MarTBA
Fouke Monster (Boggy Creek) Festival
A spring weekend of talks, vendors and bus tours of Boggy Creek country in the town that inspired The Legend of Boggy Creek.
- MarTBA
Frogman Festival
A cryptid art and makers convention honouring the Loveland Frogman, with costumed frogs, a parade, puppet shows and live reptiles.
- MarTBA
Manipogo Festival
St. Laurent on Lake Manitoba celebrates Manipogo, the humped lake monster named in 1960, with a winter festival.
April 2027This month
- Quiet month. A good time to visit a museum instead.
May 2027This month
- MayTBA
Bigfoot on 66 Festival
A free afternoon of Bigfoot art and folklore on Route 66, with a calling contest, workshops and a scavenger hunt.
- MayTBA
Contact in the Desert
Billed as the biggest UFO conference around: five days of talks, workshops and night sky watches in the Coachella Valley.
- MayTBA
Jersey Devil Festival
Cookman Avenue closes for costumed cryptids, storytellers, spooky vendors and a film festival honouring New Jersey's famous devil.
- MayTBA
McMenamins UFO Festival
Born from the famous 1950 Trent farm saucer photos, this long-running festival brings speakers, an alien costume parade and a lot of beer to McMenamins Hotel Oregon.
- MayTBA
Ohio Bigfoot Conference
One of the longest-running Bigfoot gatherings, held every spring since 2005 at the lodge in Salt Fork State Park, a sighting hotspot.
- MayTBA
Smoky Mountain Bigfoot Festival
A Bigfoot "birthday bash" on the quiet side of the Smokies with a 5K and fun run, vendors and family activities.
June 2027This month
- JunTBA
Bigfoot Daze
The Bigfoot Capital's hometown party, running for more than 60 years, with a parade and small-town fun. It moved from Labor Day to late June in 2026.
- JunTBA
Forest County Bigfoot Festival
A three-day June festival in the Allegheny National Forest with 160-plus vendors, TV guests and a famous 5-mile Bigfoot hunt.
- JunTBA
Metaline Falls Bigfoot Festival
A small-town June weekend for Sasquatch fans in Busta Park, in Washington's far northeast corner.
- JunTBA
Pine Bush UFO Fair
A free Main Street fair with alien cosplay, paranormal talks, live music and a "Best in Galaxy" costume pageant.
- JunTBA
Sasquatch Days
Co-hosted by the village and the Sts'ailes Nation, with war canoe races, cultural programs and Sasquatch talks on Harrison Lake.
July 2027This month
- JulTBA
Elmwood UFO Days
The self-declared UFO Capital of Wisconsin has thrown this summer festival since 1978, with sighting bus tours, speakers, tractor pulls and an alien parade.
- JulTBA
Kecksburg UFO Festival
The volunteer fire company celebrates the 1965 "acorn" crash with a parade, food trucks and vendors, all to fund the fire hall where the acorn replica lives.
- JulTBA
Remer Bigfoot Days
The self-proclaimed Home of Bigfoot throws a two-day party with storytelling, Bigfoot Olympics, a 5K, a calling contest and BBQ.
- JulTBA
Roswell UFO Festival
Roswell celebrates the 1947 crash every Fourth of July weekend with a costume parade, drone show, the Alien Chase run and speakers at the UFO Museum.
- JulTBA
Smoky Mountain Bigfoot Conference
A one-day conference in Gatlinburg with well-known researchers and TV names. Tickets sell in advance.
August 2027This month
- AugTBA
Hocking Hills Bigfoot Festival
A multi-day summer festival with speakers, vendors and family fun. It moved to the Vinton County Fairgrounds in 2025.
- AugTBA
Kelly Little Green Men Days
The tiny town of Kelly marks the August 1955 night a farm family said small glowing creatures besieged their house, with rides, music and alien souvenirs.
- AugTBA
WNC Bigfoot Festival
Downtown Marion goes Bigfoot-crazy for a day of speakers, a calling contest, vendors and a 5K, with free shuttles from parking.
September 2027This month
- SepTBA
Adirondack Bigfoot Cruise
An evening sail on the Minne Ha Ha steam paddlewheeler with Bigfoot researchers and a Q&A.
- SepTBA
Exeter UFO Festival
Marks the 1965 Incident at Exeter with a speaker series, kids' activities and trolley rides. The Kiwanis Club runs it and gives the profits to local charities.
- SepTBA
Marfa Lights Festival
West Texas toasts its mystery lights with a parade, street dances, food and music over Labor Day weekend. Most of it is free.
- SepTBA
Mothman Festival
Huge crowds fill downtown Point Pleasant for speakers, vendors, food trucks, live music and hayrides. It is the biggest cryptid party in the country.