Pacific City goes BIG

Celebrate Sasquatch at this weekend’s Bigfoot at the Beach

By Jordan Wolfe

For the TODAY

Bigfoot is taking a break from being elusive in the forest to visit the good people of Pacific City this weekend — and he’s bringing s’mores.

The Bigfoot at the Beach: Hart’s Camp Fall Festival is leaning into the Pacific Northwest’s favorite cryptid for its third annual family-friendly event held at Hart’s Camp and adjoining Cape Kiwanda Marketplace this Saturday, Oct. 10 and Sunday, Oct. 11.

The free event includes live music, hot beverages and photo opportunities with the legend himself.

“I forgot how much of the culture Bigfoot is embedded in the Pacific Northwest,” said Jen Barnhart, Hart’s Camp marketing manager. “Bigfoot isn't normally seen at the Oregon Coast, but it would be fun to imagine that he's making his way here, so we're just kind of playing around with the idea of that a little bit, a little tongue in cheek.”

A marquee activity will be the Bigfoot Tracker Challenge, where guests will get to wander around the 14-acre Hart’s Camp and into adjoining BLM-managed forestland to spot clues on where the big guy has been, including where he sleeps.

“It’s a little inspiration from the Discovery Channel,” Barnhart said. “We're going to have a Bigfoot nest that people can look for.”

For those who think searching for a six-foot-tall hairy ape-man is too easy, the team has added an extra hunt: dozens of tiny, two-inch Bigfoots (Bigfeet?) will be hidden as well, waiting to be found and adopted by budding cryptozoologists.

“I hope kids really get a kick out of it, especially,” Barnhart said.

Once folks score a “Bingo” on their tracker card — discovering things like banana slugs and Bigfoot’s nest — they can redeem it for a prize at the Cape Kiwanda Marketplace, which is also where vendors such as food trucks and various artisans will be staged and the participants will pick up the official Bigfoot Tracker for the event.

“We love the opportunity to contribute to the local community and our coastal neighbors,” Barnhart said, adding the event includes free treats such as hot cocoa, equally hot cider, and a s’mores station set up near a fire ring at Hart’s Camp where guests can spear a marshmallow and roast it over hot coals — or burn it to a crisp over an open flame, if you’re that person — and create their own gooey, chocolatey snack.

And, of course, Bigfoot himself will be wandering around for the entirety of the event — you just have to know where to look.

“He might be hiding in the woods, or he might be standing in front of our booth and our sign for photo ops,” Barnhart said. “But who knows, maybe people have to just figure that out because he’s a sneaky little guy, he doesn’t want to report to us where he’s going to be and when.”

Other free activities will be face-painting, pumpkin-painting and rides in one of Pacific City’s iconic dory boats — across land. Tractor-pulled rides in an actual dory boat will ferry six to eight guests around the camp for 10-minutes. And keep an eye on who is behind the wheel of the tractor — it might occasionally be Bigfoot himself.

The live music stage will be at Cape Kiwanda Marketplace. Bryan Nichols of ZuhG Life Presents has curated musical talent to play throughout the weekend festival.

“He's done this for us for all of our festivals and he just has a great finger on the pulse of what's going on at the coast,” Barnhart said. “I love that they're local acts.”

Between a wide slate of music and enough free activities to keep families entertained for hours, what is Barnhart hoping guests get out of this event?

“Giggles,” she said. “I want them to have fun and just make good memories and just want to come back to enjoy the coast in a different way.

“You can't always be out on the beach as the weather starts to change, and this is just one of the ways that we can enjoy the coastal community.”

That’s a message even Bigfoot can get behind.

Saturday's festival runs from 10 am to 6 pm and Sunday’s events run 10 am to 4 pm. For more information, go to hartscamp.com.

Music schedule

Saturday, Oct 10

Noon to 1:30 pm — Gabriel John


2 to 3:30 pm — Dirty Limousine


4 to 6 pm — Bikini Drone

Sunday, Oct. 11

Noon to 1:30 pm — LaLo


2 to 3:30 pm — ZuhG


 2:30 to 4 pm — Massive Delicious