A brief history of 'Bigfoot Calling' contests in Conecuh County, Alabama

Steven Bradley, left, is champion 'Bigfoot Caller'

The 2^nd Annual Conecuh Sausage Festival Bigfoot Calling Contest is set for this Saturday at 2 p.m. at Evergreen Regional Airport, and a $200 grand prize will go to the Grand Champion. Cash prizes will also go to the second and third-place finishers of what could be a potentially large field of contestants.

Saturday’s slate of judges will include Conecuh County Probate Judge-elect Steve Fleming, local Bigfoot expert Ashley McPhaul and local Bigfoot witness Wesley Acreman. I’ve helped judge the two previous Bigfoot Calling contests in Conecuh County – one at last year’s Sausage Festival and another at Baggett’s Chapel in March – and I can tell you from personal experience that Saturday’s judges will have their work cut out for them. It costs nothing to sign up for the contest, so anyone who wishes to compete is encouraged to participate.

Many in the reading audience will remember that the Bigfoot Calling Contest at last year’s Sausage Festival was held on Oct. 21 and was the first such contest in the history of the county. Contestant John “Little John” Davis captured top honors, winning a $500 grand prize and a “Yeti Stick” hand-crafted by Ricky Upton of Excel, the brother of Evergreen City Councilman Luther Upton, who MC’d the contest.

Tim Stewart of Greenville won the $100 second-place prize, and Tony Kyles came in third. Bigfoot witness Carl Pugh and Benjamin Whatley received honorable mention. Other contestants in the contest included Katie Brand, Jacob Baggett, Dakota Coleman, Gary Coleman and Ricky Hicks. Judges in that contest included McPhaul, local Bigfoot skeptic Stacey Turner Middleton and myself.

Earlier this year, on March 3, McPhaul and I judged a Bigfoot Calling Contest during the 13^th Annual Baggett’s Chapel Wild Game Supper. There were seven contestants in the youth division, and there were five contestants in the adult division. Contestants in the youth division included Will Acreman, Tristan Bradley, Hunter Nichols, Robert Farish, Bucky Farish and Brady Busby. Adult competitors included Sue Brown, Bobby McInnis, Steven Bradley, Dennis McKinley and Will Driver.

In the adult division, Steven Bradley was named the Grand Champion Bigfoot Caller, and Dennis McKinley finished a close second. Hunter Nichols took home top honors in the youth division, and Tristan Bradley came in second. All of the other contestants were honorable mention winners in my book.

Special guests at that event included Don McDonald and Rogan Bird, who are stars of the TV show “Killing Bigfoot.” Don, who lives in Mississippi, had been to the Conecuh County area a number of times before, investigating claims of Bigfoot sightings, and it was good to see him again. It was also a pleasure meeting Rogan, who is from Louisiana.

In the end, I hope that there’s a big turnout for the Bigfoot Calling Contest this coming Saturday. I’m not a judge this time, but I’ve been told that on Saturday, the judges will be behind a screen where they can hear, but not see, the contestants. That should add a new wrinkle to the contest, and it’ll be interesting to see if someone new “comes out of the woods” to take top honors in this year’s contest.