IBC 2018

​International Bigfoot Conference 2018 — Sasquatch Syndicate at IBC Kennewick, WA

Year three. We know this room.  Walking into the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick for the third consecutive year carries a completely different feeling than that first time. The nerves are long gone. The learning curve is behind us. What remains is something better — the easy confidence of a team that belongs here, surrounded by a community that knows it. By 2018, the International Bigfoot Conference had become one of the true anchors of the Sasquatch Syndicate calendar, and pulling into that parking lot on the Columbia River felt exactly like it should: like coming back to something we love.

Russell Accord has built something genuinely special in eastern Washington. The IBC's philosophy — evidence-based, open-minded, big enough to hold both the scientific and the experiential wings of this field under one roof without apology — is exactly the kind of environment where the Sasquatch Syndicate thrives. Three years in, that alignment feels as natural as breathing, and the event itself keeps getting sharper, larger, and more essential to this community with every passing year.

The booth was dialed in. By year three you know what works, what draws people in, what keeps them there. Merchandise, podcast promotions, autographs, photos — the operation ran smoothly and the response from the community was as strong as we've ever seen it. Returning listeners found us like old friends. New faces discovered the Syndicate for the first time and stayed long enough to become regulars before the weekend was out. Families, researchers, enthusiasts, skeptics, true believers — the IBC draws the full spectrum, and more than a few of the faces coming through our booth this year were ones we recognized from the year before. That's what happens when you keep showing up. The community grows with you.

Our neighbors on the floor made this year even more memorable. Right next to us was none other than Travis Walton — the man whose 1975 abduction experience in the Arizona White Mountains became one of the most documented and debated cases in UFO history, and whose story was immortalized in the film Fire in the Sky. We had crossed paths with Travis previously at AlienCon, so seeing him set up in the adjacent booth felt like running into a familiar face in the best possible way. The proximity made for some fascinating cross-pollination of audiences throughout the weekend — Bigfoot enthusiasts wandering over to hear Travis's story, UFO researchers finding their way to our cast displays, and more than a few attendees who were deeply invested in both worlds simultaneously. In this community, that overlap is more common than people outside it might expect, and having Travis right there beside us added a dimension to the weekend that we hadn't anticipated and thoroughly enjoyed.

Now — the people.

Dr. Jeff Meldrum, Professor of Anatomy and Anthropology at Idaho State University and the foremost academic authority on Sasquatch physical evidence, has become a genuine friend and collaborator to the Syndicate. What began at a previous IBC as a chance encounter over a banner that needed hanging has grown into a professional relationship we value deeply. At this point, seeing Jeff at the conference feels like catching up with a colleague who always has something worth saying — and there were several conversations worth having this weekend.

Cliff Barackman remains one of the most enjoyable presences on the entire conference circuit. Sharp, funny, deeply knowledgeable, and completely approachable no matter how many times you've shared a room. Cliff has that rare quality of making every conversation feel like the first one, and the fans who get time with him at IBC always walk away better for it.

Wes Germer of Sasquatch Chronicles was one of the weekend's most memorable encounters, and not just because of the hoodies. Wes is a pioneer in this space — Sasquatch Chronicles built one of the largest and most loyal audiences in the Bigfoot podcast world through authenticity, consistency, and a profound respect for the witnesses who trust the platform with their stories. Chuck and Wes sat down together for a real conversation — not a formal interview, just two people who love this subject comparing notes on what the journey actually looks like from the inside. They swapped hoodies. The fans who saw it loved every second of it, and rightly so. This wasn't two shows competing for the same audience — it was two people from the same community, doing the same work from different angles, acknowledging each other's place in it. Chuck is building the Sasquatch Syndicate project with everything that entails. Wes has already built something remarkable and was generous enough to share what that road looks like. The hoodie swap was a small gesture. What it represented was anything but.

Derek Randles of the Olympic Project is, at this point, a valued and familiar presence in the Syndicate's world. Conference conversations have grown into a genuine working relationship over the years, and the chance to spend time with Derek at IBC is always an opportunity to go deeper on the most rigorous field investigation operation in the Pacific Northwest. There is always something new happening in Derek's territory, and he is always worth listening to.

And anchoring the entire weekend, as he does every year with extraordinary grace, was the legendary Bob Gimlin — the man who rode into Bluff Creek on October 20th, 1967 alongside Roger Patterson and came back with 59 seconds of 16mm film that has never been conclusively debunked in over fifty years. Spending time in Bob Gimlin's orbit never loses its weight. The humility with which he carries one of the most extraordinary experiences in American outdoor history is genuinely moving, and the room goes appropriately quiet when he speaks. Some things don't get old. Bob Gimlin is one of them.

The Film Festival programming continued to showcase the best documentary work being produced in this field — advance screenings, new perspectives, production quality that climbs every year. The IBC Film Festival has become one of the genuinely exciting components of the weekend, and 2018 continued that trajectory.

We took somewhere north of a hundred photos over the course of the conference. Familiar faces from previous years, new listeners finding the booth for the first time, researchers and speakers and community members who make this event what it is. Every conversation, every story shared across the booth table, every person who said "I've been following you since the beginning" — we heard every one of you, and we are grateful for every one of you.

Sunday came too soon — and for us, it came even sooner than planned. Fires in the region forced an early departure before the final day's programming concluded, which was genuinely one of the harder calls we've had to make at a conference. Leaving the IBC before it's over is not something we do lightly. But the road home demanded it, and we said our goodbyes knowing we'd be back.

We always come back.

To Russell Acord and the entire IBC team — thank you for what you continue to build in Kennewick. Three years in, it only keeps getting better, and that doesn't happen without real dedication to this community. To Travis Walton, for being the best neighbor on the conference floor — it was a genuine pleasure to share the space with you. To Wes Germer, for the conversation and the hoodie — the Syndicate family appreciates you more than we probably said out loud. And to everyone who came through that booth over three days — you are the reason this is worth doing.

The Pacific Northwest is Sasquatch country. Kennewick, where the Columbia bends and the high desert meets the river, is as good a place as any to gather and remind each other of that fact.

We'll see you out there.

​​​By Chanelle Elaine, Chief Marketing Officer, Sasquatch Syndicate Inc.