Studying the unexplained at Fayette County’s first UFO, Bigfoot, Paranormal expo
Christine Pocratsky
Expert Stan Gordon speaks about “Strange Encounters of Pennsylvania” at the First Annual Fayette County UFO, Bigfoot and Paranormal Expo held at Greater Connellsville Community Center on Saturday.
Christine Pocratsky
Expert Stan Gordon speaks about “Strange Encounters of Pennsylvania” at the First Annual Fayette County UFO, Bigfoot and Paranormal Expo held at Greater Connellsville Community Center on Saturday.
Christine Pocratsky
Randy Gowton of Mount Pleasant gives Bigfoot, Matthew Pirl, a high five during the first Fayette County UFO, Bigfoot and Paranormal Expo held at Greater Connellsville Community Center on Saturday.
Christine Pocratsky
David Dragosin, lead cryptozoologist from the Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society, speaks to guests as his sketches of Bigfoot are on display at the First Annual Fayette County UFO, Bigfoot and Paranormal Expo held at Greater Connellsville Community Center on Saturday.
In the five decades he’s been an investigator, Stan Gordon of Greensburg always looks for the rational explanation behind reports of UFOs and Bigfoot, including weather balloons, Chinese lanterns and drones.
But he told those attending the first Fayette County UFO, Bigfoot and Paranormal Expo on Saturday, “Every year, there are things you can’t explain and can’t dismiss.”
Gordon, a nationally known investigator and author who has appeared in documentaries, radio and television, served as keynote speaker at the Fayette County expo, presented by Project Talent Theatre Workshops in the Porter Theatre in the Greater Connellsville Community Center.
“I’m very happy with the turnout. We were expecting 40 to 50 people and we have about 70 and people are still coming in,” said Shirley J. Rosenberg, owner/production manager/promoter while Ann M. Nicholson is owner/director/marketing for Project Talent Theatre Workshops, which produces plays, summer camps, flash mobs and promotes events such as the expo.
Rosenberg gave an attendance report late Saturday morning for the expo that began at 10 a.m. and was slated to run through 8 p.m. with speakers, documentaries and a concert by singer/songwriter Walter Shrum of Uniiontown, whose CD titled “Tribute to the Stars of Bigfoot” honors leading Bigfoot enthusiasts.
Speakers also sold items such as books and DVDs while Matt Pirl greeted guests in a Bigfoot costume loaned to Project Talent by Daniel Cox of Artworks.
The expo proved a lot of fun but provided serious discussions on topics involving the mysterious and unexplained.
Gordon’s address mentioned several references to Fayette County, where he noted many sightings have been reported through the years, particularly in the Chestnut Ridge.
The sightings include an October 25, 1973 in the countryside near Uniontown when witnesses saw a glowing object in the sky that landed in a pasture and two Bigfoot creatures came out of the woods. In another Fayette County episode that took place in the mountains in 1974, a woman reported shooting a Bigfoot that she discovered at her backdoor and watching the creature disappear. These are two cases that also note the connection to UFO and Bigfoot sightings, giving rise to a theory, Gordon noted, that Bigfoot creatures could be inter-dimensional or alien.
Besides Gordon, other expo speakers included John Ventre , director of PA Mutual UFO Network; Fred Saluga, state director of the Mutual UFO Network of West Virginia; Diane and Jim Trick of the Goosebumps Paranormal Society in Allegheny County; and Dave Dragosin of the Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society.
Many of the speakers have appeared on television, including Ventre who has been on the Discovery Channel’s “UFOs Over Earth” and the History Channel’s “Hangar 1” as well as the Tricks who took part in a Fayette County segment last January in the Animal Planet series “Finding Bigfoot.”
People attending the expo included those who are intrigued by these television series.
“I watch ‘Ancient Aliens’ on the History Channel and it’s pretty good,” said Don Dolde of Connellsville, talking bout mysteries explored on the show, such as the statues on Easter Island.
Dolde said of the Fayette County expo, “So far, it’s pretty awesome. It’s really informative.”
Some attending had their own stories, such as Robert Swink Jr. of Normalville, who came to the expo with his son, Robert Swink III, and grandson Jacob Swink.
“My wife and I were camping in the early ’80s along the river between South Connellsville and Indian Head. We heard dogs carrying on and we found big footprints with toes and a little set behind them. The big footprint was 18 to 19 inches long. The little one was about 12 inches,” said Swink, who dismissed a notion the tracks belonged to a bear, saying, “I know bear tracks.”
Robert Swink III, who noted the family has also watched these types of television shows, was interested in Gordon’s notions that Bigfoot and UFOs could be related.
“It’s a new way of looking at it,” he said.
Ventre’s address mentioned UFO sightings that go back to ancient times and included reports of the unexplained by historical figures such as Alexander the Great in Central Asia in 329 B.C., and Christopher Columbus from the Santa Maria in the Atlantic Ocean in 1492.
Ventre noted, “Thirty percent of people experience a paranormal events, 14 percent say they’ve seen a UFO and 3 percent say they have been abducted.”
And yet…
Gordon commented, “Ninety-nine percent of cases are never in the news because people want no publicity.”
In an interview before their presentation, the Tricks said they have also conducted investigations in Fayette County.
“There’s so much history here with the French and Indian War,” said Jim Trick.
“It’s wonderful to live in an area with so much history,” said Diane Trick. “It’s ripe for investigations.”
Encouraged by the attendance at Saturday’s expo, Project Talent Theatre officials are also planning to offer conferences each season on a variety of subjects at the community center.
Rosenberger said a conspiracy theory symposium that will take place in March or April. Other conferences may include dream interpretation and angels.
Hoping to encourage more people to make use of the community center, Rosenberger said, “We want to bring all kinds of programming so all kinds of people are coming here.”
Information on upcoming conferences will be posted as they are scheduled on Project Talent’s website at www.projecttalenttheatreworkshops.com. More information on Saturday’s expo topics is also available at www.mufonpa.com, www.stangordon.info and www.goosebumpsparanormalsociety.weebly.com