BAKER CITY — A festival celebrating an elusive — and intriguing — creature is returning to Baker City this weekend.

The second Blue Mountain Bigfoot Festival is happening Aug. 11 and 12. The first was held in 2019.

The festival begins with a VIP dinner on Friday, Aug. 11, 6 p.m. at the Elks Lodge, 1896 Second St. Tickets are $50 and available through squatchamerica.com. The evening features special guests Todd Neiss and Michael Freeman.

Neiss, retired from the U.S. Army, founded the American Primate Conservancy and advocates for the formal recognition and protection of the species. Freeman, the son of the late Paul Freeman who captured the “Freeman Film” in the Tollgate area, is the author of the recently published book, “The Freeman Bigfoot Files.”

Joining these two researchers will be Scot Violette, founder of Squatch America, and Jeremy Scott, host of the nationally syndicated radio show “Into the Parabnormal.”

An exclusive overnight squatching trip with Squatch America will be raffled at this event, Violette said.

On Saturday, Aug. 12, the festival will be at Geiser-Pollman Park from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The day starts with the Squatch Trot 5K at 8 a.m. Entry is $20.

The festival officially opens at 10 a.m. with vendors, food, a scavenger hunt and more. Scheduled events include:

Music

The Sagebrush Swingers will play at 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Miss Blue Mountain Bigfoot Pageant

Begins at 1 p.m.; entry is $20. This is open to females who are 18 or older. Participants will wear camo, race to see who can set up a tent the quickest, perform their best Bigfoot call and give a statement on “Why I will be the best Miss Blue Mountain Bigfoot.”

The grand prize is a sash, crown and 50% of the entry fees. The runner-up receives 25% of the entry fees.

Radio

At 3:30 p.m., Jeremy Scott will go live with his show “Into the Parabnormal” with guests Todd Neiss, Scot Violette and Michael Freeman.

“He’s going to go live, nationwide, for that hour,” Violette said.

Bigfoot Calling Contest

Begins at noon. All are welcome to join — simply show up to participate.

Bigfoot Town Hall

Starting at 5 p.m., Scott will host a town hall to hear Bigfoot stories from locals. The panel includes Neiss, Freeman and Violette.

The second Blue Mountain Bigfoot Festival features a VIP dinner on Friday, Aug. 11, and an all-day festival in Baker City’s Geiser-Pollman on Saturday, Aug. 12.

For details and tickets, visit squatchamerica.com.