Cryptozoologists and paranormal enthusiasts alike can look forward to Oct. 11, after Chardon City Council approved a Cryptidcon event on Chardon Square during their March 13 meeting.
Cryptozoologists and paranormal enthusiasts alike can look forward to Oct. 11, after Chardon City Council approved a Cryptidcon event on Chardon Square during their March 13 meeting.
“Cryptids are creatures rumored to exist — fantasy, mythological creatures,” event host Jessy Harper explained, listing bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster as examples.
“We actually have some around here … we have the mothman, who was seen in West Virginia and southern Ohio,” Harper added. “We have Bessie, the lake monster, who is much like the Loch Ness monster here in Lake Erie.”
Other notable Ohio cryptids include the Kirtland melonheads and the Loveland frogman.
Harper, who also runs the Ohio Viking Festival, said her goal is to have a “spooky little festival” in October, the month of spooky things.
The event will be family friendly and will feature entertainment in the gazebo, guest authors and vendors selling “cool weird things,” she said.
There will be no need for any big tents, Harper said, noting she would like to use the Heritage House to give the authors a quiet meeting space and Short Court Street for food vendors.
“My goal is to not overstep the vendors who are already on the square. We want to boost their sales,” she said. “We don’t want to take away from their sales and take all their parking spots.”
The event will also be free, she added.
A similar event last year in Medina was a hit, with a few thousand visitors in their first year, Harper said.
Her viking festival sees between 7,000-10,000 people over three days, she added upon question from council.
“It should be something that goes over fairly well and fairly easy at that,” she said. “There’s nothing crazy happening, there’s no beer tent or alcohol.”
Council expressed enthusiasm for the event and unanimously voted to approve it.
