REMER, Minn. — Just under 400 people live in the town of Remer, and one resident in particular is considered a celebrity.
“If you walk off-road around here, the woods are deep and dark. If you walk 100 meters, you can no longer see where your car is,” says Marc Ruyak.
The town of Remer is surrounded by hundreds of hectares of forest and swamps. A perfect place for squirrels, deer, bears and maybe even Bigfoot.
“This city was founded in the early 20th century and observations have been made up to that time,” says Ruyak.
In 2009, a trail camera near Remer captured what appeared to be a real sasquatch. Fake or not, it gave lifelong resident Ruyak an idea.
“I trademarked the city as the ‘Home of Bigfoot.’ And we started to take away the stigma.”
About half the city was excited about the idea, the other half thought it was a bit hairy. But in 2016, Remer’s very first Bigfoot Days attracted thousands of people. After that, Bigfoot was everywhere. Bigfoot cutouts can be found on almost every street corner.
There is a gas station called Bigfoot Gas and Gifts. And other companies have embraced the beast. Even the Woodsman Café sells Bigfoot burgers and Bigfoot hashbrowns.
“Trust me, the Bigfoot hashbrowns? Bigfoot would be pleased with it. It’s a big meal,” Ruyak said.
But he really has his footprint on Bigfoot Days. That’s when they have the Bigfoot Olympics, Bigfoot Bar B Que and perhaps the most important event: storytelling time. Hundreds of people have an open mic to talk about their experiences with Sasquatch himself.
“We’ve had people from 70 to 80 years old who have never told their story in their entire lives. They stood up and started crying when they told this story that happened when they were 13 years old and it scared them to death,” he says . Marc.
The city’s sightings, folklore and even mysticism have also attracted Bigfoot research teams to Remer.
“I was just talking to a gentleman before you guys came who told me about his sighting last year,” Abe Del Rio said.
Twenty-four years ago, Abe founded the Minnesota Bigfoot Research Team. He enjoyed studying primates and was inspired by the famous 1967 Patterson images captured in California.
“We bring our equipment, night vision, thermal imaging cameras and long-range hearing aids, we go out and use every technique to try to get communication with these creatures,” Del Rio said. “Remer has everything a Bigfoot needs. Food, shelter and habitat, it’s the perfect location.”
Del Rio says there are about five or six sightings near the city each year. That’s why he keeps coming back, but he’s never seen one up close.
Ruyak is more skeptical and not entirely religious. But he likes what the legend is doing for his city. Guestbooks show people coming from all over the world to do research. Real or not, Bigfoot puts Remer on the map.
“If you’re interested in Bigfoot around the world, there’s one place you have to go and that’s Remer, MN,” Ruyak said.
Bigfoot Days is on July 5th and 6th in Remer. During this year’s celebration, the city will erect a 23-foot-tall Bigfoot statue on the edge of town.
