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S2 E11 Sabine Blais - Eastern Canada Sasquatch Organization
0 Playsin 2 days
This week i had the pleasure to talk to Sabine Blaise. Sabine is the owner/organiser of the Eastern Canada Sasquatch Organization, Second Annual Gatineau-Ottawa Sasquatch Conference 2026
Sabine has always been interested in the Sasquatch from a very early age, along with the paranormal also.
From hearing knocks and whoops in the Gatineau Hills, to noticing shadows, and smelling strange odors, Sabine has encountered many strange events while out camping.
We discussed the distinct differences between sasquatch and bear evidence and does the Sasquatch have supernatural powers.
Sabine then explained how the Gatineau-Ottawa Sasquatch Conference came about, and what she has planned for the second edition this year.
Recommended
Transcript
Intro
Introduction to Sabine Blaise and Her Sasquatch Interests
00:00:12
Lee Hatfield
Hello everybody and welcome to the latest episode of SEPA Paranormal Chronicles. Tonight I am more than delighted to have somebody that is extremely local to me.
00:00:23
Lee Hatfield
She's literally a couple of mile that away in a little place called Gatineau in Quebec and her name is Sabine Blaise. Sabine, welcome.
00:00:35
Sabine
Thank you. Thanks for having me.
00:00:38
Lee Hatfield
yes mike You're most welcome. And I think literally we could shout to each other. i think we're actually that close.
00:00:44
Sabine
We're just across the river.
00:00:45
Lee Hatfield
look Yeah. So I'll go out my balcony and wave and you'll probably see me.
00:00:49
Sabine
Awesome. Yeah.
00:00:52
Lee Hatfield
So Sabine is the owner, let's call it the owner for want of an easy expression, of the Eastern Canada Sasquatch Organization.
00:01:06
Lee Hatfield
But before we get into that, Sabine, what I'd like you to do is tell me, how did you first get into the interest of cryptids and Sasquatch?
00:01:20
Sabine
For me, this goes back from childhood, actually. Since I was a kid, I was always interested in Sasquatch. I also had an interest in the paranormal and ghosts, and I would read books a lot and watch documentaries.
00:01:34
Sabine
I watched the episode of In Search Of about Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and I would watch other documentaries. I was really into...
00:01:48
Sabine
I watched Unsolved Mysteries also later on. I've read a lot of books on the subject of Bigfoot Sasquatch and it always intrigued me. I was always a believer since i was I was very young. And as I grew older, I kind of moved on.
00:02:06
Sabine
and it's only later on and later on in life, actually in my 50s, since just a couple of years ago, I kind of rekindled that interest.
Investigations and Encounters in Gatineau Hills
00:02:17
Sabine
What's also got me back into this sa the subject of Sasquatch is my energy work also. I have an interest in in in the supernatural, but also energy work.
00:02:33
Sabine
So that kind of ties in with the intuition stuff. And I felt like it's just kind of rekindled and I felt like reconnecting with this. So it's kind of like... going around and doing a circle and going back to the, going back to my roots a little bit.
00:02:51
Lee Hatfield
So are you one of these individuals that's actually been on investigations? and yeah You've been out into the sticks and actually tried to like find and record and document natural activity.
00:03:04
Sabine
Yes. Yes, I've been doing this for just about two years now.
00:03:07
Lee Hatfield
so
00:03:21
Sabine
I've walked lot a lot of different trails. I've been to different different areas in the region, in the Utaway region, not just in Gatineau Park, but also I've been to... a the wildlife reserve further out east here and further north also in the vicinity of Gracefield. So I've been i've been around in different areas.
00:03:42
Sabine
And I've camped twice last fall as well. I spent the night Gatineau Park, which was really interesting when you're out there during the night. So Yeah, I've observed a lot of interesting things and I just document and collect data and just I just save things a lot. Take lots of pictures and videos and I just use my senses and also my my sixth sense. You know, I trust my gut as well.
00:04:10
Lee Hatfield
So would you say that you've ever had any genuine encounters per se?
00:04:19
Sabine
Well, not visual encounters. I have not had any sightings as of yet, but i've had I think I've had some indirect encounters in certain terms of and hearing wood knocks.
00:04:35
Sabine
I've heard some whoops, some strange owl calls in the middle of the day. I've smelled some unusual odors while I was out on some of the trails that were not there before.
00:04:49
Sabine
So there were some signs, you know, indirect signs. I've also noticed some anomalies. When I go out, I always take a lot of pictures and videos. And after when I get home, I just review footage and I re review pictures a little bit more carefully. And I've noticed a couple of a couple of odd things.
00:05:08
Sabine
So definitely signs.
00:05:08
Lee Hatfield
to tell us about okay Do tell us about these anomalies?
00:05:13
Sabine
Well, yes. In one of my videos, I visited a certain location in Gatineau Park twice, which was up on a mountain.
00:05:23
Sabine
And the second time i went there, I was going back to follow up after my first visit. And when I got home, I felt, well, okay, not much happened. It was just a nice hike and 10 days later, i was going through some videos and in one of my videos, like up on a tree line, you can clearly see a big round shape in the trees. It looks like a head, like a large head that was not there. The previous hike, it wasn't there because I had comparison photos and videos of the location.
00:05:59
Sabine
And even when I was there six minutes before, you can see like maybe a bit of a shadow between the trees. But six minutes later, I stopped and I took a video and I panned around in the video and you can clearly see this this dark shape. It looks like a round, big round head that wasn't there before.
00:06:18
Sabine
And I thought that was rather strange. And if you zoom into the head, you can almost see a face. So I'll just leave it at that. But I have that saved and that was two years ago in the summer of 2024.
00:06:32
Sabine
And it's actually this video, this this this didn't happen far from here.
00:06:33
Lee Hatfield
so you
00:06:39
Lee Hatfield
So you're definitely giving me the yeah the idea not to go into the Gatineau Hills.
00:06:45
Sabine
Well, go there, but, you know, go with the awareness, you know, and just pay attention to signs.
00:06:51
Lee Hatfield
Yeah.
00:06:53
Sabine
And I don't think that there's any... danger to that. Like my first camping trip was alone. Actually, I camped solo in Gatineau Park and I spent the night there and you can really hear the footsteps and you can hear the sounds and you can hear trees cracking like loud cracks.
00:07:14
Sabine
It is scary. I'm not going to lie. I was kind of scared, but it's, I don't sense any danger. It's more intimidating.
00:07:25
Sabine
I don't feel like I'm going to be attacked by them. My biggest concern when I'm camping alone or I'm camping in general is bears. You know, the I don't think those were bears at all because bears don't don't stomp around on two legs and walk confidently in the dark.
00:07:41
Lee Hatfield
Yeah. Yeah.
00:07:45
Lee Hatfield
just
00:07:45
Sabine
You can hear like clear bipedal footsteps in pitch black darkness. Bears don't sound like that. So it's it's very interesting, but it's also to pay attention and and not, you know, it's hard not to get scared.
00:08:04
Sabine
I'll be very honest, I was scared. The second trip also, I was scared too, because the noises came back. As soon after dark, I find a time when the activity starts is usually immediately at dusk.
00:08:19
Sabine
As soon as the sun is down and it's dark enough, like this was in the fall, so around eight o'clock in the evening, seems to be the time where they're very active. You know, the night starts, that's when they come out and they were super active and they seem very curious because they were approaching my campsite. They were actually coming towards me.
00:08:38
Sabine
And by 10 o'clock at night, they're gone. It's like they move on they go about their business. So that's my experience. I can't speak for other researchers and other people who've had experiences like that.
00:08:52
Sabine
But both times I was out at night,
00:08:53
Lee Hatfield
Yeah.
00:08:55
Sabine
At night, they're definitely more active than during the day. And it's early in the evening. That's where the there's most of the activity. As soon as it's dark, they come out and the the they come towards you. You don't have to go and chase them.
00:09:10
Sabine
Or you see some people, they go out there and they're looking for Bigfoot or hunting for Bigfoot. You know, the hunters. I find you go out there and you let them come to you.
00:09:22
Sabine
That seems to be the that seems to be but my approach and that seems to be what works for me because I find when when I'm out there, they seem to these seem to come to come close and they watch you even if you don't know they're they're there, they're watching you.
00:09:23
Lee Hatfield
Yeah.
00:09:23
Lee Hatfield
I kind of. Yeah.
00:09:41
Sabine
And I think sometimes
Community and Evidence of Sasquatch
00:09:43
Sabine
when you're hiking, they can even follow you. They they check your movements. They're very, very observant and curious.
00:09:52
Lee Hatfield
I can kind of relate to yeah the paranormal side of that because i if I go on investigation, I kind of go go off by myself and go into the quiet areas and then see what comes to me, so to speak.
00:10:09
Lee Hatfield
But for people that don't know the Gatineau Hills, yeah obviously I can see them from my balcony and all you see is vast hills and vast trees.
00:10:19
Sabine
Yes.
00:10:20
Lee Hatfield
With an approximate figure, how big would you say the Gatineau Hills are approximately?
00:10:30
Sabine
Oh, I forget the exact surface of the Gatineau Hills. Like the entire region is is very big. We're talking Gatineau Hills. It starts from basically the Ottawa River.
00:10:45
Sabine
And if you go north, you're going to Maniwaki. which two hour two- hourur drive from here. So the Gatineau Hills is actually very vast. And then it goes from the wildlife reserve at the Papineau-la-Belle, which is east of here. And then it extends all the way to the Pontiac region.
00:11:06
Sabine
The Pontiac region meaning and around Wolf Lake, Masham area, Wakefield, like it's it's a big region here, the Gatineau Hills. It's it's actually, there's a lot of forest here.
00:11:20
Sabine
So I don't have the exact numbers, but we're looking at pretty much like it's it's it's quite big. You could drive two hours in the Gatineau Hills and you're still in it pretty much.
00:11:27
Lee Hatfield
Yeah.
00:11:30
Lee Hatfield
Yeah. i I had the opportunity to go flying with a friend of mine who he had a small Cessna aircraft at the Rockcliffe airport.
00:11:41
Sabine
Oh, nice.
00:11:43
Lee Hatfield
And we actually flew over the Gatineau Hills. And like you say, it is a vast, vast area.
00:11:50
Sabine
It's very big. Yes.
00:11:52
Sabine
Yeah. It's fast.
00:11:53
Lee Hatfield
Yeah. so for
00:11:55
Lee Hatfield
yeah So for us to say there's nothing there, it's it's basically impossible for us to say that because Canada is big in it's in itself.
00:12:02
Sabine
Yeah.
00:12:07
Lee Hatfield
yeah I'm from England and England will fit into Saskatchewan by itself. yeah That's that that's how big how big Canada is.
00:12:11
Sabine
Yeah. so Yes. Yep.
00:12:15
Lee Hatfield
So for for people to say that there's not nothing there,
00:12:15
Sabine
yep
00:12:20
Sabine
That's impossible.
00:12:21
Lee Hatfield
Yeah, exactly.
00:12:21
Sabine
No.
00:12:22
Lee Hatfield
good So during your time when you first started getting interested, did you speak to other the researchers, investigators, whatever you want to call them, and have they had like interactions locally to where you and I currently live?
00:12:43
Sabine
Yes. Yes, Ashley, two of them. i won't name name any I won't name any names because I don't know if they would want to be named.
00:12:52
Lee Hatfield
That's fine.
00:12:52
Sabine
But a friend of mine who lives in Ottawa, and she has she has she had she has she's had some experiences since childhood. Also, she told me that she she was out with her with a family member and she I can't remember she had an actual sighting, but I know she's very, very in tune with them.
00:13:12
Sabine
And I know another person also who who's had some encounters with them. So here in the region, there are people who who have who have some experiences with him with them, have had or still have.
00:13:29
Sabine
So I'm not alone here. I'm actually newer. Some other experiencers, there are more experiencers than researchers. When I say experiencers, it's people who have more personal experiences as opposed to openly research. it's It's kind of a more personal more personal thing.
00:13:51
Sabine
There are a couple of us here. So when you come to the conference, you will meet them.
00:13:56
Lee Hatfield
So,
00:13:59
Lee Hatfield
and yes, I've already bought my tickets.
00:14:02
Sabine
Yes. Yes.
00:14:04
Lee Hatfield
And we'll come on to when the conference is a little bit later.
00:14:06
Sabine
Yes.
00:14:07
Lee Hatfield
But if you're talking to an individual and they're telling you that they've had a sighting of a Sasquatch, a Bigfoot, or an unknown entity, do you have like checklist of like concrete evidence. So if they mentioned this, you can kind of do the do the checklist to make this story that they're telling you credible.
00:14:38
Lee Hatfield
Are there key points that you will always go to?
00:14:42
Sabine
Well, I don't actually have a checklist, but there are certain things that I can definitely ask and and and kind of verify. For example, well, the nature of the story, the type of evidence that they're showing, whether it's whether it's an anecdote or what they're describing, the way they describe it.
00:15:08
Sabine
There's some some ways of telling also is, well, I know some researchers, they will have, let's say a person's had an actual sighting and it's something very substantial that could be substantial.
00:15:23
Sabine
Some people will will get the witness to sign an affidavit. It has been done. Some researchers do that. the They have the the witnesses sign an affidavit because if you've seen something,
00:15:36
Sabine
Like you've seen a Sasquatch, that's a very, very emotional, almost traumatic experiences. it's It's a very strong, intense experience. That's something that if you know you're telling the truth, then you should be able to say that under oath or signing a legal document. So that would be one way of doing it.
00:15:56
Sabine
Other ways is simply by what the person describes, if they're what they're saying makes sense or not. If they they have something like a footprint, footprints also, you can kind of read the footprint and see whether it's whether it seems legitimate or not.
00:16:14
Sabine
some Some footprints will look like a bear. You know, bears, they step in their own tracks. So sometimes it can look like a gigantic human foot when it's actually two tracks that are superimposed.
00:16:28
Sabine
So that's a common that's a common confusion with some people. the They think they see a human-like footprint. It's actually a bear. So bear and Sasquatch are sometimes difficult to tear up to to tell apart.
00:16:42
Sabine
So those are just little things.
00:16:43
Lee Hatfield
Yeah. Sure. Yeah. and
00:16:45
Sabine
Sasquatches have dermal ridges underneath their feet. It's like a fingerprint, but underneath their feet. So if you take a cast of the footprint, that's something that you could you could identify.
00:16:58
Sabine
Bears do not have dermal ranges. So that's another example. there's some There's some little things that you can look for.
00:17:07
Lee Hatfield
Yeah. And, you know, I'm not an expert on bears at all. Yeah, I think I've only seen two in my entire life. And I think one of them was a zoo. But one thing about bears is that they don't tend to be bipedal by nature.
00:17:27
Lee Hatfield
They tend to walk on all fours. So to see something that's walking upright if it If it's doing it for any period of time, you pretty much know damn well that it's not going to be a bear.
00:17:42
Sabine
Exactly. Yeah. Bears can stand up for, bears can stand up and walk a couple of steps on two legs on their back feet. Like they tend to stand on their hind, their, their back legs because they, they want to sniff, you know, bears have a very sensitive sense of smell. So they need to sniff to, to, to understand what, what, what's going on and get information.
00:18:06
Sabine
But other than that, you know, for, you won't see a bear, walking, marching on two legs, you know, with the gait of a human and the arms swinging, you know, you're not going to see a bear do that.
00:18:19
Lee Hatfield
Exactly. Yeah.
00:18:21
Sabine
That's, there's a difference, you know?
00:18:21
Lee Hatfield
Yeah. Yeah.
00:18:23
Sabine
So, and also we don't know for sure, but some people say, have seen the Sasquatch, they can crouch down.
00:18:23
Lee Hatfield
yeah and
00:18:35
Sabine
So that can also add to the confusion. They can sit down, they can crouch down and they can crawl on the ground too. for whatever reason, they can do that. So.
00:18:47
Lee Hatfield
One thing that I find extremely annoying is when you you watch some of these TV shows and some of them you know damn well that what they're recording is fake.
Challenges in Capturing Sasquatch and Theories
00:19:00
Sabine
Yep. Oh yeah.
00:19:00
Lee Hatfield
You know damn well just by looking at it.
00:19:03
Lee Hatfield
But what kind of annoys me a little bit in this day and age... you've got so much technology, like, yeah, we've got cameras in our pockets and stuff like that.
00:19:13
Sabine
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. okay
00:19:15
Lee Hatfield
The quality is so good on some of these cameras, but a lot of these so-called evidence is so blurry Now, yeah it's either you pick your phone up and you set your phone to blurry, which I don't think you could possibly do.
00:19:34
Lee Hatfield
And that's one of the things that yeah quick, I can hear something, set your phone to blurry.
00:19:35
Sabine
so
00:19:40
Lee Hatfield
But there's also a theory that I've heard that if these beings are of kind of a a supernatural nature,
00:19:53
Sabine
okay
00:19:54
Lee Hatfield
Like being in that they have the ability to interrupt camera signals, so to speak, so that they are so you you are unable to take a decent picture.
00:20:09
Lee Hatfield
What's your theory on that?
00:20:11
Sabine
I believe it. I believe it. And people who talk about the supernatural more from an energy psychic standpoint...
00:20:22
Sabine
and that their energy can can set off certain technologies, like for example, cameras. I believe it. It wouldn't surprise me one bit.
00:20:33
Sabine
Whether it's cameras or videos or trail cams. I know for me personally, I don't use trail cams. When I go out, I don't i have trail cams. I've never used them.
00:20:45
Sabine
Because first of all, I feel I've heard so many stories of people putting up trail cams and the image is either blurry or doesn't work. Or apparently they they may break them because they don't like cameras.
00:20:59
Sabine
And also I feel like, you know, I don't feel compelled to use them. But terms of like blurry pictures and blurry videos, and it could be their energy that sets it off. I believe it because...
00:21:14
Sabine
As an intuitive, because I am an intuitive, I've been a Reiki master for over 20 years, so I have a lot of background with doing energy work of all kinds.
00:21:24
Sabine
They have a strong energy. you know They do. I believe that they too intuitive beings. I sense that they can see right through you. They read you.
00:21:37
Sabine
You know, the the ways, you know, like, it's the read energy and stuff like that. They do the same to us, which is why they're very, they're so observant and they watch us so much. They're not just watching us appearance-wise. They're also gauging our energy and getting a feel of us.
00:21:55
Sabine
So do do I believe they are telepathic? I'll say yes. I will say yes. I know a lot of people have said it. I know i have some friends who...
00:22:07
Sabine
have encountered them who say they're telepathic. I know some some other people also who speak at my conference who are in indigenous, who are very in tune with them, and they say the same thing.
00:22:18
Sabine
And I believe it, that they can they can sense your intent your intentions, they can read your thoughts.
00:22:20
Lee Hatfield
Yeah.
00:22:26
Sabine
Their presence is, their their energy, their presence can be very overwhelming. which adds to the fear factor because they're they're first of all, they're big.
00:22:36
Sabine
The noises they make, especially when you're out at night, you're in a forest in the dark, it's already a little bit spooky and then you got these noises, these loud cracks and these footsteps coming towards you.
00:22:48
Sabine
It adds to the overwhelming feeling. So for them to disrupt electronic equipment, yeah, I believe it.
00:22:58
Sabine
I think they can do that.
00:23:00
Lee Hatfield
Yeah, because I was talking to one individual and he actually had a trail cam damaged by something unknown.
00:23:12
Sabine
Mm-hmm. Yes.
00:23:13
Lee Hatfield
And he actually believes that they are able to sense that it's electrical equipment.
00:23:21
Sabine
yes
00:23:22
Lee Hatfield
Or they can smell kind of like the technology, like the plastic or stuff like that. So they kind of know what it is. So it is deliberate damage rather than an accidental walking past and knocking it with a knee or an elbow kind of thing.
00:23:41
Sabine
Yep. I believe that. I believe that. And that's the reason why I'm very hesitant about using trail cams because I feel it's almost like, it's almost like me putting a camera right in front of your home and I'm just spying on your kids.
00:23:58
Sabine
You know, it's almost like an invasion of privacy, you know?
00:24:00
Lee Hatfield
Yeah, yeah. yes
00:24:04
Sabine
So I'm not comfortable doing that, you know, because for me, And I know there's a lot of differing views about what they are and what they are not and their origins. And you're going to hear a multitude of things from my perspective and based on on the interaction and the energy and the intelligence that they're displaying out there.
00:24:28
Sabine
Like I consider them people.
00:24:32
Sabine
So as people, I feel... They have a, there's a certain, I feel a very strong respect for them, you know, respect for the environment. And when I go into the woods, I feel like I'm going into their home.
00:24:32
Lee Hatfield
Yeah.
00:24:46
Sabine
That's their, that's their environment. I'm going into their space, their home. So I'm a little bit mindful about, you know, things like putting up cameras or leaving things or, you know, I try to be as respectful as possible.
00:25:04
Lee Hatfield
And exactly, because yeah if you invite me around to your house, you don't expect me to just come in stomping in with my boots on and making a mess and and yeah putting cameras up and stuff like that.
00:25:20
Lee Hatfield
So you don't expect me to do it in your home. So you've got to give the same kind of forethought to where they live and give them the same kind of respect.
00:25:30
Sabine
yeah Exactly. Exactly. It's, it's, it's kind of a, it's, it's common sense, right? And it goes with the the mentality of my organization basically is, is just peaceful. It's the peaceful approach. It's non-aggressive.
00:25:45
Sabine
No guns, obviously no kill, you know, some, I know some, some people out there, they seem to have this idea that they want to shoot one and, you know, that's going to end the debate. And you see some of them, they go out there and it's like a hunt, you know.
00:26:00
Lee Hatfield
yeah
00:26:02
Sabine
I don't do that because, first of all, it's not necessary, but it's also a lack of respect, you know, especially if we're dealing with, if they are people, like I strongly feel they are, you know, it's an undocumented tribe.
00:26:16
Sabine
They're hominids, but they're they're they're still a people. They deserve a certain amount of respect, you know. And I have not seen any sign that they're going to simply attack you or dismember you or, you know what I mean? Like, otherwise people out there would have been, would have turned up dead or missing a lot more.
Formation of the Eastern Canada Sasquatch Organization
00:26:35
Lee Hatfield
For sure, for sure.
00:26:36
Sabine
so
00:26:38
Lee Hatfield
So how did the Eastern Canada Sasquatch organisation come about?
00:26:46
Sabine
Oh, it just came about when when I kind of rekindled with the Sasquatch. It was all is was all so simultaneous. Everything just happened all at once. So the ECSO exists since I started this in February 2024. So it's been two years.
00:27:03
Sabine
And soon after I started the Quebec organization, which is a bit of an offshoot of what I'm doing because I wanted something that focuses on Quebec.
00:27:14
Sabine
and the French language because here in Quebec there is no, to my knowledge anyways, there was no definite organization that that represents and focuses on the Sasquatch like here in Quebec, you know.
00:27:30
Sabine
So i felt I felt like this was kind of lacking, like here in the eastern part of Canada in general, there isn't there is some, some, some talk about Sasquatch and there are some groups here, some organization, but everything is so, obscure, you know, you don't know them. You don't hear much about them. Uh, the Bigfoot groups here, it's not, it's not, it's not as established as it is out West. For example, in BC, the Bigfoot culture is very established over there here. Not as much, you know, especially Ontario and Quebec, you don't,
00:28:06
Sabine
You don't see that very much. So that's that's why I decided to start my my little organization. It's bilingual because I felt the need to produce some some information in French.
00:28:21
Sabine
So I do have blogs and I post. I post regularly as often as I can. Just to mark a presence here, especially here in the National Capital Region, we're in Ottawa, where there's basically nothing, you know,
00:28:35
Sabine
So something is better than nothing.
00:28:35
Lee Hatfield
Yeah, exactly.
00:28:36
Lee Hatfield
Yeah. yeah you Exactly. And do you find that yeah the lack of official groups or organisations, do you think that might be due due to something yeah like we're a lot flatter over here than what they are the in the West Coast and in the US? s Do you think that might be something to do with it?
00:29:00
Lee Hatfield
not yeah Not as many mountainous regions?
00:29:04
Sabine
Yeah. Yes and no. and That's a good question, actually. Because here we do have some mountainous region, of course, not like out west, like in the west coast, it's a lot more pronounced. That's true.
00:29:20
Sabine
The mountains are a lot bigger over there. So I guess the difference in terrain would make a difference for sure.
00:29:27
Sabine
I think it has to do with the history, you know,
00:29:28
Lee Hatfield
Yeah, so don't.
00:29:28
Lee Hatfield
so don't
00:29:33
Sabine
the history the the history of of Bigfoot Sasquatch that started in California. Mind you, there they have a lot of mountains and and everything, but there is also the logging industry over there, which is kind of what what started this because the loggers started noticing footprints and they noticed their machines were being broken and damaged and that's how you know the whole the whole thing started and then it it kind of blew up and ended up in In BC also, there's a lot of awareness.
00:30:09
Sabine
I think it has also to do with the history of the native the native culture. I think in BC, like I have books on on the different native tribes and how they interacted with with the Sasquatch and the whole legends and stories and accounts also.
00:30:15
Lee Hatfield
Yeah.
00:30:30
Sabine
there's a lot of that coming from out West and there seems to be a lot more, uh, than here for some reason. I don't know if it's the Pacific climate that means there's more Sasquatch over there, or there's just more, you know, because the forest, well, the forest were a lot bigger. The trees are bigger, the more ancient forest. It's like the rainforest over there.
00:30:51
Sabine
So maybe that's why.
00:30:51
Lee Hatfield
Yeah, for sure.
00:30:54
Lee Hatfield
Yeah. And well one point to note is you started ECSO in February 2024. We started SEPA in February of 2024.
00:31:10
Sabine
Wow.
00:31:11
Lee Hatfield
But i only heard i only i only heard about but eyes now How long have we been in touch? Three or four months? But it's weird, yeah.
00:31:19
Sabine
It's true,
00:31:21
Lee Hatfield
It's really weird. So you decided to do a conference in 2025. How did that come about?
Organizing the Sasquatch Conference
00:31:29
Sabine
The conference, the idea for the conference, actually, I was planning this the same year I started the organization, which is in 2024.
00:31:40
Sabine
I wanted to start an event because I felt like I knew different researchers and experiencers in Ontario and Quebec. And we've been talking about, you know, I kind of floated the idea around about organizing a conference and the response was like, yes, we should do this.
00:31:59
Sabine
The response was positive. There was an interest because like I see here in the national capital region, we've never had a Bigfoot event. There's very, if not, Not a lot of activity in that sense.
00:32:12
Sabine
So I knew I wanted to start this conference. So I was I started planning this like soon after the the first year that was already in the works for me. It became more, i think it was, when did I decide to actually do this? I think it was in the summer or in the fall of 2024. That's when I officially, you know, started talking more to people about doing this and asking around, we know who wants to be a speaker. And I got like a lot of people right away.
00:32:44
Sabine
So the idea was, was almost from the get go. I knew that, you know, we need an event here because there are so many of us who never met. We didn't know each other.
00:32:57
Sabine
so, and there's like people from all over Ontario, all the way from Niagara to Northern Ontario to Eastern Ontario here. And in Quebec also Northern Quebec, uh, the far Eastern part of Quebec, we're like scattered all over the place. So,
00:33:15
Sabine
So we had our first event last year and it went pretty well. It's a small event where there's not a lot of people and it was fine because a lot of us actually met for the first time, which was incredible.
00:33:26
Sabine
So it was a really good experience that way.
00:33:26
Lee Hatfield
Yeah.
00:33:28
Sabine
It's just, it's just networking.
00:33:31
Lee Hatfield
Sure. And it was successful enough that this year, we have edition number two.
00:33:40
Sabine
Yes. Yes. And, Yeah, and this year it's going to be a two-day event. Last year was one day because I felt like that was enough for us to to meet.
00:33:53
Sabine
And everybody gave their presentations and it was it was very compelling. Some of my speakers ran out of time because they had so much content. So this year it's a two-day event.
00:34:06
Sabine
Some speakers are going to have more speaking time. i have more speakers compared to last year. got some new people on board. So it is getting bigger. And we'll see here it goes.
00:34:19
Sabine
But it's building.
00:34:19
Lee Hatfield
so So
00:34:21
Sabine
I think it's going to be a buildup.
00:34:24
Lee Hatfield
good yeah for somebody that's not been to one before, like me, yeah I've been to Comic Con conventions, so I know what they're like. But for a new person coming to the Gatineau Ottawa Sasquatch conference, what can I expect to occur?
00:34:39
Sabine
Yes.
00:34:43
Lee Hatfield
take yeah to occur
00:34:46
Sabine
and What you can expect is, first of all, is speakers all day, every day. The speakers, as soon as the conference starts, well, we have an opening ceremony.
00:34:58
Sabine
And then we we start off with the first speaker and it's just back to back pretty much. It's all the speakers giving their presentations. We have vendors. There's going to be some some vendor booths, people selling their merchandise, et cetera.
00:35:14
Sabine
There is also going to be a draw. That's something new that I'm doing this year. I'm going to be selling tickets for a 50-50 draw and for some Bigfoot merchandise.
00:35:29
Sabine
At the end of the first day, it's not determined yet, but I'm i'm planning either we go for a hike Somewhere Gatineau Park.
00:35:39
Sabine
Or we just go to a local pub nearby, probably in Chelsea or somewhere. We'll just, so we can, continue yeah.
00:35:45
Lee Hatfield
I like that idea.
00:35:48
Sabine
We go to a local pub and just go chill out and continue the conversations because there's so much discussion. There's so much conversation. Last year, the the mood of the conference was kind of rushed. I felt like I had to rush things along because our time was limited.
00:36:06
Sabine
And there was a lot of a lot of mingling, a lot of speaking, a lot of talking. People needed time to bond. Like I say, some some speakers ran out of time. I had to yank them off, you know, so to to give time for the next speaker. So the pace was... That's why this year is going to be much more relaxed and there's going to be time for that, you know.
00:36:28
Sabine
And then the Sunday we're going to continue and it's going to be more speakers. And I'll see if I can add in some more, some more, some more things, maybe a musician or even another speaker.
00:36:41
Sabine
I have some some room, so I'm kind of seeing I don't want to cram the event too much. So it gets too crowded and too busy because last year was just too much.
00:36:50
Sabine
But this year, there's going to be a lot more time to to to do stuff.
00:36:55
Lee Hatfield
So without giving the game away, how many speakers do you have approximately?
00:37:02
Sabine
Right now I have about 10 speakers, nine or 10 speakers.
00:37:08
Sabine
So that's a spread throughout two days. So I may have room for an extra speaker, so I'll see how it goes and without filling up the schedule too much.
00:37:14
Lee Hatfield
Right.
00:37:20
Sabine
But that's so far, I have about 10 people in total.
00:37:24
Lee Hatfield
Okay, that's, that's pretty good. So
00:37:25
Sabine
it's a good's a good lineup.
00:37:27
Lee Hatfield
oh
00:37:27
Sabine
I have some very good speakers.
00:37:28
Sabine
I'm selective about who I...
00:37:29
Lee Hatfield
looking forward to it, definitely looking forward to it.
00:37:31
Lee Hatfield
So let's get the details. Where is it? When is it? And where can you buy tickets, etc, etc?
00:37:57
Sabine
understanding and knowing the Sasquatches, you need to kind of tap into the native culture, that the cultural background. Since indigenous indigenous people, they've been here for thousands and thousands of years. So they've probably had a lot more encounters that are not written down or documented or recorded anywhere.
00:38:18
Sabine
So there's a lot of stories, a lot of things, a lot of, it's very interesting.
00:38:24
Lee Hatfield
I can say I'm looking forward to it. So I'm not quite sure if you heard my last question because it did freeze a little bit. I didn't hear at this end. So if you can tell us where it is and when and when it is, please.
00:38:36
Sabine
Oh, the conference is going to be on the weekend of August 15th and 16th. And it's going to be held at the log cabin here in Gatineau.
00:38:47
Sabine
The address is 331 Boulevard de la Cité des Jeunes. It's near the CEGEP in Hull. Those of us who know the region have roughly an idea.
00:38:56
Lee Hatfield
OK.
00:38:58
Sabine
Boulevard de la Cité des Jeunes, there is a heritage college. And then there's the Sant'Esteco, and then there's the log cabin. And after that, there's the CEGEP. There's a whole bunch of schools and colleges side by side.
00:39:10
Sabine
so yeah, it's very easy access, free parking.
00:39:12
Lee Hatfield
OK.
00:39:16
Lee Hatfield
And is a ticket still available?
00:39:18
Sabine
Absolutely, yeah, the tickets are still available. You can either buy tickets on eventbrite.com, just search the event. Or you can send me an email at ecsobigfoot at gmail.com.
00:39:32
Sabine
Or you can just show up at the door. People can just show up at the door.
00:39:37
Lee Hatfield
Perfect.
00:39:37
Sabine
And if you want admission at the door, that's fine.
00:39:41
Lee Hatfield
Yeah, I was about to ask you where can they find you, but I think you've just answered that question.
00:39:48
Sabine
Yes, well.
00:39:49
Lee Hatfield
yeah
00:39:50
Sabine
Yeah, I have a blog. I have blogs on the internet on Blogger. So one of my blogs is ecso-bigfoot.blogspot.com.
00:40:02
Sabine
That's one of them. I also have a group on Facebook. People can just search Eastern Canada Sasquatch Organization. and And I also have a page. And there's a page for Quebec also, Organisations Sasquatch Quebec. You can just search that and you can join and follow.
00:40:21
Lee Hatfield
That's great. So apart from addition to have the Gatano Ottawa Sasquatch Conference. Have you got anything else lined up here? Are you already planning for the third year?
00:40:34
Sabine
Yes. I always wait for the next year to see how things go. And that tells me what to do for the third year, which is why this year I decided to add a second day. Because after the first year, was like, this is crazy. We need two days. So we have more time to, you know, to talk and elaborate and exchange information.
00:40:57
Sabine
So there will be a third year. I'm pretty sure of that. I just need to see how it goes with the second year. this will be This is my first year selling tickets. And so I need to see what the attendance is like. And that's going to tell me how much space this event really needs.
00:41:14
Sabine
But it's a really good location. I don't know if you've been to La Cabane en Boiron yet.
00:41:19
Sabine
Yeah, it's a beautiful place. It's a log cabin. It's really, really nice. there's washrooms in there there's a ramp there's a wheelchair access a free parking there's like shops nearby for lunch you know you can go to just a lot of restaurants nearby there's an atm also so it's a it's a it's a really good location but i never exclude the possibility of moving the conference somewhere else if need be but yeah there will be a third year and
00:41:19
Lee Hatfield
I have not now.
00:41:50
Sabine
I know there was a demand also for group hikes and organizing like some camping trips, some squash camping out there. and I don't exclude that possibility either. It's just a little bit early for me, but that would be nice down the road.
00:42:07
Lee Hatfield
sure Okay, Sabine, it's been an absolute pleasure. i think you've gave it you're most welcome it you've given us lots of information on local suchatants so can't even say it Sasquatch that I did not even know about, especially in the Gatineau Hills.
00:42:12
Sabine
Well, thank you for having me.
00:42:24
Lee Hatfield
I can't wait until August until the event occurs.
00:42:25
Sabine
Yes, can't wait either.
00:42:28
Lee Hatfield
But for now, thank you for your time. It's been an absolute pleasure.
00:42:32
Sabine
Thank you.
00:42:32
Lee Hatfield
And we will be seeing each other. i can guarantee that.
00:42:36
Sabine
Absolutely.
00:42:37
Lee Hatfield
Thanks a lot. Take care.
00:42:38
Sabine
Thanks.
00:42:39
Lee Hatfield
Bye-bye.
00:42:39
Sabine
Bye.