ROCKINGHAM — Several attendees of EncounterQuest had the opportunity to learn how to cast footprints and meet the speakers on Friday evening prior to Saturday’s conference.
Jay Wolber, co-host of the “Cryptids of the Corn” podcast led the plaster casting workshop at the Hinson Lake Rotary Lodge. Wolber was joined by researcher Jake Dressel, of Dayton, Ohio, who was filling in for podcast partner Justin England.
While going over the casting procedure, Dr. Jeff Meldrum — professor of Anatomy and Anthropology at Idaho State University, who has a collection of more than 300 suspected sasquatch prints — noted that his book, “Sasquatch Field Guide,” has illustrated step-by-step instructions for casting.
Following the instructional portion of the workshop, the crowd moved outside to practice casting their own footprints in soil or sand.
Wolber said the two main tricks to proper casting are to mix the plaster of Paris to the consistency of pancake batter and pour “low and slow.”
After everyone was finished, the casts were set aside to dry for 24 hours.
The crowd then moved inside the lodge for a dinner with Wolber, Meldrum and the other speakers for this year’s EncounterQuest: Cryptozoologists Lyle Blackburn and Ken Gerhard; Bigfoot hunters the Ohio Night Stalkers, Mike Feltner and Mike Miller; and retired Lt. Cmdr. Alex Dietrich, a former Navy pilot who was involved in the “tic tac” UFO encounter.
Ron Morehead, one of last year’s speakers, was also at the dinner, which was catered by Rockingham businesses Taco Factory and Kool Kakes Bakery.
Click here to read about the inaugural EncounterQuest in 2023.
See more photos below.
