GRAND ISLAND, Neb. - - Despite the controversy surrounding Bigfoot and nonbelievers, the Bigfoot Conference is back for another year. 

Hundreds attended the conference. It is the first year it takes place in Grand Island.

Host Harriett McFeely,”The Bigfoot Lady”, as she likes to call herself says they were outgrowing the space in Hastings.  She says that even though she knows that comments are made about her or it being a hoax, she says people haven’t taken the time to get educated, and makes sure to check the veracity of every speaker. 

“The stories they tell are not fairytales. They’re, all these speakers have actually been years researchers out in the field, in the forest in the mountains and doing these things so it’s just so interesting,” said McFeely. 

Kristi Sci fi sells merchandise. She says that ever since she was four years old she has been intrigued by them. When she watched “The Legend of Boggy Creek” she tells me it had an impact on her. 

“Because Bigfoot are people they’re an ancient people they’re not monsters, they are not creatures they’re not beasts, there are people and like me and Robin and Harry we are just putting it out there that they’re like us that they don’t wanna be terrorized by people,you know, they want us all to work together as one," said Sci fi. 

She also tells me last year she had an encounter with a Sasquatch and showed me the picture but she assured me that wasn’t the first time she encountered one. 

“I came across a good friend and his Sasquatch that lives behind him interact with him he started leaving me rocks, he started leaving flowers," said Sci fi. "He started leaving me skulls of deer old necklace you now that’s how I became more involved with these people.”

Blayne and Lisa Tyler hailed from Ontario, Canada and they are presenting their findings at this year's conference. They said they had several encounters.  

“One day I just got fed up and I gotta go find them so I basically took me two hours to find and film the whole family of them in daylight so that’s and it’s not because I’m like great," said Blayne Tyler. "It’s because there’s a lot more than people realize, it’s just either you’re aware of them and what they can do or you’re oblivious to them and that’s how they get away with not being seen or film is because most people especially they can’t see them they have trained eyes to see them because they used strategic intelligence to avoid us.”

They said there’s not a Bigfoot community in Canada as big as in the US and they are glad they have found one. 

“Awesome, amazing yeah I mean you talked about it down there and they look at you like you had two eyes, two heads, not two eyes, but yeah oh Bigfoot hahaha it’s all a big joke down there still,” said Lisa Tyler. 

The Bigfoot Conference still going until Saturday.