ONLY A MONTH TO GO

For immediate release
2009-07-15

PUNK ROCK LEGEND AND MONSTER HUNTERS RUB SHOULDERS IN NORTH DEVON AND A NEW MONSTER HUNTING EXPEDITION IS ANNOUNCED

From the 14th to the 16th of August this year, the sleepy North Devon village of Woolsery is to play host to the largest gathering of monster and mystery researchers in the world. The tenth annual Weird Weekend is bringing speakers from as far afield as Australia to talk on their adventures and discoveries.

This year’s line up includes Rat Scabies, drummer with the legendary punk band The Damned, who will be regaling the audience with tales of his hunt for the Holy Grail (we are NOT joking). Tim the Yowie Man has flown in all the way from Australia to speak about his hunt for the yowie, the yeti like ape-man of the Australian bush. Tim the Yowie Man is an Australian cryptozoologist and paranormal investigator. In 2008, he was nominated for `Australian of the Year` for his work in raising environmental awareness.

Other speakers include:

· Irish scholar Ronan Coghlan who will be speaking on the lost continent of Atlantis.
· Tim Matthews on crop circles
· Andy Roberts, renowned researcher and author, on The Big Grey man of Ben McDhui
· Ecologist Oll Lewis who will be giving us his theory on the Kraken, the multi-armed monster of maritime folklore.
· Julian Vane who will be showing us some of the weirder exhibits from Devonshire museums.
· Dr Jan Bondeson who will be revealing the secrets of the death-dealing medieval serpent known as the basilisk.
· From the USA Nick Redfern will be looking into Russian experiments to hybridise humans and apes.

But there is far more to the Weird Weekend than just talks. The organisers, The Centre for Fortean Zoology - the world’s only full time scientific organisation dedicated to researching mystery animals - will be revealing details of their latest thrilling expedition. Each year, the Centre takes part in at least one expedition to the farthest flung reaches of the world on the track of monsters and mystery beasts.

Also appearing will be Sam Shearon and Anthony Wallis; fortean artists who will be exhibiting their monster related artwork. Taxidermist Jon McGowan will be exhibiting his wildlife photography and stuffed animals. There will also be stalls, quizzes, competitions and activities for children.

Tickets for the three-day event cost £20 in advance or £25 on the door. More information can be found on the Weird Weekend website at www.weirdweekend.org

For more details, or to interview any of the speakers, please telephone Jon, Corinna or Oll on 01237 431413

NOTES FOR EDITORS

• The Centre for Fortean Zoology [CFZ] is the world’s largest mystery animal research organisation. It was founded in 1992 by British author Jonathan Downes (49) and is a non-profit making (not for profit) organisation registered with H.M. Stamp Office.
• Life-president of the CFZ is Colonel John Blashford-Snell OBE, best known for his groundbreaking youth work organising the ‘Operation Drake’ and ‘Operation Raleigh’ expeditions in the 1970s and 1980s.
• CFZ Director Jonathan Downes is the author and/or editor of over 20 books. Island of Paradise, his first-hand account of two expeditions to the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico in search of the grotesque vampiric chupacabra, will be published in the next few weeks.
• The CFZ have carried out expeditions across the world including Russia, Sumatra, Mongolia, Guyana, Gambia, Texas, Mexico, Thailand, Puerto Rico, Illinois, Loch Ness, and Loch Morar.
• CFZ Press are the world’s largest publishers of books on mystery animals. They also publish Animals & Men, the world’s only cryptozoology magazine, and The Amateur Naturalist, Britain’s only dedicated magazine on the subject.
• The CFZ produce their own full-length documentaries through their media division called CFZtv http://www.cfztv.org/ . One of their films Lair of the Red Worm, which was released in early 2007 and documents their 2005 Mongolia expedition, has now been seen by nearly 50,000 people.
• The CFZ is based in Jon Downes’s old family home in rural North Devon, which he shares with his wife Corinna (52). It is also home to various members of the CFZ’s permanent directorate and a collection of exotic animals. Jonathan Downes presents a monthly web TV show called On the Track (http://cfzmonthly.blogspot.com/ ), which covers cryptozoology and work of the CFZ.
• The CFZ are opening a Visitor Centre and Museum in Woolsery, North Devon.
• Following their successful partnership with Capcom http://www.capcom.com/ on the 2007 Guyana expedition, the CFZ are looking for more commercial sponsors.