Columbia’s Albatwitch Day is an example of cryptozoology. 

According to this Conversation article, The monster festival: A pilgrimage to small town America, “By inviting in the cryptozoology tribe, today’s small towns are celebrating aspects of local culture that were once pushed to the periphery or mocked. But like the medieval towns of the past, their local economies are getting a nice little boost, too.”

Visit the Columbia Albatwitch Day Website.