The deep wilderness of southeastern Oklahoma is widely believed to be a Bigfoot hot spot.

Reported sightings of the mythical Sasquatch legend are chillingly common in the area's woods, and no story is too wild to be taken seriously.

The fascination for Bigfoot runs so deep in Honobia, Oklahoma, that thousands of enthusiasts gather yearly to celebrate all things Sasquatch.

The festival started 16 years ago and has evolved into one of the country's largest Sasquatch festivities, with some calling it the area's Super Bowl.

It's a two-day event in the mountains that attracts Bigfoot believers and skeptics from across the country.

"You might make a call, and you'll be able to hear a callback," attendee Devin Shoonech said. "Except whenever you hear him call back, obviously it's going to be way deeper."

For hardcore believers, the festival's highlight is the day-long conference with renowned Bigfoot scholars.

However, it's around sundown that things get spooky — when everyone is invited to share their encounter stories. Some shared they saw a 12-foot figure or heard a "different" type of howling sound.

All the new Bigfoot knowledge comes in handy at night when folks go back to the camping grounds.

The mystique and folklore of Bigfoot world are what makes it so appealing.

According to a 2020 survey, 11% of Americans believe Sasquatch is real. Whether or not a person believes in the Bigfoot legend, its economic footprint in that part of the Sooner State is hard to miss.

In Hochatown, about 40 minutes from the festival, storeowner Janet Cress says business is booming, largely thanks to the hundreds of Bigfoot items she sells.

"He comes by every night," Cress said. "He leaves us little locks of hair. We put him in a bottle, and we sell Bigfoot hair."

Back at the festival, the final day starts with a 5K race in the mountains, with a Bigfoot sighting at the finish line.

All jokes aside, Sasquatch believers say the festival is a safe space to learn from one another without being ridiculed.

There, they can fully enjoy their hobby and celebrate nature and those who live in its midst.

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A teen who loved dancing. An AT&T district manager. An aspiring Border Patrol agent. And an engineering student working on a medical device to help his ailing mother.

Clearer pictures began to emerge Sunday of some of the eight people who died after fans at the Astroworld music festival in Houston suddenly surged toward the stage during a performance by rapper Travis Scott.

Authorities said Sunday they wouldn't release the names of the dead, but family members and friends shared accounts of their loved ones with journalists and through social media. Mary Barton, a spokeswoman in Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner's office, said identities were expected to be made public on Monday.

The dead ranged from 14 to 27 years old, according to Houston officials. As of Sunday, 13 people remained hospitalized.

City officials said they were in the early stages of investigating what caused the pandemonium at the sold-out event founded by Scott. About 50,000 people were there.

Experts who have studied deaths caused by crowd surges say they are often a result of density — too many people packed into a small space. The crowd is often either running away from a perceived threat or toward something, such as a performer, before hitting a barrier.

'LOVED HIS MOM'

Franco Patino, 21, was working toward a mechanical engineering technology degree at the University of Dayton, with a minor in human movement biomechanics, his father, Julio Patino, said in an interview. He was a member of Alpha Psi Lambda, a Hispanic interest fraternity, and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and was working in an engineering co-op program.

Patino described his son as a charismatic, energetic leader who was active in his community and intent on helping people with disabilities.

He said his son was working with a team on a new medical device, and that he wanted to find a way to help his mother walk again after she was severely injured in an automobile accident in Mexico two years ago.

Through tears, Patino described how his son — who enjoyed weight lifting, football and rugby — used his strength to break a door and free his mom from the wreckage.

"He loved his mom," Patino said. "He said everything that he was doing, it was trying to help his mom. The entire goal."

Julio Patino, of Naperville, Illinois, was in London on business when the phone rang around 3 a.m. He answered it and heard his wife, Teresita, crying. She said someone had called from a hospital about their 21-year-old son, Franco, and that a doctor would be calling her soon. About 30 minutes, she called back with the doctor on the line.

"The doctor was giving us the news that our son had passed away," Patino said.

Patino said he had last spoken with his son about 2 p.m. Friday. Franco told his dad that there weren't a lot a people at the festival site yet

"Don't worry, I'm fine," Patino recalled his son saying. "I just said, 'Ok, just be careful.'"

'HARD-WORKING MAN'

Danish Baig, who identified himself on Facebook as a district manager for AT&T, and appeared to be a devoted Dallas Cowboys fan, was among those who died at the concert, his brother Basil Baig said on Facebook.

"He was (an) innocent young soul who would always put others before him. He was a hard-working man who loved his family and took care of us. He was there in a heartbeat for anything. He always had a solution to everything," Basil Baig told ABC News.

A funeral for Danish Baig is expected to be held on Sunday in Colleyville in the Dallas-Forth Worth area, his brother said. Messages left with Basil Baig were not returned.

LOVED TO DANCE

Brianna Rodriguez's family told People magazine that she was among those who perished at the concert. She was 16, a student at Heights High School and loved dancing, according to the family the magazine spoke with. A message left with the family was not immediately answered.

ASPIRING BORDER AGENT

Rudy Pena, of Laredo, Texas, was a student at Laredo College and wanted to be Border Patrol agent, his friend Stacey Sarmiento said. She described him as a people person.

"Rudy was a close friend of mine," she said. "We met in high school. He was an athlete… He brought happiness anywhere he went. He was easy to get along with. It was like positive vibes from him at all times."

"We all came to have a good time … it was just horrible in there," she added.

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Associated Press writers Jamie Stengle and Juan Lozano in Houston contributed to this report. Chase reported from Dover, Delaware. Catalini reported from Trenton, New Jersey.

DENVER, Colo. — Juneteenth’s yearly celebrations bring the entire community together to celebrate when the last slaves learned of the Emancipation Proclamation abolishing slavery in the United States, and it’s usually a great weekend of business for Black-owned shops and restaurants.

In Denver, the organizers of the celebration are planning to make this Juneteenth leave an impact far beyond the festival.

Fathima Dickerson sees the need for support and investment in Denver's historic Black neighborhood, Five Points. She and her family have owned the Welton Street Cafe restaurant for decades.

"We sacrifice friendships, relationships. We sacrifice our bodies with the labor. It's not easy. Restaurant work is not easy," said Dickerson.

Still, there’s nowhere she’d rather be than inside her family’s restaurant.

"It is the family reunion. It is where we gather, and food is why we gather," said Dickerson.

However, the place of love and soul is struggling to stay open.

"Surviving COVID as Welton Street Cafe has been a quiet storm," said Dickerson.

Her loyal customers are keeping the spot alive but her family doesn’t own their building, and rent in addition to maintenance is tough to afford.

"We always see a lot of pretty stories about being in business, and nobody likes to talk about the shortcomings or the downfalls, the failures that balance out success."

Dickerson's watched many Black-owned businesses struggle around her but she knows the neighborhood's success will only help all those around it too.

"This needs to continue to be the hub for us to call home so that we can get the resources and the services we need to better our families because that way we build a better community," said Dickerson.

She has hope that this neighborhood will survive and thrive, and this year, the Juneteenth celebration may help start that change to boost Denver’s Black community.

"When you think about it being larger than a weekend, it is. I'm Black every day, every single day. And when you're a Black business owner, you need support for your business every single day," said Dickerson.

"We look at it as a launchpad," said Norman Harris, the President of JMF corporation and the lead organizer of Denver's Juneteenth Music Festival.

Harris is organizing for partnerships with companies like Amazon and has web developers helping Black-owned businesses build websites for free.

He wants to make sure this festival is helpful beyond all the fun; that it is growing businesses, too.

Some of the proceeds of the event itself will go to businesses like Welton Street Café, so whether online or in person, this year's celebrations will help boost Black-owned businesses.

"When you get that type of synergy that happens within our community spaces, it's priceless," said Harris.

Denver’s online and in-person plan to boost businesses is modeling the way for Juneteenth celebrations across the country, a movement Fathima wants to last.

"Juneteenth is a lifestyle. I will say that it is. It is what I breathe, how I move. Juneteenth is representing and supporting the culture of Black people," said Dickerson.

Historian Dr. Vern L. Howard said it’s these moments of collaboration that can build Black wealth for generations to come.

"That is what the Emancipation Proclamation was about," said Dr. Howard, Chairman of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Commission. "And that is what Black businesses are about, is to leave a legacy and an inheritance to your offspring."

And the chance to pass this business down is a dream Dickerson isn’t willing to let go of.

"You save Welton Street Cafe, you save Five Points. You save Five Points, you save Juneteenth. You save Juneteenth, you save the Black community. We are trying to save a life," said Dickerson.