Portland part of Worldwide Obscura Day

A guest post by Loren Coleman:

On Saturday, March 20th, at 80 different sites around the world, an international celebration of wondrous, curious, and esoteric places will be occurring. It is called "Obscura Day" (http://
atlasobscura.com/obscura-day), and is the brainchild of the people behind Atlas Obscura, a compendium of the world's wonders, curiosities, and esoterica.

A location right here in Maine has been chosen to be one of the special sites, the International Cryptozoology Museum at 661 Congress St., Portland, from 10 am to 7 pm. The event at the museum will occur for their usual small admission fee of $5.00 per person, but with a wide variety of extras too.

"Since the Obscura Day celebrations are fast approaching this coming Saturday, March 20th, we recommend visitors merely show up; no reservations necessary at this point," said Jeff Meuse, the museum's chief docent coordinator. "We will have staff available to assist in signing up people for the tours of the museum. We'll have special Bigfoot cookies and Loch Ness Monster treats for sale for people who
are waiting for the short time until the next tour begins. Also the unique Green Hand Bookshop is at this partner location for visitors to browse."

Here is Atlas Obscura's paragraph on the Maine event from their website:

PORTLAND, ME
TOUR OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRYPTOZOOLOGY MUSEUM WITH LOREN COLEMAN

Over the years, Loren Coleman has amassed an unrivaled collection of replicas and artifacts relating to world's famous and lesser-known cryptids, ranging from the fanciful (P.T. Barnum's Feejee Mermaid) to the factual (like the coelacanth, long thought to be extinct but discovered alive in 1938). For Obscura Day, Coleman has generously agreed to lead a band of curious souls on a tour of his newly opened
International Cryptozoology Museum.

"I think this happening on the same weekend as the 50th anniversary of my getting into the field of cryptozoology, which is the investigation of all kinds of little-known cryptids, in addition to
the better known Abominable Snowmen, Bigfoot and Nessies, seems more than a coincidence," noted Loren Coleman, director of the International Cryptozoology Museum. "It feels like a cosmic acknowledgment of the wonder of all those new species that remain to be discovered and the hard work it took to have this museum come to life. For Maine, my home for the last 30 years, to be picked this
way, is terrific."

For further information, please email Loren Coleman at lcoleman[at]maine.rr.com or for a phone interviews, contact the museum at 207-518-9496, Wed-Fri this week, from 11 am to 6 pm Eastern.