Is Bigfoot calling Harrington home?

For most of us, the Sasquatch or Yeti - more commonly known as Bigfoot - is little more than a figment of our overactive imaginations.

For a group of documentary filmmakers from the United States and the United Kingdom, however, it's quite possible the mythical creature has been calling the wooded and mountainous regions of Harrington home for quite some time now.

In October, film crews descended upon Domaine Evasion Plein Air in Harrington to film a two-hour documentary special that will air on The Discovery Channel and History Channel in early 2011.

The documentary will focus on prehistoric times and will include discussion about "mythical" creatures such as the Sasquatch and Yeti.

According to Helen Conlan, production manager for the United Kingdom-based company, Dangerous, the documentary will not make light of the myths and legends that surround the creature, but will instead explore the possibility that such creatures might actually exist.

"We brought numerous experts from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom together to research this," she stated in an e-mail interview. "Our goal is to retrace the steps of early man and shed some light of the legends that surround Bigfoot and the Yeti. I think the end result will be a very interesting and enlightening film."

Conlan said the show will be called Bigfoot: The Definitive Guide and was co-produced with Handel Productions, one of Canada's leading producers of factual television and documentary programs.

She said numerous experts on the subject were interviewed in an attempt to find a scientific base for Bigfoot.

"We shot scenes in numerous regions, including Harrington, Quebec," she continued. "This film is very comprehensive and is being taken very seriously. It analyzes the footage of Bigfoot that has been captured over the years and the sightings that have been reported. I would say this film is very much along the same vein as the dinosaur documentaries created for the Discovery Channel."

When asked why Harrington was chosen as a location for the documentary, Conlan was quick to point out the region's sheer beauty and close proximity to Montreal.

"It is a gorgeous area," she said. Absolutely stunning. I would definitely go back there someday, even just for a visit."

Conlan said numerous "actors" were employed to dress up in Bigfoot costumes for the documentary. In fact, she added, many of those actors had a blast running around the woods and cabins at Domaine Evasion Plein Air.

"There have been tens of thousands of sightings of Bigfoot-type creatures across the world," states her description of the film. "They are regularly reported in North America, the jungles of Sumatra and Brazil, the Australian bush, the Himalayas, across into China and Eurasia. But no one has ever analyzed these sightings from a global perspective to reveal the truth about Bigfoot. By 'connecting the dots,' we will create the definitive study of Bigfoot."

As for whether or not Bigfoot has ever been spotted in Harrington or the surrounding area, Conlan said people shouldn't be too quick to dismiss the stories as mere legend.

"Who knows if there is any truth to the stories we hear?" she remarked. "We've all heard stories. We all know some crazy relative or a friend of a friend who has seen some pretty weird stuff.

"Is it true? We don't know. But we won't say it's not true. It's always possible."