When Sasquatch jumps the same sound used in The Six Million Dollar Man (1974) for Col. Steve Austin running or jumping is heard. The Six Million Dollar Man series famously had Col. Steve Austin matched against Big Foot in several episodes.
When Ken Scarborough grabs Exalted Pikeman Higgins' thumb, he explains that it's Defendo, the martial art he learned in the Canadian Army. This is actually a real martial art, taught across the Commonwealth from World War II onwards, based on a system of offensive and defensive techniques developed by Canadian soldier Bill Underwood.
Ken Scarborough's escape from Sasquatch through the Dubrovnik festival parade pays homage to a similar scene in Thunderball (1965).