UFO Festival lands in Edinburg this weekend

The truth will be out there once again this weekend.

The city of Edinburg is preparing to host its 13th annual UFO Festival and Conference which will feature an open mic event as well as talks from UFO experts.

The festival will kick off Thursday and run through Saturday with various UFO-themed activities, starting with the open mic event where attendees can share their tales of close encounters.

The open mic hosted by Daniel Alan Jones and UFOlogist David Marler will be held at the Dustin Michael Sekula Library, located at 1906 S. Closner Blvd. in Edinburg. Throughout the event, the RGV Chapter of Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) will showcase “local sighting videos,” according to a city news release.

After the open mic session, there will be a screening of “The UFOs of Soesterberg,” a 1979 UFO incident witnessed by soldiers at the Soesterberg Air Base in the Netherlands.

Day two of the festival will be held Friday at the Edinburg Promenade Park, located on McIntyre Street between 8th and 10th Street. This year’s festival will feature a tin foil station, an alien autopsy maze, a laser light show, a reptilian show, a costume contest, laser tag as well as rides and other family friendly activities.

The event Saturday will also include meet-and-greet opportunities with this year’s conference speakers which include Noe Torres, a local UFO expert, author and publisher; Stacey Wright, a UFOlogist who directs both Arizona and Phoenix MUFON and who made pivotal contributions on the Roswell archaeological digs and Phoenix Lights exhibits.

Other experts include Michael Schratt, a private pilot and military aerospace historian who has conducted lectures on “mystery Aircraft” and covert propulsion systems; David Marler, author of “Triangular UFOs: An Estimate of the Situation,” who hopes to perverse UFO history; and Benjamin Hansen, an experienced security and emergency management professional who the city explained brings a unique perspective on the “societal implications of extraterrestrial contact,” according to the release.

The event will also have local vendors and end the night with a drone show.

This year’s conference will be held at the Region One Education Service Center, located at 1900 W. Schunior St. Each guest speaker will talk about their investigative work on the UFO phenomena.

Tickets for the conference are priced at $30 in advance and $40 at the door. Tickets for the UFO crash site experience are priced at $60 in advance. All tickets can be purchased at edinburgufo.com.

For more information about this year’s festival, call the Cultural Arts Division at (956) 383-6246 or visit edinburgarts.com.