13th annual UFO Fest gathers believers in search of the truth

EDINBURG — “The truth is out there,” at least that’s what many believe here at the Edinburg UFO Festival where attendees explored the idea of extraterrestrial life this weekend.

Whether they look like E.T. or maybe those seen in the “Guardians of the Galaxy,” it’s the open-minded atmosphere that attracts the attention of residents across the Rio Grande Valley, like Manny Flores.

The 39-year-old Mission resident explained Friday that walking among others who believe in the possibility of UFOs is what makes the festival enjoyable.

“I get to come out in my true colors, be myself, just be weird,” Flores said with a chuckle.

For Flores, the festival is a place where one can talk about the unexplainable. In fact, it was an unexplainable moment that made him believe in life beyond this world.

“I’ve had unexplained sightings myself so I totally believe,” he said, adding that he once witnessed strange lights on his drive to Austin. “At first, I thought it was like, you know how sometimes there are shooting stars, but this was not a shooting star. It just kept getting brighter and brighter and closer and closer until it finally just vanished.

“I was just mind-boggled.”

This was the atmosphere Friday during the 13th annual UFO Festival and Conference. The event was scheduled to run from Thursday to Saturday.

On Friday, at the Promenade Park Amphitheater located at 201 W. McIntyre St. in Edinburg, there were plenty of sights to behold.

Activities such as rides, an alien autopsy maze, a laser light show and a drone show, which included 300 drones, were among the festivities.

Arguably the more interesting part of the alien atmosphere were the human beings.

David Navarro, 31, attended the event with his 6-year-old son David Navarro Jr., or Junior as his dad calls him. The duo walked around the events in matching outfits, inflatable costumes that gave the illusion of an alien carrying them away.

Junior looked around with excitement as he saw people walking by with tin foil hats, alien headbands and other UFO-themed attire.

“I’m starting to believe it, the universe is big, the galaxy is big, so you never know,” Navarro said about whether he believed in extraterrestrial life.

Samantha Garcia, 27, of Donna, was among the believers and even wore a costume to demonstrate that.

Her costume was a mix between “Men In Black” and aliens with some cuteness sprinkled on there.

“I tried to make it a bit more cutesy like aliens trying to blend with humans,” Garcia said, adding that she added makeup to the mask to complete the look.

Garcia who was attending the event for the second time described it as a place to explore the unknown.

“I really like everything about UFOs and learning about aliens and the theories about what is out there,” Garcia said, adding that she likes that the event brings in experts, or UFOlogists, who talk about their research.

“I do think that there is life out there but we might not be able to understand what life is actually like out there. If we look at lifeforms here on Earth they’re very diverse so imagine out there on different planets, in different climates and things like that.”