Who's that Weirdo at the UFO Festival?

I finally had a chance to attend the 20^th Annual McMenamins UFO Festival last week.  Sasquatch, aliens, ghosts:  I L-O-V-E all that stuff! In 2011, I took my kids on a road trip to the Bigfoot Discovery Museum in Santa Cruz. We raptly listened to the owner, Mike, tell us how he encountered Bigfoot on a camping trip when he was eight years old. He gave us plenty of justification that Bigfoot is real. WE SAW SASQUATCH POOP IN AN ACRYLIC DISPLAY BOX! It’s hard to argue with poop evidence. On the way home, we stopped by Applegate, Oregon to see a Bigfoot trap that was built in the early 70’s. We all got about a million mosquito bites.

Albert was out of town last week, and all my kids are out of the house, so I was on my own at the UFO Festival. I had no idea what to expect at this 4-day event. I imagined it might be like the Renaissance Faire with an extraterrestrial twist. That is, I expected to see a lot of weirdos. I went on a Friday during the day when I thought it might not be as crowded and the UFOphiles might not be too far out and freaky yet. I attended a movie followed by a producer Q & A so I would have something specific to do and not be at risk of awkwardly wandering and lingering.

The movie was pretty packed! Many of the attendants sported VIP badges that granted them admission to all events for $75. There were concessions, merch, and books. BOOKS! I love books. But first things first. McMenamins beer seemed appealing and practically essential.

See that tin foil hat in the background? Yeah, I was a little underdressed. I was surprised to see people of many races and ages. One common characteristic, however, was that most of them looked kind of unhealthy. There were people of all shapes and sizes, but I could tell that if I walked up to any one of them and gave them  a friendly punch in the shoulder, my fist might just smoosh right in. Rosy cheeks were few and far between, and I don’t think I could distinguish a single bicep. “Infirm” came to mind as an appropriate adjective on a bunch of levels.

I found my seat with some time to people-watch and sip my beer-that-tasted-like-grapefruit. (WHY.) A group of about five people filed in behind me. VIP badges swung proudly from their lanyards as they chattered animatedly about the events they’d already attended and which events they were most looking forward to. These were hard core, apprised members of the UFO Community for sure! One man gushed about how impressed he was with the selection of books available at the merch table. Fortified with IPA Courage, I turned around and asked, “Which book is your favorite?”

He looked surprised. He was cautious. Maybe I was a nut. How would he even know?? “What are you interested in?”

Dunno. I’m new to this! His caution shifted to elation. He told me which books were good overviews and which were best documented. Then he burst into jubilant laughter. “There are so many great choices! Many of the authors are my friends!”

Then his friend got excited and breathlessly interrupted, “Would you be interested in attending a UFO Convention in Arizona?”

“Maybe!!” She passed me a half-page flyer for the 28^th Annual International UFO Congress in September. I felt warmly accepted by this new community. And also a little tipsy.

The movie was boring. I’m notorious for falling asleep during movies, my Ten-Dollar Naps. Maybe it was the beer. But probably it was movie.

I was super proud of myself for getting out of my comfort zone and trying something new and interesting on my own. I missed the parade, which was happening the next day. Maybe I’ll go again next year. At least I’ll know what to wear.

Thanks for reading! Subscribe here so you won’t miss a post.