Roswell 2013 UFO Festival

 

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Roswell New Mexico, a town that grew from only two adobe buildings in 1869, once again hosted a well attended UFO Festival July 5-7, 2013. The three day festival featured guest speakers, authors, live entertainment, a costume contest, a pet costume contest, parade, and many family friendly activities.

If you have not yet attended one of these events you may want to consider doing so next July. The Roswell UFO Festivalis an annual event which brings together authors, scientists and others who have investigated the 1947 events there. It was a long time ago that reports first surfaced that a UFO and it’s occupants had crashed about forty miles northwest of town. The crash site today is on ranch land. While decades have passed, the interest in the subject has not faded. If anything it has grown.

Discussing the Facts of Roswell

A key part of the festival are the lectures and panel discussions comprised of people who have meticulously investigated the crash. This is not a wild conspiracy discussion but rather a detailed presentation of the evidence collected through decades of research. It’s essentially a discussion and presentation of the facts.

Among the 2013 research participants were nuclear physicist Stanton Friedman who it can be said was the man who began serious inquiry into the Roswell crash during the 1970’s. Many may have heard of Stanton Friedman through his years of discussion as a guest on the radio program Coast to Coast. In fact, it was Friedman’s analysis of what occurred outside Roswell in 1947 that encouraged others to join the unofficial investigation.

Another key attendee and lecturer at the 2013 Roswell UFO Festival was Donald R. Schmitt. Scmitt along with Kevin D. Randal are the authors of several books regarding the Roswell UFO crash. These include The Roswell Files and UFO Crash at Roswell. Donald R. Schmitt is the former co-director of the J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies, where he served as Director of Special Investigations for ten years. Prior to that, he was a special investigator for the late Dr. J. Allen Hynek for the International UFO Reporter.

Another very interesting guest at the 2013 event was Jesse Marcel Jr. Marcel is the son of the first military officer present at the Roswell crash site. Marcel Jr., a physician,  wrote the book The Roswell Legacy. Jesse Marcel Jr. was eleven years old when his father Major Jesse Marcel Sr., after visiting the crash site with Chaves County sheriff George Wilcox and rancher William Brazel,  brought small debris from the crash site home in a box.

Jesse Marcel Jr. chronicles the sequence of events and describes the type of material he viewed first hand. He also strives to clear up some of the misconceptions about the crash and of his father’s role in the series of events that unfolded afterward including the supposed display of crash debris at the Army Airfield in Fort Worth Texas. Marcel Sr. later in life denied that the material displayed in the official photograph with General Remy in Ft. Worth was material retrieved from the crash site. General Remy’s command at the time included the Roswell Army Airfield at which Major Jesse Marcel Sr. was stationed.. That statement alone says quite a lot and created many more questions than answers.

Visiting Roswell New Mexico

The Roswell UFO Festival is an annual event. The International UFO Museum and Research Center is open year round. The museum has a treasure trove of UFO information and photos taken from around the world. It also has documents and written testimony given by various citizens of Roswell at the time of the incident. Whether you are a skeptic or believer in UFO’s you will enjoy a visit to this quite unique museum. There is quite a bit of tangible information presented at the museum and it’s essentially up to the visitor to decide for him or her self whether the available evidence supports the crash theory. One of the most interesting exhibits at the Roswell Museum is the section detailing the timeline of events in 1947 and the testimony of solid citizens of the community.

Below is a link to another Trips Into History article you’ll enjoy.

The First American Aviator

On our Western Trips site you’ll enjoy our tour of the Roswell UFO Museum.

Roswell New Mexico is located about 190 miles southeast of Albuquerque and about 200 miles northeast of El Paso Texas. An interesting fact is that Roswell has been the home to New Mexico Military Institute since 1891.The institute serves as a four year high school and two year junior college. Some of it’s most noteworthy graduates include Conrad Hilton, Roger Staubach, and news reporter Sam Donaldson.

Visitors to the area will find many excellent hotels and restaurants in Roswell. In addition to the annual festival and the International UFO Museum and Research Center, the Carlsbad Caverns National Park is located about 75 miles  south of Roswell.

(Article and photos copyright Trips Into History)