The Kecksburg, PA UFO Festival, which commemorates the December 9, 1965 landing of an unidentified flying object in a farmer's field near this tiny southwestern Pennsylvania community, will be held July 27-29 and I've just agreed to be a speaker on the program.
As I've written here before, I covered this "story of the century" as a young reporter for the Greensburg-Tribune Review, and so Stan Gordon, who helps with the festival each year, asked me to discuss that experience during the Festival conference on Sunday, July 29. I'm looking forward to sharing those memories.
The Festival, a fundraiser for the Kecksburg Volunteer Fire Department, has grown over the years to attract quite a following as it covers more than just that UFO event, although that is the focal point.
For example, Gordon, UFO-Bigfoot Researcher and author, will give an update on more recent UFO, Bigfoot, and other strange encounters from the local area and statewide.
Ed Kelemen, paranormal Investigator and author, will give a presentation on local hauntings and ghost encounters.
A film produced by Seth Breedlove, award winning film maker and the Director of Small Town Monsters Production Company, “Invasion on Chestnut Ridge”, which covers the Kecksburg incident and the strange encounters around the ridge, will be shown. He has produced other documentaries on other national strange monster and UFO encounters and has other new projects in the works. Seth will discuss these topics during his presentation.
Aaron Dunbar, a local author from Kittanning and producer of the recently released family movie about Bigfoot, “A Wish For Giants”, will give a presentation and show the movie at the conference.
In addition, there will be displays with UFO-Bigfoot and Paranormal groups and researchers inside the social hall all weekend.
I've covered thousands of stories throughout my career, but this is the single one that keeps coming back into my life. So, I decided to attend the Festival and participate. I think it will be interesting and fun -- and, I'll be sure to keep you informed.
Maybe some day the Kecksburg UFO mystery will be solved...but don't count on it.