Mysteries in the sky: Kecksburg’s UFO festival draws enthusiasts to ‘Pennsylvania’s Roswell’

The annual Kecksburg UFO Festival returns this weekend. The three-day event celebrates all things alien at the location of Pennsylvania’s own “Roswell incident.”

Did you know more than 5,000 unidentified flying objects have been reported by Pennsylvanians to the National UFO Reporting Center since 1947?

This coming weekend, all things UFO will be celebrated — not in the sky, but on the ground at the annual Kecksburg Volunteer Fire Department UFO Festival. The festival will take place Friday from 6 to 11 p.m., Saturday from noon to 11 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. in Kecksburg.

Why Kecksburg?

One of the most famous UFO sightings in Pennsylvania is our very own version of the 1947 incident in Roswell, New Mexico, where the crash and recovery of a US Army high-altitude balloon became the center of a conspiracy theory involving UFOs and extraterrestrials, and it happened in Kecksburg.

In 1965, a fireball flying across the sky was witnessed by thousands of onlookers across six states. The object caused sonic booms near Pittsburgh and ended up crashing in Kecksburg. Some locals claimed to have seen the large, acorn-like object fall into the forest. The forest area was quickly sealed to the public and the incident resulted in a search by the U.S. military, scientific studies, numerous conflicting accounts, and even a lawsuit against NASA.

Since then, the small town of Kecksburg has become a hub for all things alien, including the annual UFO festival.

What’s happening in ‘Pennsylvania’s Roswell?’

The three-day festival features UFO investigators and experts, exhibits, live music, an alien-themed parade, fireworks, and much more.

For the full calendar of events, click here.