How to Attend the Roswell UFO Festival

The Roswell, New Mexico International UFO Museum is open daily, year-round. But a good time to plan a visit is during the annual Roswell UFO Festival, usually held in July. You can attend book signings, meet folks who claim to have been abducted by aliens, watch a play, see a rocket demonstration or dance in the parking lot. This festival can make for an informative and fun vacation. Read on to learn more.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Admission/event pass
• Schedule of events and guest speakers

Attend The Roswell UFO Festival

1. Visit the festival Web page at The Roswellian Experience (see Resources below). Scroll down the list of activities and note the time and place of those that most interest you.
2. Click on some of the names listed as guests and UFO experts. There will probably be more information on the person and his project, as well as a website or email address. Use these tools to find out more about the various guests, exhibits and lecture subjects.
3. Buy a pass that will be valid for most of the festival events online on the festival Web page. There is no official "registration." Festival happenings are open to all; but the pass makes it easier to get into all the events you want to attend.
4. Check out the parking lot. Believe it or not, many of the group activities are scheduled to take place in the parking lot, including exhibits, vendors' displays and nightly dancing.
5. Decide how long you want to stay in Roswell. The UFO festival lasts 4 days, Thursday through Sunday. Think about how much time you can afford to spend and when the lectures and demonstrations that interest you are scheduled.

Tips & Warnings

• Be sure to learn the Roswell story before you go, including all about the alleged alien spacecraft crash-landing in 1947, and the supposed cover-up afterward. If you are unfamiliar with the history, the festivities will not make much sense.
• A number of lectures are presented in both English and Spanish. If this interests you, make a note of them beforehand on the festival Web page.
• Carefully choose your souvenirs. You will want to remember an experience this unique and there will plenty of merchandise available from vendors and the museum gift shop. Make sure you pick something that you could not get anywhere else to make your trip more memorable.
• Some lectures and workshops require an extra fee. It is usually inexpensive, but not included in the event pass for the festival in general.