Thursday, November 02, 2006

UFO Days

After Roswell, New Mexico found it could make money off being the most famous UFO spot in the world, UFO festivals and field days have started to pop up (Bigfoot and other similar topics have been known to inspire festivals). I've talked about that before on one of my other websites, and I'm sure I'll hit the topic here again.

But it should be pointed out that despite the typical reaction that such festivals and promise of dollars are an incentive to invent stories, it doesn't work that way. As Loren Coleman points out here, places like Point Pleasant, West Virginia often are reluctant to embrace their weird heritage, as it embarasses many people. It is only when national and international media get involved, and entrepeneurs and politicians see the potential for fame and fortune. Roswell went through that phase in the early 1990s, and as far as I know, it is one of the few recent sites (especially not those associated with now established religions) of a strange anomalous event to turn a profit. A few spots in Europe, after the book and film The Davinci Code have likely cashed in on what is obstensibly a fictionalized version of Holy Blood, Holy Grail and as such a conspiracy theory.

But that doesn't quite explain why this Wisconsin town moved its UFO days, from incidents in later Winter, to Halloween weekend.

EDIT: Not directly related to a UFO incident, but the Alien Encounter Halloween Event

No comments: