Culture

This Year’s UFO Festival Revealed Aliens Among Us

The annual McMinnville event featured human (and canine) extraterrestrial fans.

By Andi Prewitt and Michael Raines
UFO Fest (Michael Raines)

McMinnville has long been Oregon’s lesser-known Roswell. While most are drawn to this Yamhill County town’s abundance of wine, the alien-obsessed assemble at least one weekend of the year for the McMenamins UFO Festival.

The annual May gathering was inspired by a McMinnville farmer’s photos of an unidentified flying dislike object taken in 1950, which quickly made national headlines. No such sightings were reported this year, although plenty of people dressed as extraterrestrials for the celebration’s costume contest and parade, and at least one dog sported its own Earth-bound saucer.

See photos here:

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Andi Prewitt

Andi Prewitt

Andi Prewitt is WW's arts and culture editor. She writes about Oregon’s trifecta of fun: craft beer, food and the outdoors. A native Oregonian, Andi’s claim to fame was being named Princess of Newberg. It’s all been downhill from there.

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