Does the terms UFO and alien abduction get your heart racing with excitement? Do you feel like you’re the only one among your family and friends who thinks there are other beings besides humans in the universe?
Then the second Annual Culture of Contact UFO Festival happening next weekend (Oct. 16 -18) at the Landmark Loew’s Theatre in Jersey City is the place to be. It is the first year that the festival is taking place at the Loew’s. Last year, it was held in Manhattan.
The festival will feature experts discussing UFOs and alien abductions, as well as movies, music and art with an UFO theme. Among the festival highlights will be the appearance of William J. Birnes, star of the History Channel series UFO Hunters, and a screening of the 1953 film version of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds (also made into a movie in 2006 by Steven Spielberg) about an alien invasion of Earth.
In conjunction with the events at the Loew’s, there was an art exhibition at the Monroe Center for the Arts in Hoboken this weekend (Oct. 10-11).
Culture of Contact formed last year out of a loosely-knit group of “experiencers” of alien contact who were living in New Jersey and New York. They came together to create an annual multimedia festival-like conference in New York City.
Jeremy Vaeni, one of the organizers of the festival, talked last week about the event.
“I think it is important because as people who believe in these sorts of things, we are out of place,” Vaeni said. “I think one of the things is to show that people in positions of power are experiencing alien contact.”
Also participating in the festival will be Jersey City artist Melissa Reed, who says many of her works were influenced by her experiences with alien life.
“Waking up to the infinite possibility that exists beyond everyday life is vitally important,” Reed said.
Saw UFO in Vermont
Vaeni, a writer based in Queens, said this festival is an opportunity for people like him who have either witnessed aliens or UFOs.
A Massachusetts native, Vaeni recalls at the age of 14 a family trip to Vermont to visit his grandparents. He said he had a unique encounter.
“I look out among the fields and mountains and I see this object that’s luminescent green and it’s spinning in one direction at the top and in another direction on the bottom,” Vaeni said. “When [my family] gets to our grandparents’ house, we expect to be laughed at when we tell what happened. But instead they confirm they had similar sightings, and on their coffee table was the Time-Life book, “Mysteries of the Unknown.”
Vaeni also said this year’s festival theme is “Mythology Is Reality,” where there will be discussions on how myths and folklore in ancient history may be more than just stories, but are actual accounts of extraterrestrial life forms visiting this planet.
“When archeologists look at the building of the pyramids in ancient Egypt, they come across accounts where it tells that the gods came down and gave us the knowledge to build the pyramids,” Vaeni said. “But there is a belief that it may have been aliens, and we want to explore that further.” SIDEBAR Culture of Contact schedule
The Culture of Contact Festival will be held at the Landmark Loew’s Theater, 54 Journal Square, Jersey City. Details, directions and tickets can be found at www.cultureofcontact.com.
The schedule of events is as follows:
Thursday, Oct. 16:
6:30 p.m. – Jeremy Vaeni, Melissa Reed, and William J. Birnes
7 p.m. – “In Search of The Future” documentary screening. Intro w/Director Andrew Cameron Bailey & Producer Connie Baxter Marlow
9 p.m. – Q&A w/ Bailey & Marlow
Friday, Oct. 17:
Noon-5 p.m. – “Experiencer” and Native American chat circles. Pat Marcatillio’s UFO Museum. Explore your own brain using Masahiro Kahata’s brain tech inventions and your mind with Raymond Strano’s perception-altering musical device. (Attractions run all day Saturday)
6 p.m. – Jeremy Vaeni introduces Washington lobbyist Stephen Bassett, who talks about possible government disclosure of alien presence.
7 p.m. – Native American band Ghosthorse performs.
8 p.m. – Tiokasin Ghosthorse gives keynote address for the festival.
9 p.m. – William J. Birnes introduces “War of The Worlds” screening.
9:15 p.m. – “War of The Worlds” screening.
Saturday, Oct. 18:
10:30 a.m. – Michael Mannion & Trish Corbett
11:30 a.m. – Richard Dolan
12:30 p.m. – Giorgio Tsoukalos
1:30 p.m. – Lunch break and/or screening of documentary on Combustive Motor Corp. w/director Chris Noble
2:30 p.m. – Peter Robbins
3:30 p.m. – David Biedny
4:30 p.m. – Farah Yurdozu
5:30 p.m. – Dinner break and/or sneak peek screening of “The Hidden Hand” documentary w/Director James Carman
6:30 p.m. – Keynote addresses by Dr. Gregory L. Matloff and C. Bangs from NASA
7:30 p.m. – Speaker roundtable with surprise guest
8:30 p.m. – William J. Birnes
9:30 p.m. – “The Silent But Deadly Truthvolution of Truth,” a comedy film premiere w/director Jeremy Vaeni
Sunday, Oct. 19:
Noon-4 p.m. – Culture of Contact Festival after-party at the Monroe Arts Center in Hoboken.
Comments on this story can be sent to rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com