Kecksburg UFO festival: 'quintessentially American'

Little Everly Yencha of South Huntingdon was holding onto the carving of a green wooden cryptid — an alien’s head — that her mother, Holly Yencha, had just bought her Saturday at the Kecksburg UFO Festival.

What attracted 5-year-old Everly to prompt her mother to buy her the odd item?

“Cause I like aliens and I like scary things,” said Everly, who was so concerned about her alien that she tried to feed it something … inedible.

Like daughter like mother, because Holly said, “we both love aliens.”

The little girl who will be entering kindergarten this school year was not the only one fascinated by the UFO-, Big Foot- and alien-related paraphernalia Saturday at the annual festival.

Hundreds of people crowded the Kecksburg Volunteer Fire Department grounds, walking along the booths of some 70 exhibitors selling t-shirts, hoodies, jewelry, cards, posters, painted rocks, postcards and about anything that could carry a UFO-theme.

Many people at the festival were walking around t-shirts touting UFOs and aliens. Some in the parade were dressed as aliens.

So, why Kecksburg?

The festival has evolved out of the mystery of an object that fell from the sky on Dec. 9, 1965, landing in woods near Kecksburg. It was quickly hauled away by military personal underneath a tarp on a flatbed trailer. Those who have investigated the Kecksburg UFO said it was transported to a station near Columbus, Ohio, then to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.

The popularity of the festival has exploded in the past four or five years, according to Eric Altman of Hempfield, founder of the Pennsylvania Cryptozoology Society, a group of volunteers investigating strange animal and cryptid cases in Pennsylvania and surrounding states. His reputation is such that he said he has been interviewed for 12 documentaries and movies related to mysteries surrounding unidentified objects.

“It is amazing how the interest has really grown and taken off,” said Altman, who has been involved in researching the unidentified animals and objects for some 27 years.

Altman believes that social media is a big reason for the popularity of the festival and growth in interest about UFOs, aliens and mythical creatures like Big Foot. Social media gives people the chance to share their experiences and beliefs, without having them filtered through traditional news media or skeptical journalists.

The man who could be considered the “godfather” of the notoriety of Kecksburg UFO, Stan Gordon of Greensburg, was again engaging fans and prospective book buyers as they shared stories of what they believe were UFO sightings.

“We’ve been sharing our experiences with UFOs and Big Foot,” Gordon said. “There have been a lot of UFO sightings since 2021.”

Ronald L. Murphy Jr., 54, who is following in Gordon’s footsteps and recalled hearing him on radio programs, has his own books about Big Foot. Murphy was interested, in part, because the crash occurred along Chestnut Ridge, which he could clearly see from his childhood home in Blairsville.

“This is the quintessential American country festival, regardless of whether or not you believe (in UFOs or aliens),” Murphy said.