With sightings of unidentified aerial phenomena — also known as UAP or unidentified flying objects — increasing significantly over the past two years, according to a 2022 report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, evidence that we are not alone keeps piling up.
Believers and skeptics alike are all invited to look at evidence themselves and hear directly from paranormal investigators at the third Chehalis Flying Saucer Party, hosted by the Lewis County Historical Museum, City Farm Chehalis, McFiler’s Bar & Restaurant and McFiler’s Chehalis Theater.
The theme will be celebrating the 90s UFO pop-culture craze.
Scheduled for Sept. 22 and 23, the two-day event will feature a special 1990s UFO craze exhibit at the museum, the Northwest Flying Saucer Film Festival and a screening of “Mars Attacks!” at McFiler’s Chehalis Theater, a “Running of the Saucers” parade and Saucer Drop, paranormal investigator speakers and performances from the Pacific Northwest rock and blues band The Mystic Plowmen and Olympia-based psychedelic fusion band The Space Whales.
Additionally, vendors will be present at City Farm Chehalis and the museum. The final event will be a costume party at McFiler’s Bar & Restaurant.
The final two speakers for the event will be Scott Schaefer and Vince Ynzunza.
Schaefer is a writer, producer and director who won multiple Emmy awards and worked on the educational show “Bill Nye The Science Guy” and paranormal show “Sightings” during the 90s.
He will share his clashes with Nye, his own encounters with the unexplainable, his story on how he went from a skeptic to a believer to a skeptic again during his television career and his current views on UFOs.
Ynzunza is a member of Pacific Northweird, a group of paranormal investigators aiming to document and research various paranormal activity, including UFOs, throughout the Pacific Northwest.
He will take attendees through an in-depth look at UFO representation in 90s pop-culture and map out how it still affects the cultural landscape today.
The other speakers, Shanelle Schanz and Jonathan Dover, were announced earlier this year.
Schanz is the granddaughter of Kenneth Arnold, the pilot whose UFO sighting on his famous flight from Chehalis to Yakima in 1947 sparked the modern UFO movement and inadvertently coined the term flying saucer. She will give opening remarks and share Arnold’s story.
Dover is a retired law enforcement officer with service spanning a 31-year career in the Winslow, Arizona, police department, the National Parks Service, the Navajo Historic Preservation Department and the Navajo Nation Rangers. The paranormal investigator will share investigation results from cases spanning 11 years on Navajo Nation lands in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
The Chehalis Flying Saucer Party’s schedule is as follows:
Sept. 22
• The 90s UFO craze exhibit will be open all day at the Lewis County Historical Museum and is free to attend.
• Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. for the Northwest Flying Saucer Film Festival at McFiler’s Chehalis Theater. The festival will go from 6 to 10 p.m. Tickets are $10.
Sept. 23
• The 90s UFO craze exhibit will be open all day at the Lewis County Historical Museum and is free to attend.
• Vendors at the Lewis County Historical Museum and City Farm Chehalis will open at 9 a.m. It will be free to enter.
• Schanz and Dover’s presentations will begin at 10 a.m. at City Farm Chehalis. Tickets are $10.
• The “Running of the Saucers” will be at noon on Northwest Front Street between McFiler’s Bar & Restaurant and the Lewis County Historical Museum. It is free to attend.
• The Saucer Drop will be held at 12:15 p.m. at the Lewis County Historical Museum. It is free to attend.
• Ynzunza’s presentation will be at 1 p.m. at City Farm Chehalis. Tickets are $10.
• The Mystic Plowmen’s performance will be at 2 p.m. at McFiler’s Bar & Restaurant. It is free to attend.
• “Mars Attacks!” screening will start at 2 p.m. at McFiler’s Chehalis Theater. Tickets are $10.
• Schaefer’s presentation will begin at 3 p.m. at City Farm Chehalis. Tickets are $10.
• The Space Whales performance will be at 4 p.m. at McFiler’s Bar & Restaurant and is free to attend.
• Speaker panel,with all four speakers will begin at 5 p.m. at City Farm Chehalis. Tickets are $10.
• Costume party will begin at 7 p.m. at McFiler’s Bar & Restaurant. It is free to attend. A $100 cash prize will be awarded for best costume.
Tickets are on sale online and a VIP package, with access to every event, is also available for $55. The VIP package also includes a Chehalis Flying Saucer Party shirt and poster, VIP bracelet, a swag bag and a $10 food coupon for McFiler’s Bar & Restaurant.
To purchase tickets or a VIP package, visit https://tinyurl.com/2ceczbss.
The Lewis County Historical Museum is located at 599 NW Front St., City Farm Chehalis is located at 456 N. Market Blvd., McFiler’s Bar & Restaurant is located at 543 NW Pacific Ave. and McFiler’s Chehalis Theater is located at 558 N. Market Blvd., all in downtown Chehalis.
For more information, visit https://www.flyingsaucerparty.org/fsp-schedule-2023.
