Exeter UFO Festival returning in 2022: Here’s what to expect.

EXETER — The UFO Festival is returning to Exeter after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, celebrating the 57th anniversary of “The Incident at Exeter.”

The Labor Day weekend event Sept. 3-4 at Town Hall is the Exeter Area Kiwanis Club's largest fundraiser of the year.

The festival celebrates one of the Seacoast’s most famous UFO sightings. The “Incident at Exeter” was a highly publicized UFO sighting on Sept. 3, 1965. It actually took place in Kensington but was famously attributed to Exeter in John Fuller's book, “Incident at Exeter."

The two-day event features guest speakers, a costume contest and a trolley ride to the Kensington crash site.

“It’s important that the town gets recognition for not only the event that happened nearby, but also a chance for people to get out and have a lot of fun,” said Robert Cox, president of the Exeter Area Kiwanis Club.

According to Cox, the UFO Festival has been dubbed by many as the town’s “Labor Day event,” and has been a part of the community’s annual calendar for more than a decade.

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What was the ‘Incident at Exeter’?

The origin of this event came from a highly publicized sightings of strange red lights in the Exeter area on Sept. 3, 1965.

In the early morning hours of Sept. 3, the Exeter Police Department began getting reports of flying objects chasing people.

One woman reported being chased by a red-lighted flying object while driving on Route 101.

Two hours later a terrified Norman Muscarello, an 18-year-old Naval recruit, reported seeing a strange light in the woods in nearby Kensington.

Two officers went back to the farmhouse with Muscarello and later said they had also seen a flying object that he couldn't explain.

According to the newspaper account, the men described it as "about the size of a house," and it "hovered silently over the nearby farm buildings frightening animals in the barn before disappearing in the distance."

The Air Force said the sightings were either a mirage caused by a temperature inversion or one of five B-47 planes in the area at the time.

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What’s the lineup at this year’s UFO Festival?

Cox said the event will have something for everyone, whether you’re eager to learn more about the paranormal or just looking for something to do on Labor Day weekend. The festival will have an arts and craft stand for children.

This year’s guest speakers include Paul and Ben Eno, the father-son co-hosts of “Behind the Paranormal,” who believe UFOs, ghosts and other paranormal are closely connected. The show, which attracts an estimated 3 million listeners, is celebrating its 10th anniversary.

Also speaking is Kathleen Marden, a leading UFO researcher, author and lecturer.

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On Saturday, the festival will have an “Alien Costume and Alien Pet” contest, where children (and their pets, if they have one) can come and dress up as aliens. Kids will then get a chance to parade their costumes from the old town park down to the center of the town before being judged based on creativity and looks, according to Cox.

One of the highlights of the festival each year is the trolley ride to the Kensington crash site, which will only be happening on Saturday.

“We’ll have a person on the trolley that will talk about what happened (during “The Incident at Exeter”) and tell the story of the whole event,” said Cox. “As people are seeing the area, they can also listen to the story.”

Across from Town Hall will be a food stand provided by the Exeter Area Kiwanis Club, where foods and refreshments will be served. Attendees can expect carnival-type food and drinks such as hotdogs, hamburgers, potato chips and sodas.

According to Cox, the festival is free to attend but there is an admission for special events, like meeting the guest speakers and trolley ride. The cost of the events are between $5 to $20 and 100% of the proceeds will be donated to a long list of charities and programs the Kiwanis Club supports.

“Every year we give scholarships to Exeter High School and the Seacoast School of Technology,” said Cox. “We donate to the YMCA Camp Lincoln Program, kid’s program (through) the Exeter Recreation Department and 68 Hours of Hunger.”

The festival typically raises between $8,000-$9,000 for the club in pre-COVID-19 times.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Exeter NH UFO Festival returns for Labor Day weekend in 2022