Texas UFO Festival Focuses on Weirdness - Features Parade, Concerts, Stargazing, and More

PRESIDIO, Texas - Oct. 15, 2014 - PRLog -- UFOs, ghosts, science fiction, and astronomy are among the "otherworldly" topics that highlight the 3rd Annual Border Zone UFO Festival in Presidio, Texas, on Friday, Oct. 24 and Saturday, Oct. 25, 2014, at the Presidio Activity Center, 1400 E. O’Reilly Street. Sponsored by the City of Presidio, the Festival features a wide range of education and entertainment options for lovers of the weird and unusual, including talks by one of the world's top UFO researchers, England's Nick Pope, as well as Star Trek, Stargate, and Twilight Zone writer David Bennett Carren.

Pope has been called “the real Fox Mulder.” For 21 years, he was in charge of the British government’s “X Files,” investigating UFO sightings, crop circles, alien abductions, and ESP. Because of his many years of working for the government on paranormal subjects, he has been compared to the fictional hero of the television series The X-Files, except that everything Pope experienced was real.

While working on the British Ministry of Defense's top secret "UFO Project," Pope investigated UFO sightings, looking for evidence of a potential threat to the defense of the United Kingdom, or anything of more general defense and/or scientific interest. He was intrigued by the fact that a significant number of UFO cases could never be adequately explained. He was particularly interested in cases where the witnesses were pilots, or where UFOs were tracked on radar.

He also investigated alien abductions and crop circles, and was involved in work to evaluate whether the government should recruit psychics to undertake intelligence work. When details of Pope’s formerly-classified work were released under the UK’s Freedom of Information Act, the media called him "the real Fox Mulder."

Pope left the MoD in 2006 after a successful 21-year career and is now recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on UFOs, the unexplained, conspiracy theories and fringe science. He does extensive TV work and has also worked with Hollywood film companies to promote various alien-themed sci-fi movies.He is also the best-selling author of four books: one on UFOs, one on alien abductions and two sci-fi novels.

Also appearing at the Border Zone UFO Festival is award-winning television and motion picture writer / director / producer David Bennett Carren, who has been involved in the production of more than 200 films and television shows, including many classic science fiction shows. Among his cherished memories in his long career is having worked with Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, the original Captain Kirk William Shatner, and Star Trek: Next Generation cast members including Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner. Audiences find his "Star Trek" stories amazing and inspiring.

An episode Carren wrote for Star Trek: the Next Generation, called “Future Imperfect” is still fondly remembered by the many fans of the show. In Carren’s story, after an away mission to Alpha Onias III interrupts Commander Riker’s birthday party, the first officer suddenly awakens in sick-bay sixteen years in the future where he is the captain of the Enterprise and about to negotiate a peace treaty with the Romulan Star Empire.

The Festival also features authors Noe Torres and Ruben Uriarte who have written two books about a mysterious UFO incident that happened about 40 miles northwest of Presidio, Texas, in August 1974. The case, commonly known as "Mexico's Roswell," involved the crash of a UFO in the Mexican desert directly across the Rio Grande River from Texas and the subsequent top-secret U.S. mission to recover the downed saucer. This incident inspired the city of Presidio to host its first UFO Festival back in 2012.

Also speaking will be Melanie Young, owner of a mysterious humanoid skull found in the Mexican State of Chihuahua. A number of recent tests on the skull indicate that it may have belonged to an extraterrestrial, since its composition and characteristics do not seem to match those of any creature known to have lived on Earth.

Other guest speakers include Dr. Javier Morales, Dennis Balthaser, and Steve Andrasko. In addition to the UFO lecture series, the Festival also features a "UFO parade," alien costume contest, ghost hunt at Fort Leaton, astronomy star party at Fort Leaton, and the annual "Dude of the Dead" music festival going on the same weekend.

The music festival, which will be held at the Presidio softball complex directly behind the UFO Festival, has been featured in many state and regional media, including Texas Monthly magazine, which said, "Halloween is that one time of year when you don’t get strange looks for talking to dead people. Why not take advantage and commune with a host of souls in a far-out place like the Chihuahuan Desert in deep West Texas? Dude of the Dead Music Festival, an event akin to Burning Man that mashes Día de los Muertos rituals with live music, is like one big séance.”

Big Bend Now said, "Caravan out to the West Texas desert and share the celebratory experience with other campers under the stars at the annual Dude of the Dead Music Fest on. Music acts will perform on Saturday (Oct. 25). There’s more, including free camping, horror movies on an outdoor screen and food and refreshments all days. Rattle your bones in the stark beauty of the Chihuahuan Desert near Presidio on the Rio Grande at the international border.”

The Alpine Avalanche said: "The fun and music from past years at 'Dude of the Dead' will be returning-and that means, of course, the local favorite band that shakes the stage more than an earthquake, the Doodlin’ Hog-wallops. These musicians love performing in the area because of its mystical presence."

Complete information about the UFO Festival is available at http://presidiotx.us/ufo. For more about the "Dude of the Dead" Music Festival, visit http://dudeofthedead.net.