75 years ago, the tiny town of McMinnville, Oregon was struck with UFO fever when a local couple spotted a flying disc over their farm, making national news. 50 years later, the fever descended again with the very first UFO Festival. Time warp to today and our 25th annual festival!

This year you’ll find the who’s who of UAP experts in our speaker lineup! Get tickets now for Luis Elizondo, George Knapp & Jeremy Corbell, Dr. Rebecca Charbonneau, Stanley Milford Jr. and Brit Elders. Plus, check the schedule for all the fun: parade, street fair, live music, alien trivia, fun run, pet costume contest, costume ball and more. Join us for a galaxy of fun!

Schedule of Events:

May 15, 2025

6-10pm - UAP Pass Pickup Party and Live Music with Kirby Swatosh & the Moon Rock Patrol

All are welcome!
UAP Pass pickup 6-8pm
Live music 7-10pm

May 16, 2025

10-11:30am - Into the Parabnormal: Live podcast recording by Jeremy Scott
in the Paragon Room

All ages welcome

11:30am doors, noon film - Screening of Trent UFO Documentary
Mattie's Room at Hotel Oregon

All ages welcome

Speaker Presentation
11:30am doors, noon start - Brit Elders
An Investigation into the Meier/Pleiadian Contacts

All ages welcome

2pm doors, 3pm start - Speaker Presentation
Stanley Milford Jr.
The UFO Enigma & Paranormal Phenomena

Location:  McMinnville Community Center

3-10pm - Landing Party

Live music from 5-7:30pm and 8-10pm
Join us for a glow in the dark light party! With food & beverages, UFO merchandise and McMenamins Passport stamps in the tent. Plus, live music!

Location: Hotel Oregon Tent

3-8pm - Vendor Fair

Vendor Booths & more
Presented by the McMinnville Downtown Association
McMinnville’s downtown streets close to vehicle traffic, so you can shop the out-of-this-world vendors with plenty of fun merchandise and take in the spectacular array of people and aliens wandering this pedestrian zone.

All ages welcome
Downtown McMinnville

6pm doors, 7pm start - Speaker Presentation
George Knapp with Jeremy Corbell
Journey to the Edge of Disclosure?

Location: McMinnville Community Center

May 17, 2025

8:30AM - Space Alien Fun Run

Aliens have been sighted in Joe Dancer Park, so get your costumes and running shoes ready. You can choose to blend in with the aliens or be a space warrior for your chance to win the Costume Contest! Finishers earn medals and all participants will be entered into a raffle for prizes!

Costume Contest at 9:45 am. Prizes awarded for best kids costume, individual costume, and group costume (2-5 people and 6+ people).

Route will be approximately 3 miles.

Pets are NOT allowed.

Every participant must sign a City of McMinnville waiver prior to participating. Participants can pick up race bibs, etc. at Race Registration on Saturday morning from 7:45-8:15am at Joe Dancer Park near the skate park.

All ages welcome
$30 resident, $35 non-resident
Joe Dancer Park

8:30am doors, 9:30am start - Luis Elizondo

Universal Truth, the Evidence Is Clear: We Are Not Alone
at the community center

Luis Elizondo, who appeared on The Daily Show last fall, discusses his experiences with the Pentagon’s UFO investigation unit, diving into humanity’s greatest existential questions.

All ages welcome
$43 advance, $48 day of

Location: McMinnville Community Center

10am- 11pm - The Landing Zone

Hotel Oregon Tent + Live Music
Food, beverages, gift shop, Passport stamps & live music
The McMenamins tent serves up food and drinks, plus an outdoor gift shop*, Passport stamps and live music! Don’t miss the Alien Costume Contest and Alien Costume Ball happening right here in the tent!

Gift shop will be open from 10am-5:30pm

Live music
3:30-5:30pm – Tony Smiley
6-8pm – Rhapsody in Red
8:30-11pm: Alien Costume Ball

Location: Hotel Oregon Tent

10am  - Kids Adventure Run

Our outer space friends have descended on McMinnville again! Kids will run through Joe Dancer Park, completing outer space missions and receiving alien swag.

Must sign registration form/waiver prior to participating. Adventure Run sign-up and start near the skate park.

Route will be .75 mile route.
All ages welcome
Free; must sign up before participating

Location: Joe Dancer Park

10am - 6pm - Vendor Fair

Vendor Booths & more
Presented by the McMinnville Downtown Association
McMinnville’s downtown streets close to vehicle traffic, so you can shop the out-of-this-world vendors with plenty of fun merchandise and take in the spectacular array of people and aliens wandering this pedestrian zone.

All ages welcome
Downtown McMinnville

12:00 pm - UFO Festival Parade

noon start
All ages welcome
Location: Downtown McMinnville

2pm doors, 3pm start - Dr. Rebecca Charbonneau

The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence During the Cold War
at the community center

Dr. Rebecca Charbonneau’s book Mixed Signals: Alien Communication Across the Iron Curtain made the Financial Times list of Best Books of 2024.**

What happens when humanity’s quest to find extraterrestrial intelligence collides with one of the most politically tense periods in history? During the Cold War, scientists from rival superpowers – the United States and the Soviet Union – worked together to search for signals from alien civilizations. Despite ideological divides, the looming threat of nuclear Armageddon and the challenges of international collaboration, these researchers pursued a shared dream of cosmic communication.    
Dr. Rebecca Charbonneau explores the fascinating intersection of science, politics, and culture in the history of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). Drawing from her new book, Mixed Signals: Alien Communication Across the Iron Curtain, Dr. Charbonneau shows how the geopolitical tensions of the Cold War shaped humanity’s search for extraterrestrial life – and how, in turn, that search reflected our hopes and fears as a species in a world on the brink of destruction.

All ages welcome
$28 advance, $33 day of

Location: McMinnville Community Center

2pm start - Alien Costume Contest

Costume Contest in the Hotel Oregon tent

Don your out-of-this-world costume and battle it out to secure your title as the Coolest Alien in the Alpha Quadrant.

Sign-up begins at 10am in the Hotel Oregon tent. Space in the contest is limited; sign up early. Adults and children welcome!

Location: Hotel Oregon Tent

2pm sign-up, 2:30pm contest - Alien Pet Costume Contest
in the Granary District
The cutest and kookiest event of the weekend: dogs donning their extraterrestrial best. (Birds, lizards and all other friendly pets welcome too!)

Join the fun with your best bud in the Granary District, a 5-minute walk from Hotel Oregon.

Location:  Granary District

3:00 pm - UFO Trivia
in Mattie's Room
Finally! A reason to know just how many light years it is to the nearest star cluster. It may be trivia, but the fun’s not trivial! Join us with groups of any size or age, and win fun prizes! May the force be with you.

Tickets to this event are not included with the UAP Pass.

3-5pm
All ages welcome
$5
Location: Hotel Oregon

7:00 pm - Speaker Panel and Q&A
Ask the experts your burning UFO, paranormal and alien questions

6pm doors, 7pm start
All ages welcome
$28 advance, $33 day of
Location: McMinnville Community Center

7-10pm - Kirby Swatosh & The Moon Rock Patrol
in Mattie's Room
Live music from spaced out rock band, Kirby Swatosh & the Moon Rock Patrol!

A child of the NASA generation, Swatosh’s catchy pop/rock melodies and clever lyrics introduce a startling original imagination informed by the faith of one whose true musical home might as well be outer space. Despite his affinity for interterrestrial themes, Swatosh’s repertoire also includes down-to-earth pop — grounded by a childhood spent listening to The Beatles, Pink Floyd and James Taylor.

Location: Hotel Oregon

8:30-11pm - Alien Costume Ball
Live music
Come in costume and show off your dance skills, or just come to gawk at the crazy outfits! You won’t believe the lengths to which some of our guests go in fashioning otherworldly ensembles.

Live Music
8:30pm-11pm – My Siamese Twin

All ages welcome
Location: Hotel Oregon Tent

May 18, 2025

9am doors & breakfast buffet, 10am speakers - Breakfast with the Speakers
in Mattie's Room
In this fun, interactive event, not only will you meet fellow UFO Festival fans, but speakers will rotate through your table for a set amount of time so that you can hear from them up close and personally. And when the bell rings, your time with that speaker is up as he or she rotates to the next table!

Advance tickets highly recommended. This event often sells out.

All ages welcome
$58 advance, $63 day of

Location: Hotel Oregon

Date: May 15 - 18, 2025

Location: Various Venues in McMinnville, OR

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