Jul 27, 2016 3 min read

Community fairs are happening this summer all over Pennsylvania. The one in Kecksburg, however, is a little different.

Every summer, Kecksburg, Westmoreland County, hosts its UFO Festival, to celebrate an alleged UFO sighting there on Dec. 9, 1965. This year marks the 51st anniversary of the sighting.

“It brings the people back together that lived in the area during the time it happened,” said Ronie Struble, chairman of the UFO Festival Committee, explaining many who lived in Kecksburg in 1965 often return for the fair.

The UFO sighting has been a topic of conversation both in and outside of the town of Kecksburg for the 51 years since it occurred. Various journalists researched the sighting and numerous television features over the years searched for answers. The History Channel’s “UFO Hunters” and “Ancient Aliens”, the Science Channel’s “Dark Matters”, and NBC’s “Unsolved Mysteries” all featured episodes on the UFO, and author and UFO researcher Stan Gordon produced a documentary called “Kecksburg: The Untold.”

Over the years, there was much speculation as to what the object truly was, but it remains, to this day, an unsolved mystery.

So every year, to celebrate the possibility of alien life, Kecksburg hosts the UFO Festival, which will be held Friday through Sunday at Kecksburg Volunteer Fire Department. There is more than UFO discussion, as families can enjoy bed races, cornhole tournaments, food and fireworks. All festival proceeds benefit the fire department.

The annual UFO conference will be held Sunday, the last day of the festival, where witnesses, researchers, expert and investigators share their recollections and theories.

According to Gordon, on Dec. 9, 1965, at 4:47 p.m., witnesses reported seeing a fireball crashing into the woods in Kecksburg, followed by blue smoke, which quickly dissipated. Members of the military arrived promptly at the crash site, roped off the area in order to search for the object and would not allow curious civilians near the scene, turning them away or threatening them with guns.

Many witnesses observing from afar were still able to report seeing a military flatbed trailer truck leaving the crash site hours later carrying a large tarpaulin-covered object.

A newspaper article the next day explained no object in the woods was found by the military. The most likely suggestion at the time was the object must have been a meteor. However, after seeing the flatbed truck, people remained suspicious the military removed something from the area that night.

Witness accounts given to Gordon during his research of those who were able to reach the scene before military personnel may support this theory. These witnesses reported seeing a “large metallic acorn shaped object partially buried in the ground. The device was large enough for a man to stand inside of.” This object was also described to have hieroglyphic-like writing inscribed around the base.

When asked whether or not people from Kecksburg actually believe in the UFO, Struble responded “A lot of people from kecksburg know that it happened. Thats what I’m gonna tell you.”