From Chronicle Staff
According to a 2022 report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the number of sightings of unidentified aerial phenomena, also known as UAPs or Unidentified Flying Objects, has risen significantly over the past two years, with mounting evidence that we are not alone.
Believers and skeptics alike can examine the evidence for themselves and hear first-hand from paranormal investigators at the 3rd Annual Chehalith Flying Saucer Party, hosted by the Lewis County Historical Museum, City Farm Chehalith, McPhilers Bar & Restaurant, and McPhilers Chehalith Theatre.
The theme will celebrate the UFO pop culture boom of the 90’s.
Scheduled for September 22nd and 23rd, the two-day event will feature a special exhibit on the 1990s UFO boom at the museum, the Northwest Flying Saucer Film Festival, and a screening of “Mars Attacks!” McPhailer’s Cheharis Theater features a “Running of the Saucers” parade and saucer drop, paranormal investigator talks, and performances by Pacific Northwest rock and blues bands Mystic Plumen and Olympia-based psychedelic fusion band Space Whales.
In addition, there will be vendors at City Farm Cheharis and Museum. The final event is a fancy dress party at McFiler’s Bar & Restaurant.
The final two speakers at the event are Scott Schaefer and Vince Indunza.
Schaefer is a multiple Emmy Award-winning writer, producer, and director who worked on the 90’s educational show Bill Nye the Science Guy and the paranormal show Sightings.
He will share his clashes with Nye, his own encounters with the unexplained, how he went from skeptic to believer to skeptic again during his television career, and his current take on UFOs.
Indunza is a member of the Pacific Northweird, a group of paranormal investigators dedicated to documenting and studying various paranormal phenomena, including UFOs, throughout the Pacific Northwest.
He delves into participants’ representations of UFOs in ’90s pop culture and plots how they influence today’s cultural landscape.
Other speakers, Chanel Schantz and Jonathan Dover, were announced earlier this year.
Schantz is the granddaughter of Kenneth Arnold. Arnold is the pilot who witnessed a UFO during his famous flight from Chehalis to Yakima in 1947, igniting the modern UFO movement and inadvertently coining the term flying saucer. She opens the meeting and shares Arnold’s story.
Dover is a former law enforcement officer who has spent a 31-year career with the Winslow Arizona Police Department, the National Park Service, the Navajo Historic Preservation Service, and the Navajo Nation Rangers. Paranormal investigators will share findings from 11 years of incidents on Navajo lands in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
The schedule for the Chehalith Flying Saucer Party is as follows.
September 22nd
• The 90’s UFO Boom Exhibit runs all day at the Lewis County Historical Museum and is free to attend.
• Doors open at 5:30 PM for the Northwest Flying Saucer Film Festival at McPhailers Cheharis Theater. The festival runs from 6pm to 10pm and tickets are $10.
September 23rd
• The 90’s UFO Boom Exhibit runs all day at the Lewis County Historical Museum and is free to attend.
• Lewis County Historical Museum and City Farm Cheharis concession opens at 9:00 am. Admission is free.
• Mr. Schantz and Mr. Dover’s presentation will begin at 10:00 am at City Farm Cheharis. Tickets are $10.
• “Running of the Saucers” takes place at noon on Northwest Front Street between McPhailers Bar & Restaurant and the Lewis County Historical Museum. Participation is free.
• The Saucer Drop will be held at 12:15 pm at the Lewis County Historical Museum. Participation is free.
• Indunza’s presentation will take place at 1:00 pm at City Farm Cheharis. Tickets are $10.
• Mystic Plummen performance at McFiler’s Bar & Restaurant from 2pm. Participation is free.
• “Mars Attacks!” Screening begins at 2:00 pm at McPhailers Cheharis Theatre. Tickets are $10.
• Mr. Schaefer’s presentation will begin at 3:00 pm at City Farm Cheharis. Tickets are $10.
• The Space Whales performance will be held at 4pm at McPhailers Bar & Restaurant and is free to attend.
• The Speaker Panel will begin at 5pm at City Farm Cheharis with all four speakers. Tickets are $10.
• The costume party starts at 7:00 pm at McFiler’s Bar & Restaurant. Participation is free. The best costume will be awarded a cash prize of $100.
Tickets are on sale online, and a VIP package with access to all events is available for $55. The VIP package also includes a Chehalis Flying Saucer Party shirt and poster, a VIP bracelet, a keepsake bag, and $10 worth of food at McFiler’s Bar & Restaurant.
To purchase a ticket or VIP package, please visit: https://tinyurl.com/2ceczbss.
The Lewis County Historical Museum is at 599 NW Front St., City Farm Chehalis is at 456 N. Market Blvd., McFiler’s Bar & Restaurant is at 543 NW Pacific Ave., and McFiler’s Chehalis Theater is at 558 N. Market Blvd., all in downtown Chehalis.
For more information, please visit: https://www.flyingsaucerparty.org/fsp-schedule-2023.
