Ufologists, believers, the curious and fans of shows on the A&E Television Networks converged at AlienCon in Pasadena Saturday, March 4, eager to explore that area between science fact and science fiction.
The Covid-19 pandemic canceled the event in 2020, 2021 and 2022, spurring close to 3,000 people to attend the conference’s first day at the Pasadena Convention Center. It runs through Sunday.
Participants lined up for autograph sessions with stars from shows on The History Channel such as “Ancient Aliens,” and “The Proof is Out There.” Some wore headbands with little foam ball antennas, and t-shirts emblazoned with messages such as “We want to know,” “I believe” and “Take me with you.”
Panels discussed UAPs, or unidentified aerial phenomena, the preferred term over UFOs, or unidentified flying objects.
Katherine Flores drove from Riverside and wore a black sweater dotted with bright green alien faces. A newbie to intergalactic mysteries, she said she’s having fun learning about new ideas.
Her boyfriend Matthew Biernet said he wants to get autographs from three network stars: Giorgio Tsoukalos, filmmaker Jeremy Corbell, and reporter George Knapp, all featured in shows such as “Skinwalker Ranch” and “Bob Lazar: Area 51 and Flying Saucers.”
“I’m a big fan and I want to tell them to keep fighting the good fight and keep believing,” Biernet said. “I look at history and have to think, do we know what we think we do? And you have to have some fun with it too. It’s a good vibe here.”
Eric Hanson is a dermatologist from Portland, Ore., but for AlienCon, he dressed up as one of the mysterious Men in Black with two of his friends. The trio posed for photos with conference attendees and admitted there’s fun to be had in searching for cosmic answers.
“For me, it started with X-Files, and then ‘Ancient Aliens’ jumpstarted all of this,” Hanson said. “There are so many incidents.”
In 2017, the Pentagon officially…
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