CARBONDALIEN FESTIVAL MARKS 50th ANNIVERSARY OF RUSSELL PARK MYSTERY

Join us for an Extraterrestrial Festival 50 years in the making! The Carbondale Arts Alliance will host the
Inaugural Carbondalien Festival on November 9th in downtown Carbondale from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm.
The Festival will commemorate Carbondale’s unique UFO past, celebrate local UFO culture and pay tribute
to the curious happenings of November 9th, 1974.

The event will include Out of this World vendors in partnership with Wyoming Valley Ghost Tours, local
food and spirits, live music, art, photo ops with costumed characters including Bigfoot and Star Wars Storm
Troopers by Garrison Carida. In addition there will be supernatural guest speakers, tethered Alien hot air
balloon rides and an immersive theatrical ” Russell Park Experience ” at the 1974 Crash Site! An after-party is
also planned featuring guest speaker Heather Taddy, star of Paranormal State and Alien Highway.

The Arts Alliance is pleased to be leading this effort which officially kicked off on October 9th when the Alien
Scavenger Hunt went live at https://carbondalienfestival.com/aliens/ to engage the public in a county-wide
search for Aliens created by artist JFO and displayed at local businesses. Partnerships for the project include
many local businesses and organizations who are also planning special ways to promote the Festival.

On October 17, the Circle Drive-In will offer a special screening of Spaceballs, the 1987 classic parody
film.
● Steamtown National Historic Site’s Iron Horse Society will offer the Extraterrestrial Express train
excursion on the morning of the Festival departing Scranton at 10:45 am.
● The Carbondale YMCA will offer The Alien Themed Open Swim from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm during the
Festival
● Carbondale Public Library has planned several programs to complement the Festival with an Alien
Teen Bingo slated for October 29, and an Alien Storytime and Craft activity and an Extraterrestrial
Film Festival of classic sci-fi favorites, also on the day of the Festival.

Also on the day of the Festival, the Hotel Anthracite will host a Supernatural Speakers Series from 11:30 am
to 3:30 pm offering a variety of themed presenters and leading experts on UFOs, Bigfoot, and other
Paranormal topics. Speakers will include:

• James Krug on Invasion of the Body Snatchers & How to Become a MUFON Investigator;
• Bill Weber on UFO Sightings and Cover Ups;
• Tim Renner on The 1920’s Bigfoot Flap in Pennsylvania;
• and Alan B. Smith on Exposing UFO Debunkers

The Festival concludes with an after party at the Hotel Anthracite from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm with
Pennsylvania native, Heather Taddy presenting World of the Weird . Taddy, best known for A&E television
series Paranormal State and for her work to explore the history of UFOs on Alien Highway, will share her
origin story and discuss how she first became interested in paranormal phenomena.

This project is supported by Lackawanna County Visitors Bureau, Lackawanna County Arts and Culture, Advanced EES, Adam’s Cable, Advanced Air Quality Systems, Oprisko Kielbasa, B & G Winery LLC, Bifano Family Dentistry, Dime Bank, Hendrick Manufacturing Co, Mountain Laurel Surgery Center NE Gastroenterology Associates, Colarusso’s Coal Fired Pizza, Goodwill, PNC Bank, Shanty Town Design, SpoSho Investments, Center City Print, East Coast Specialties, City of Carbondale, Carbondale Parks and Recreation, Wyoming Valley Ghost Tours, Lackawanna Historical Society, Shanty Town Design, Circle Drive-In, Anthracite Hotel and KOL Restaurant, Iron Horse Society, Scranton Wilkes Barre Penguins, Adam’s Cable, Carbondale Police Department, Black Rock Creative, White Lotus Yoga Studio and Music Manor.

Click here to view the List of Events for Carbondalien Festival 2024

Click here to view the Calendar of Events