Speakers, experts attract people to UFO conference

One of the largest annual gatherings of UFO enthusiasts is taking place in the Valley this week, bringing together participants who claim to have had encounters with alien life, those who believe their stories and those who simply are curious.

"These people here, they jump on planes and drive cross-country to be here and they've been coming for 20 years," said Tim Crawford, president and chief executive officer of Los Angeles-based UFO-TV, who has been a regular vendor at the annual conference. "Clearly they come to the eye of the storm. This is where the researchers and speakers come."

The 20th annual International UFO Congress conference began Wednesday and continues through Sunday at Fort McDowell Resort and Casino near Fountain Hills.



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The International UFO Congress was established in 1991 to host an annual conference devoted to UFOs, the possibility of alien life in outer space, government cover-ups and related topics. It previously was held in Laughlin, Nev.

This year's conference features a long list of experts along with individuals who claim to have had encounters with alien life-forms, among them Travis Walton, whose claim of a firsthand encounter with a UFO while working as a logger in Arizona in 1975 was made into a movie.

"You get to meet people that have similar experiences," said Rita Abrego, of San Antonio. "You get to keep in touch with these people."

Several of those interviewed suggested not all in attendance hold the same views.

"You come here and absorb what is right for you," said Valja Roseman, of Cape Town, South Africa, who has been coming to the event for the past 10 years and befriended Abrego at a past conference. "Not everyone comes here for the same reasons."

Joseph Luciano and his wife, Cathy, came from Colorado Springs, Colo. This is their first conference.

"What attracted us is the tremendous number of speakers, many which we have read books on, like Travis Walton," Joseph Luciano said.

"I think we are ready for this all to be disclosed to us," he said. "No one really knows the whole story. They just know pieces of the story."

Thursday's highlights included the unveiling of an "outer-space security and development treaty of 2011," according to Carol Rosin. The goal, Rosin said, was to ultimately have the treaty ratified by leaders of several countries and presented to the United Nations.

"It all begins here," Rosin said. "I am very excited."

Conference details, including the schedule through Sunday, can be found at ufocongress.com.



Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2011/02/25/20110225scottsdale-international-ufo-conference.html#ixzz1FCB02IRf