Kayla S. Samoy

The Republic | azcentral.com

The International UFO Congress is baaack! In Scottsdale for its 25th year, the five-day conference allows attendees to get their extraterrestrial fix through prominent speakers, films and other interactive displays. This year's event even features an exclusive preview screening of a docu-drama about one of the largest UFO encounters in modern history - and it happened right here in Phoenix.

Here are some highlights from this year's conference:

Largest UFO convention

Keep in mind, this is THE conference to attend if you are interested in non-Earth based life forms. The International UFO Congress holds the official Guinness World Record for largest UFO convention.

In 1991, Wendelle Stevens started the event in Tucson. Stevens was involved in ufology for 54 years, wrote 22 books and was the director of Investigations for the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization. He passed away in 2010 at 87.

Now, a company called Open Minds Productions runs the event and brought it to the Phoenix area after a stint in Laughlin, Nevada.

Believers, skeptics from all over the world attend

Thousands of people from all over the world come out to this event every year. Some are true believes. Others just aren't so sure. Some are skeptics hoping to learn more; others are convinced they've had alien encounters, and then there are the conspiracy theorists - those who believe the government is hiding information about aliens.

"Everybody is very positive and excited," said Alejandro Rojas, conference organizer, emcee and director of operations for Open Minds. "It's kind of a taboo subject and people aren't often comfortable sharing their ideas around the topic. At this venue, every person is there for the event so people are really excited."

The venue, the We-Ko-Pa Resort, sells out earlier and earlier every year. Rojas said the hotel was booked in November, and now surrounding hotels are filling up with conference attendees.

Big names slated: Jacques Vallee, Douglas Trumbull

For the 25th anniversary, organizers pulled in some big speakers. Panels are full of accredited and respected professors, researchers and scientists.

"What a lot of people don't know is that there is a wide variety of beliefs, and the credibility of the presenter or the researcher doesn't mean that their ideas aren't fringe," Rojas said.

Computer scientist and astronomer Dr. Jacques Vallee rarely makes appearances but will be talking at the conference about using science to bring clarity and credibility to the study of UFOs.

Douglas Trumbull, a film director and special-effects supervisor, whose work includes "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," will also attend. He will talk about his UFOTOG project (a mesh of the words UFO and photography), which he is using to scan the skies for unidentified objects.

Former Congressman Merrill Cook will discuss how he would handle government UFO disclosure.

One notable panel will feature a group of academics debating alien abductions. They all believe, but they'll be presenting their ideas about whether the abductions are for good or evil.

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UFO sightings in Arizona

March 13, 1997, is one of the the largest mass UFO sightings in U.S. history. Up to 30,000 people reported seeing the Phoenix Lights. Some saw lights in a triangular formation across Arizona, while others saw a series of lights hovering over the Phoenix area. And according to filmmaker Keith Arem, that same night four Phoenix residents vanished in the Estrella Mountain National Park and were never found.

The docu-drama "The Phoenix Incident" presents one version of what might have happened that night. Tucson native Arem investigates the disappearances, the UFO sighting and shines light on details pointing to a military cover-up.

"I wanted to honor my heritage of the state I grew up in and dig into this fascinating event that took place that so many people witnessed," Arem said. "I really hope the film promotes transparency and disclosure within our government. I want to challenge our audience to question what they believe, what they've seen on tv, what they've read in the papers or seen with their own eyes."

The film will have an early screening Feb. 19 at the conference before it's nationwide debut in 200 theaters on March 10.

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Free events

Tickets to various parts of the conference range from $25 for one morning of speaker presentations to $349 for full access to all events. If you don't have the cash to spend but still want to check out the event, the vendor room and film festival are free and open to the public.

Vendors include the speakers themselves, selling and signing their books or movies, UFO and space-related items, artwork and even some psychics.

Get hands on

Another free event that will give attendees the chance to look for UFOs is the Night Vision Skywatch. Ben Hansen, host of the SyFy show "Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files," will have night-vision gadgets on hand and will talk people through the process of spotting UFOs and what to be looking for.

Share your story

For those who want to share stories of alien encounters or listen to others recount their experiences, the Experiencer Sessions aim to provide a safe and comfortable place for that discussion. All sessions are led by a qualified therapist, and press are not allowed in.

If you go: International UFO Congress

Details: Feb. 17-21. We-Ko-Pa Resort and Conference Center, 10438 N. Fort McDowell Rd., Scottsdale. 877-836, ufocongress.com.

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