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The ETs Are Coming Back Again...
Pine Bush Sets Welcome Mats For UFOs

PINE BUSH – Strap up or strap down, whichever is your preference, and be sure and get your tentacles in order and make sure your respirators are set to the Oxygen-Nitrogen mix needed to head over to Pine Bush, New York, this Saturday, April 26, when the fourth iteration of the grand Pine Bush UFO Fair will be rolling down Main Street in all its unique glory.

From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. the "Out of the World Car Show" will be running in the parking lot at EJR Elementary School at 78 Holland Avenue, while a giant street fair will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the UFO parade kicks off at 3 p.m. Author Linda Zimmerman will be discussing Pine Bush and the UFO phenomena at the Pine Bush Library at 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Last year, this event packed out the room so she offered to repeat her lecture this time around. At 1 p.m., author Thomm Quackenbush will read at the Village Center at 65 Main Street.

After the parade, don't miss the screening, at 4:30 p.m., of the film, "In the Night Sky: I Recall a UFO" at town hall, located at 121 State Route 302 across from the high school. Also at town hall, a Martian Art Reception will run from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Finally, at 7 p.m., Air Pirate Radio Show will run "War of the Worlds" Pine Bush Style at Fort Lox Bagels on Depot Street.

Rumor has it that the elite fan legion, the 501st (aka "Vader's Fist") will also be represented at this year's UFO fest. The 501st Legion are a world wide fan group, with more than 6,500 members, who construct and wear "screen accurate" replicas of the Imperial Stormtroopers armor suits, as well as replica suits of Sith Lords and other bad guys from the Star Wars' movie series. They take their name from a stormtrooper legion in the "Clone Wars" era of the Star Wars universe.

Word is also out that the New York Post will preview this year's UFO Fair in its Friday edition. Photographers from the Post were seen in Pine Bush last weekend.

For those who may be interested in the phenomenon of UFOs in Pine Bush, a little back story is in order...

Since at least the 1920s, Pine Bush has been known for reports of odd things in the sky at night and strange sounds, sometimes like hammers on metal, or machine sounds deep in the woods. In the 1950s, "silvery disks" were reported landing in cow pastures around town. Of course, the 1950s were prime time for "flying saucers" as well as paranoia about the Soviet Union and the H-Bomb. As those scares waned and the race to the Moon took center stage, UFO reports quietened down. But in the 1980s they came back with a vengeance. Everything from "orbs" whipping around in the sky at impossible speeds and angles, to the "Westchester Wing" — described as being "as big as a football field" flying slowly over the southern part of the Hudson Valley — reportedly seen by thousands. By the mid-80s, the fields of West Searsville, just east of Pine Bush itself, were ground zero for UFO-watchers who came on clear summer evenings, pitched lawn chairs and settled in with binoculars and cameras for the show. A number of books chronicled the phenomenon, in particular Ellen Crystall's "Silent Invasion" of 1991, based on eleven years of her research on UFOs around Pine Bush.

However, the end of the 1990s saw a decline in UFO sightings, which continued to fall away in the following decade. However, things still go — uh, strange — in the night skies around this small town. In 2012, a large "slow moving" object was reported to have flown over the hamlet and in January 2013, a massive "rectangle" was observed over Route 302.

Following requests, the Town of Crawford has designated a section of Ward Avenue, on the eastern side of the town close to West Searsville, as the designated and legal spot for night sky watching; parking is only legal between the one lane bridge and County Route 17 and absolutely no parking or travelling past the bridge is allowed. The town adds, "Please follow the rules so that we can keep this designation an open, legal viewing spot for everyone."

And, it goes without saying, should you meet aliens, send them to the Cup'n'Saucer Diner on Boniface Drive for refreshments. Not only will they get a friendly welcome, but after a journey of who knows how many light years or millennia, they'll need a good cup of coffee at the least.



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