Roswell

 For true UFO believers, Roswell is Mecca; they converge here from all over the world for the festival, which was begun on a small scale in 1995 and expanded in 1997 for the 50th anniversary of the mysterious “crash.” This year’s festival will include an Alien Market of sci-fi vendor booths with hard-to-find paraphernalia for collectors, a UFO/Alien Masquerade Ball, UFO parade, live musical entertainment, a night golf tournament, symposiums and lectures on UFO phenomena.

The museum, which logs more than 200,000 visitors a year, doesn’t charge admission. It makes money from donations and its gift shop, which sells all things alien – T-shirts, posters, boxer shorts, neckties, glow-in-the-dark aliens, blinking alien buttons and pins, Glow Pops candy, wind chimes, coasters, pens, glassware, post cards, stickers, badges, magnets.
Still more items can be purchased at the nearby Alien Experience, an amusement/photo op experience where visitors, for a $2 charge, can interact with alien mannequins and props and savor the encounters on camera.

Across from the museum parking lot, the Crash Down Diner serves “out of this world” food. “We were the first alien-themed diner,” says Frank Gamboa, who, with wife Marni, opened the cafe in November 2000. Her parents, Randhi and Richard Hesse, own the Star Child gift shop next door.

Hungry aliens can choose from breakfast items such as Alien Trio (three pancakes), Invader (two eggs and toast), Angel Eyes (two eggs in a hole with sausage or bacon) or Black Hole (egg and cheese with ham, bacon or sausage on a bagel). Space Burgers are named after characters from the TV show “Roswell,” although many diners bypass the patty melt because it’s named Tess, a disliked character on the show.

Many of the names are those suggested by customers. The Gamboas, however, reject some. “Someone suggested alien entrails for a pasta dish, but we decided against that,” says Frank Gamboa, who was born in Roswell and returned in 1992 after serving in the Marines. He is chairman of the festival parade.

He chides the many locals who don’t get into the UFO spirit. “It’s what brings people to Roswell. They should get out and promote it.” Richard Hesse, who calls himself the original Roswell alien, or Roswellien, says Roswell has become a destination for the curious, and travelers within a 500-mile radius or even farther will come here.

“It’s a historical fact that an incident happened here. The question is what that incident was. The evidence isn’t conclusive