Best. UFO Conference. Ever?
It is reasonably certain that anyone who organizes a UFO conference does so partly for selfish reasons: they just want to have a chance to hear and meet the people that they like. My problem is that I’ve only been to a few conferences where the majority of speakers are people I respect and whose opinions I value.
I’ve been kicking the idea of a UFO conference around for a few years now. With the death of our friend Mac Tonnies, it would be good to organize an event that would honor his name, thinking, and opinions with people who represent unpopular but noteworthy views of UFOs and the paranormal. The last time this sort of thing happened was in 2006, when Paul Kimball organized the New Frontiers Conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where Mac actually made one of his first public appearances.
Who do you think represents the most original thinking in the UFO/ anomalies field, and hasn’t been heard from enough?Â
My short list in totally random order (google the names if you want to know more):
Greg Little
Regan Lee
Chris O’Brien
Adam Gorightly
Micah Hanks
David Perkins
Graham Hancock
Aeolus Kephas
Paul Devereaux
Filip Coppens
Andy Colvin
Tim Binnall
Colin Bennett
What sort of lineup would make you give up the $$ to see? I’m kicking ideas around. I might do it, or someone without a full-time job and blessed with a gift for looking into sponsorship and a head for marketing could take up the reins. Who knows?
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Feb 06 2010 
February 6th, 2010 at 1:27 am
Keep an eye out for a fellow Haligonian named Graham Simms, who is currently finishing up a book with Chris Styles of Shag Harbour fame, which updates the SH case. Graham is also quite well versed in Oak Island lore, and the paranormal in general.
In short, he’s an up-and-comer.
February 6th, 2010 at 1:41 am
P.S. I still think the NFS was hands down the best UFO event ever. You, me, Nick, Mac, Stan, Will Wise and Robert Zimmerman. Name a better one-day line-up.
February 6th, 2010 at 1:48 am
Paul,
I can’t. Not without thinking ’til it hurts. Historically engaging and fun.
February 6th, 2010 at 2:05 am
I wish I had filmed it. Mac’s talk alone – 1 1/2 hours without a single note – would have been worth the effort. D’oh!
February 6th, 2010 at 10:42 am
Christopher Knowles
Jacques Vallee
Miriam Delicado (a passionate speaker)
Chuck and Jim from the Alagash Incident
Whitley Strieber (yes him)
William Henry (him too!)
Leo Sprinkle!
Michelle LaVinge-Wedel
- each of these folks has a VERY different and VERY valid take on this VERY weird phenominon -
February 6th, 2010 at 4:55 pm
Jim Brandon / William Grimstad!
Also- Peter Levenda/Simon!
In fact- any still living researcher with an alter ego or two would be must-see.
February 7th, 2010 at 5:47 pm
Hi all,
My first post to the blog. I have a question on this topic. I have never attended a UFO conference, but would very much like to do so. Any suggestions on where to go? I have two requirements:
1. It take place after July, even if it means waiting until 2011 to go.
2. I want a serious conference with respected speakers and topics. I looked up one that takes place in July and their was as much emphasis on the “pet costume contest” as their was on the speakers.
Thank you in advance for your help in this matter.
Regards,
Michael
February 8th, 2010 at 10:23 am
Michael,
The key is to find a conference where the speakers ask questions more than they provide answers.
Good luck. I haven’t found one yet (although the New Frontiers Symposium came closest).
Paul
February 8th, 2010 at 1:53 pm
I would add Richelle Hawks to the pot
Chris O’Brien is an excellent choice. His Trickster book (which I haven’t read, but I’m planning to) seems like the kind of pot-stirring the discipline needs.
Whitley (Strieber) is cool, but I’m intrigued about his wife Anne, giving a lecture too.
February 8th, 2010 at 2:31 pm
I didn’t include obvious choices like Nick or Jacques Vallee or Strieber because they have either gotten a good share of public exposure or they might be too expensive to consider (or have “retired.”)
February 8th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
Mike,
Good suggestions (but see my last comment.) How would YOU feel about public speaking??
February 8th, 2010 at 2:38 pm
Kapmeister,
I assume you are talking about the Roswell conference. The best ones I’ve attended (with the exception of Paul Kimball’s) are the yearly meetings of the Society For Scientific Exploration. The next one is from June 10-12 in Boulder, CO. Their 2011 meeting is in Boulder as well from June 21-23.
February 8th, 2010 at 7:31 pm
Thank you for the suggestions!
February 8th, 2010 at 7:35 pm
Is the New Frontiers Symposium still active? I found something from 2006, but that’s it.
It does seem like many of the conferences are earlier in the year, so maybe I will wait until next year to attend.
February 9th, 2010 at 1:36 am
Kapmeister,
The NFS was a one-shot deal – conferences cost money, and I lost a fair bit on that one.
On the upside, sometime this year – file this under the “better late than never” category – we should be in production on a paranormal TV talk show featuring Greg, Nick and I… and Tim Binnall of BoA fame. Mac Tonnies would have been a part of it as well, if not for his tragic death last year.
Stay tuned for details…
Paul