Which town is the real UFO Capital of Wisconsin?
Wisconsin has not one, but three towns battling for the title of UFO Capital of Wisconsin—and each one throws an annual festival that’s out of this world. From unexplained lights in the sky to bizarre stories of strange encounters, Elmwood, Belleville, and Dundee have all carved out a reputation as hotspots for the unexplained.
Whether you’re a true believer or just chasing the thrill of the unknown, this is your ultimate guide to Wisconsin’s weirdest UFO destinations and the festivals that celebrate them. So grab a brat, crack a cold one, and beam yourself into the only list you need to plan your next close encounter.
Related: Explore Wisconsin’s strangest UFO encounters in our new zine
UFO Days – Elmwood, WI
Elmwood began celebrating its extraterrestrial legacy in 1978, making it the longest running UFO festival in Wisconsin. There were numerous unexplained sightings in the area between 1973 and the first festival, including a fiery red ball as big as a football field and a massive orange object hovering off the ground that struck Elmwood police officer George Wheeler with a blue-white light that lead to a mysterious illness and caused his death less than a year later.
An intersection on County Road S is marked with a sign giving the dates of multiple UFO sightings and the names of the locals who witnessed them.
Watch CBS news talk about the Elmwood UFO landing pad.
Elmwood UFO Days happens the last full weekend of July.
[av_hr class=’default’ icon_select=’yes’ icon=’ue808′ font=’entypo-fontello’ position=’center’ shadow=’no-shadow’ height=’50’ custom_border=’av-border-thin’ custom_width=’50px’ custom_margin_top=’30px’ custom_margin_bottom=’30px’ custom_border_color=” custom_icon_color=” id=” custom_class=” template_class=” av_uid=’av-4qnk3u’ sc_version=’1.0′ admin_preview_bg=”]
Related: Alien pancakes, killed by a UFO, and more of Wisconsin’s Strangest UFO Cases
[av_hr class=’default’ icon_select=’yes’ icon=’ue808′ font=’entypo-fontello’ position=’center’ shadow=’no-shadow’ height=’50’ custom_border=’av-border-thin’ custom_width=’50px’ custom_margin_top=’30px’ custom_margin_bottom=’30px’ custom_border_color=” custom_icon_color=” id=” custom_class=” template_class=” av_uid=’av-4qnk3u-1′ sc_version=’1.0′ admin_preview_bg=”]
UFO Day – Belleville, WI
In January of 1987, lights were seen in the sky west of Belleville on several occasions by numerous residents, including local law enforcement. UFO investigator Don Schmitt and Richard Heiden from the J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies came to the small town to investigate, and the media coverage turned into a frenzy.
A few months later, 200 people gathered in the gymnasium of the Belleville High School to hear Schmitt and Heiden’s conclusion. Schmitt told the crowd that the objects they had witnessed were “genuine UFO sightings.”
No one knows exactly who or what was visiting the skies over Belleville over 30 years ago, and it seems it doesn’t particularly matter as long as you can use it as an excuse to drink beer and eat brats. The community celebrated their encounters that October with the first ever UFO Day, and it has continued annually ever since with a parade, beer fest, live music, saucer toss, alien costume ball, and other extraterrestrial activities.
Belleville UFO Day happens the Saturday closest to Halloween.
[av_hr class=’default’ icon_select=’yes’ icon=’ue808′ font=’entypo-fontello’ position=’center’ shadow=’no-shadow’ height=’50’ custom_border=’av-border-thin’ custom_width=’50px’ custom_margin_top=’30px’ custom_margin_bottom=’30px’ custom_border_color=” custom_icon_color=” id=” custom_class=” template_class=” av_uid=’av-2qbe3u’ sc_version=’1.0′ admin_preview_bg=”]
Benson’s UFO Daze – Dundee, WI
After years of bizarre happenings around Dundee Mountain, including a highly unusual crop circle formation in the reeds in Long Lake, tavern owner Bill Benson and contactee “UFO Bob” decided to hold a gathering of locals to discuss the bizarre happenings around the area.
For more than 30 years, locals and visitors from distant places (both terrestrial and extraterrestrial) continued to gather at Benson’s Hide-a-Way every year, donning elaborate tinfoil hats to have some drinks, display alien artifacts, and share their cosmic encounters with unearthly lights and Packers-loving little green men. Attendees were often treated to mysterious light shows over the lake once the sun set behind the trees of the Kettle Moraine.
UFO Daze at Benson’s came to an end when Bill Benson passed away in 2021.
[sc name=”substack-subscribe”][/sc]
