Exeter, New Hampshire, Police Reveal UFO Festival Patch

Exeter Police unveiled their special edition patch to commemorate this year's Exeter UFO Festival.

The patch, featuring an alien giving a peace sign, will be sold for $10 on the first day of the two-day festival Saturday, September 2, in front of Exeter Town Hall. The proceeds will benefit the department's comfort dog program.

250 patches are up for sale. Last year's patches sold out, and more will be available this year.

Presented by the Exeter Area Kiwanis, the festival takes place at the Exeter Area Kiwanis Club to coincide with the infamous UFO sighting on September 3, 1965.

Legend has it that Norman Muscarello saw an object in the sky as he hitchhiked along Route 150, and dove into a ditch. He ran to a house but no one was home, so he continued hitchhiking, but this time for a ride to the police station.

An officer drove Muscarello back to the location of his first sighting, and both then saw a large object about 100 feet off the ground, making the farm animals kick and squeal. A second officer arrived and witnessed the incident as well.

The Air Force's official explanation blamed a "weather inversion", but all three men believed for the rest of their lives that what they saw was extraterrestrial.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNH