UFO Festival this Weekend; Speaker looks at aliens of old
Jason Martell, a ufologist known for his appearances on the History Channel show “Ancient Aliens,” will talk about his research in the relationship between aliens and ancient earthly civilizations during the UFO Festival.
“I always loved science and history anyway,” he said. “It became very clear that aliens and other entities have been here, nudging us, but being very highly restrained.”
Martell said his studies have given him hope. Aliens that have visited Earth have acted benevolently and he expects that to continue to be the case if they return.
“If they do come back, they don’t want us pointing weapons at them,” but rather to offer understanding, he said.
Martell, who will speak Saturday morning, is one of seven ufology experts presenting in the McMenamins Hotel Oregon speaker series for the event.
McMenamins also will host a beer and food tent, costume contest and numerous musical performances Friday through Sunday. A Thursday evening wine-tasting kickoff was added to this year’s festival calendar. Admission to hear the speakers is $30 in advance or $35 at the door — except the sold-out session with Jeremy Corbell and George Knapp, which is $50. Most other events are free or no-host.
The McMinnville Downtown Association organizes the huge parade at noon Saturday and other and the street vendor fair.
Martell’s talk is called “Akhenaten and the Ark of the Covenant: Unveiling the Extraterrestrial Connection.” It will start at 9:30 a.m. in the McMinnville Community Center.
Martell has been on “Ancient Aliens” as one of the show’s experts for 16 years. He specializes in aliens in the ancient world, and has appeared in episodes recreating the Baghdad Battery, an ancient lightbulb and other topics.
“You see a lot of technology in the ancient world, modern technology,” he told the News-Register. “It had to be influenced by beings not in our history.”
Many ancient cultural records refer to those beings, though, he said. Some cultures call them “gods who came from the sky or the mountains,” for instance.
Martell said looks for evidence of these visits using many resources, including ancient Sumerian texts translated using AI. He is convinced there was “some type of presence” in addition to humans.
One of Martell’s research areas involves Akhenaten, one of Egypt’s best-known pharaohs, and the legendary Ark of the Covenant.
The UFO speaker said he has found intriguing parallels between Akhenaten and Moses, whose story is told in the Bible.
He theorizes that the pharaoh and Moses may have been the same person, guided by advanced alien beings. Martell also suggests that the Ark of the Covenant may have been used to power the Great Pyramid.
Martell said he is pleased to be speaking at McMinnville’s UFO Festival, which the MDA says is now the largest event of its kind in the world with an attendance of about 25,000 people a year.
“There’s a lot more interest” in UFO’s today, he said, especially after the government starting to release files related to unidentified phenomena.
“People think the release will show a huge coverup of topics related to exotic tech,” he said.
However, Martell said he has “no faith that will be released.” He expects that government agencies will continue to be secretive about anything truly useful, such as advanced weaponry. He’d keep that classified, too, he said.
Martell became interested in the study of aliens and ancient civilizations as a hobby. He founded a social app media company in 2008, the success of which has allowed him freedom to explore his interests, he said. The more he learned, the more interested he became.
He is especially intrigued by ancient Sumerian language and civilization. Sumerians developed one of the first civilizations 4,000 years ago, and their language used cuneiform script with more than 400 characters written on clay or stone tablets and cylinders.
“They left us a lot of information,” Martell said. “Academic says it’s mythology. But the ancient astronaut lens says those aren’t myths.”
AI has been a significant asset to study of the ancient Sumerian writings, he said. It can understand all 400 of the characters with incredible speed.
“We’re always looking for the needle in the haystack,” he said. “AI can look for it so much faster than manual labor.”
And, he said, using AI he has found “strong evidence” that supports his theories about the Ark of the Covenant, the Great Pyramid and the Akanatan/Moses connection. He will reveal more about those things when he speaks at the UFO Festival.
Some highlights of UFO Festival and related events:
• Parade, noon Saturday, downtown along Third and Fourth Streets.
• Vendor booths and street fair downtown, 3 to 8 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.
• McMenamins “Landing Zone” tent at Third and Evans, with food, music and gifts; an alien costume contest at 2 p.m. Saturday followed by the Alien Costume Ball from 6:30 to 11 p.m.
• Ufology speakers on topics such as anomalous phenomena, consciousness and narrative; skinwalkers; and ancient lost civilizations and extraterrestrial intervention in human history. Visit ufofest.com/speakers for a list of times and costs.
• Screening of “The Story of the Trent UFO Photos” documentary at 2 p.m. in Mattie’s Room, second floor of Hotel Oregon.
• Buchanan-Cellers will host an alien pet costume contest at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Granary District stage, Seventh and Alpine avenues.
• McMinnville Parks and Recreation’s 5-K Space Alien Fun Run starts at 8:30 a.m. Saturday in Joe Dancer Park. Registration is $30 for residents and $35; tickets available at ufofest.com/event/space-alien-fun-run-2026. A free kids adventure run for ages 3-15 will begin at 10 a.m. Register the morning of near the skate park.
• The “Race to Space” event with runs that last from one to 12 hours, is planned on the Linfield Wellness Trail. Costumes are encouraged. Runners also can participate in a “Space Sprint” or bingo runs with varying numbers of laps. For details, go to runsignup.com/Race/OR/McMinnville/RacetoSpace.
• The McMinnville Sci-Fi Film Festival hosted by Reel Hollywood Video, 105 N.W. Ninth St. All-ages showings on Friday at 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. and Saturday at 4 p.m.; a 21+ viewing Friday at 2 p.m. Admission is free, and awards will be presented after the Saturday showing.
• Joseph Jordan, author of “The Red Flags of Ufology,” will speak and show a film at 6 p.m. Saturday, May 16, at 118 N.E. Fourth St. in McMinnville and at 2 p.m. Sunday in Awaken Church, 655 Highway 99W. He also will hold a breakfast session at IHOP at 7 a.m. Monday. For more information, call 321-390-1025.
• The Second Winds Community Band will perform “Stars, Space, Galaxies, Aliens … Oh My!” at 3 p.m. at the McMinnville Community Center. The free concert will feature selections from “Star Wars,” “Star Trek,” “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “The Mandalorian,” and will include a costume-themed door prize.
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