Original headline: Little green men adore Ont. town
The small town of Moonbeam, Ont., may want to change its name to Roswell North as it gears up a tourism campaign to become the UFO capital of Canada. The town of 1,300, about 330 kilometres northwest of Sudbury, launched a website last week where local residents can share stories of mysterious lights in the sky and flying saucer sightings.
"It's growing bigger and bigger each day," said Michel Guilbault, a consultant working with the town on a number of UFO-related projects.
"Something's happening, I couldn't say what. I'm not exactly a believer but I think it could happen."
Local lore has it the town was named Moonbeam after several residents reported seeing strange, unexplained lights in the sky as early as the 1900s.
Moonbeam has been trading on its "spacey" reputation since the early '90s when, instead of the standard animal mascot, the town erected a fibreglass flying saucer statue -- complete with flashing lights -- outside the town limits.
A recently unearthed letter to then-minister of lands and forests Rene Brunelle written in 1969 has only heightened interest in all things extra-terrestrial.
The letter described several sightings of red and orange flattened domed disks measuring 15 to 20 feet (five to seven metres) in diameter.
"When we found that letter we thought that was an interesting story, why not collect information on UFO phenomena? So we decided to do an E.T. related project in tourism," Guilbault said.
The town's UFO-inspired projects include newly opened nature trail hikes, led by an alien mascot and plans for a UFO museum.
In the past year, the town has documented a dozen UFO sightings from credible witnesses, Guilbault said.
'It's been like a snowball'
"These are all trusted people. It's been like a snowball."
Winnipeg UFO expert Chris Rutkowski said Moonbeam may have earned bragging rights as Canada's most notable space alien hub.
"I have to agree there are some things going for them that other places don't have," he said.
"It may be the only place in the world named after a UFO. Not even Roswell can say that."
And while the town can't claim the most UFO sightings of any other centre, it appears to have the longest history of sightings, Rutkowski said.
