Roswell 2008

I can't get enough of this stuff, and I really don't know why. So here we go:

Associated Press - July 8, 2008 9:55 AM ET
ROSWELL, N.M. (AP) - International UFO Museum and Research Center officials say attendance at Roswell's annual UFO festival jumped more than 25% this year.

The museum's executive director, Julie Shuster, says 7,216 people attended lectures, workshops, celebrity appearances and other events Thursday through Sunday.

She says she would have been happy if last year's attendance total had been met, especially with the economy the way it is and with gasoline prices rising.

The annual festival marks the anniversary of the Roswell Incident, a purported UFO crash on a nearby ranch in July 1947. The military later said it was a top-secret weather balloon.

Information from: Roswell Daily Record, http://www.roswell-record.com/

Miss New Mexico Galaxy 2008 Joan Marie Yazze-Gallegos and her dog 'Misty' participate in the CBS live broadcast of 'The Early Show' Thursday morning, July 3, 2008, helping kick off the 2008 UFO Festival.(AP Photo/Roswell Daily Record, Mark Wilson)

'Baby,' sporting designer glasses, participates in the pet costume contest held at the Roswell Convention and Civic Center Saturday morning July 5, 2008, during the 2008 Roswell UFO Festival. 'Baby' eventually took the 3rd place prize.(AP Photo/Roswell Daily Record, Mark Wilson)

Roswell Space Center owners Sharon Welz, left, and her husband Larry Welz, are pictured outside their store in Roswell, N.M., Tuesday, May 22, 2007. Sharon Welz said that 'we would welcome something like an alien roller coaster or a theme park, absolutely,' regarding a desire by city officials who want to build a UFO-themed amusement park, complete with an indoor roller coaster that would take passengers on a simulated alien abduction.(AP Photo/Jake Schoellkopf)

Roswell's biggest attraction is the International UFO Museum and Research Center, which has drawn 2.5 million visitors since opening in 1992, seen here along Main Street in downtown Roswell, N.M., Wednesday, May 23, 2007.(AP Photo/Jake Schoellkopf)

Alien eyes adorn a lamp post along Main Street in downtown Roswell, N.M., Wednesday, May 23, 2007.(AP Photo/Jake Schoellkopf)