The planning committee for the Buck Nelson Festival, to be held the weekend of April 5 through 8 in Mtn. View, coinciding with the area's total solar eclipse, has finalized events and provided a schedule of things to do and see for all ages and interests.
The festival’s theme centers around UFOs, space and science, and is a fundraiser for the nonprofit Mtn. View Youth Soccer program, Mtn. View Youth Sports and Mtn. View Youth Center. Buck Nelson was a Mtn. View area resident in the late 1950s who brought wide attention and UFO enthusiasts and investigators to the Ozarks with claims he spotted UFOs at his farm and later took a trip on a spaceship.
His adventure was recounted in the book "My Trip to the Moon, Mars, and Venus" and described the craft and its pilots, including some of the technology involved and the social customs and beliefs of the space travelers.
For several years Nelson held space conventions on his farm and communicated with other UFO investigators nationwide, and he continues to be an area legend decades after his death.
From 5 to 8 p.m. April 5, an art show and science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (S.T.E.A.M.) display will be held at the Mtn. View Community Center, 125 E. First St. A Space Jam Skate Party will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. will be held at the Mtn. View Family Youth Center, 306 Bay St.
From 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 6, there will be an "Out of this World" Craft Show at the Family Youth Center, and a Galaxy Gala dance for adults from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the center, with babysitting provided.
Then, from 1 to 5 p.m. April 7, there will be an art show, with a glow run in the evening.
The highlight of the event will be the solar eclipse, to begin at 12:38 in the afternoon April 8, reaching totality at about 1:56 p.m. and lasting for two minutes and 17 seconds. Food vendors will be set up that day and the festival will conclude with a Cosmic Light Show at Veterans Park, a costume contest, and a Galactic Parade at 5:30 p.m.
During totality, when the moon is situated between the earth and sun, the sky will darken as if night is approaching and brighter planets and stars will be visible. The eclipse will then subside as the moon's orbit causes it to slip from between the earth and the light of the sun.
Totality is a rare astronomical occurrence and will be visible only in a narrow corridor of the United States that will stretch in an arc in the continental United States, from Texas to Maine, via central Arkansas, south central and southeast Missouri, and through parts of Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, before skimming a tiny portion of Pennsylvania, clipping upstate New York and hitting northern New Hampshire and Vermont, finally ending in the northern half of Maine.
For more information, visit the “Buck Nelson Festival/Eclipse 2024” Facebook page, where a vendor registration form can be found. People can also contact Crystal Stoops at 417-934-0128, or Robin McCullough at 573-979-9071 or McCullough at rockinrobin2559@gmail.com.
