Share your paranormal experiences at The Chalet’s ‘UFO Open Mic’ event

It’s paranormal story time at The Chalet.

On Aug. 15, starting at 7 p.m., members of the public who want to share their experiences with UFOs, Sasquatch, ghosts, and more at the Enumclaw movie theatre with the team behind the soon-to-be released “The Universe On Earth” YouTube series.

The big draw to this series, co-executive director and Enumclaw High graduate Krystal Kelley said, is that her team isn’t approaching the supernatural – UFOs specifically in the case of the show – as an “if”.

“We are assuming that phenomena is real and that it is here, and that we’re proactively engaging with this phenomena,” Kelley, who claims to have been abducted herself in 1996 in Arizona, continued. “… We want to interact with these beings as much as we can… we don’t know anyone else who is so actively trying to make contact” and documenting it for the public.

Kelley said the team’s first investigation in Puerto Rico was a resounding success and the pilot episode will feature images and video of various encounters. For example, Kelley said they encountered a being — not necessarily an alien — at Utuado that felt safe and “protective”.

While fans of the paranormal may enjoy the show, it’s the local kick-off event for the Pacific Northwest investigation that may really interest Plateau residents.

Enumclaw may seem like an odd place to hold what is being billed as a “UFO open mic” event, but it makes more sense when considering the city’s famous view.

“Mount Rainier is a big hot spot,” Kelley said, and she and her team wants to have these community events to be near where phenomena occur, even though she might be able to draw bigger crowds from larger cities.

If the topic of Mount Rainier and UFOs sounds familiar, that’s because The Courier-Herald reported on this just a month before, when local Jeff Kindle gave a presentation in Buckley about UFO phenomena in a 30-mile radius around the national park. This included incidents from the 1940s and ’50s, but also incidents as recently as 2024, when a UFO (what are now being called Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon, or UAPs) was spotted at Paradise via a park security camera.

Although it’s possible that Kelley’s team may pick out an experience from the open mic to include in their investigation, the real goal of the event is to give folks a place to share their experiences without judgement.

“We’re trying to take that stigma away and really validate people’s stories,” said Kelley, who is a member of both the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) and the local Seattle UFO Network chapter.

Tickets to the event are $14 online, or $20 at the door. Doors open at 6 p.m. Go to chalettheatre.com to purchase tickets.

Photo by Michael Brunk / nwlens.com A production photo from the 30-minute film “The Maury Island Incident” picturing FBI Agent Jack Wilcox reporting to J. Edgar Hoover.

THE PNW INVESTIGATION

The open mic will begin with a 30-minute short called “The Maury Island Incident”.

The 2014 short, directed by Scott Schaefer and written by Steve Edminston, details what’s claimed as the first-ever recorded UFO sighting in the United Stated, made just a couple weeks before the Roswell, New Mexico incident.

According to MUFON, two people reported six unidentified flying objects released debris over Maury Island on June 21, 1947. A FBI investigation ended with the witnesses recanting their report, though at the same time, the witnesses said they would claim the incident was a hoax in order to prevent further issues; one witnesses, years later, renewed his claims to a magazine.

Edminston said his movie is a narrative, not a documentary, and follows the notes of FBI Agent Jack Wilcox who investigated the incident and ultimately deemed it a “hoax”.

The Maury Island event was included in a 1952 book, “The Coming of the Saucers” by Kenneth Arnold – who himself said he witnessed UFOs around Mount Rainier and is credited with coining the term “flying saucer”.

Kelley also said the Maury Island incident is the first recording “Men in Black” sighting, a phenomena that appears to follow sighing of UFOs or cryptids like West Virginia’s Mothman to dissuade witnessed from coming forth with their experiences.

After the Enumclaw open mic, “The Universe On Earth” team will be visit various places in the PNW like around Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, Lake Chelan, and — of course — Maury Island, not only to do some historical research but also talk to locals about their experiences to “establish… the places that are the best [for] the most activity” and set up their field equipment to record something paranormal.

The pilot episode will feature UFO sightings in and around the Bermuda Triangle, and is expected to be uploaded before the end of the year, Kelley said. Kelley aims to upload additional episodes every two weeks, and the PNW investigation soon after the pilot.

To watch the show, head to youtube.com/@TheUniverseonEarth, where there are also links to their Instagram and Discord. If you can’t make the local open mic event, it will also be live-streamed and posted on their YouTube and Instagram channels.

You can also learn more about the show and upcoming events at uonearth.com.

FUNDING

While The Universe on Earth’s team of eight people have made discovering and recording UFO activity “our life mission,” Kelley said, that doesn’t mean they always have the means to do so.

The group has put together an IndieGoGo crowdsourcing fundraiser to help keep their investigations going.

Various levels of support offer different rewards, from access to their Discord channels, live Q&As, apparel, and more.

The team is looking for $44,000 in order to continue their open mic tours around North and South America and complete video production.

Head to indiegogo.com/projects/the-universe-on-earth to donate.

Krystal Kelley and her team recently visited Puerto Rico; here is Kelley at Utuado, where she said her team encountered a “being” (shown above her, in green). See below for full photo. Photo courtesy Krystal Kelley