‘I want to believe’: UFO conference comes to Fredericton

Hundreds of people packed into the Maritime Forestry Complex auditorium Saturday to learn more about the inexplicable things they’ve seen in the night sky.

The Fredericton UFO (unidentified flying object) & Metaphysical Conference was inspired by famed Fredericton UFO researcher Stanton Friedman who passed away in 2019. Speakers captivated the audience with stories and evidence that there is life in the universe beyond Earth.

“There are people here that I know of had experiences themselves and they don’t necessarily have a place where they can share their stories and ask questions,” says conference organizer Carla Sheppard. “Being able to be your authentic self no matter what, and without people shaming or calling you crazy. This is a place where we can have those real conversations.”

The conference welcomed speakers who research documented and undocumented cases involving UFOs. Over 200 people attended the event.

One of the speakers was Nova Scotia’s Chris Styles, who has written a pair of books about UFO encounters. One of his stories examines the UFO that allegedly crashed in Shag Harbour back in October 1967.

“It’s the world’s only UFO crash scenario where there are many claims that is supported in that interpretation by government documents that are freely available and entirely without controversy, as to their origin and authenticity,” Styles says. “What other field can you jump in as an amateur and make a difference?”

Jim Lawrence is a New Brunswick UFO Investigator from Woodstock who presented at the conference. He says the recent Artemis II mission that included Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen and congressional hearings about UFOs in the U.S. have piqued interest in the subject.

“The younger crowd is coming in because they’re seeing a lot of stuff on TikTok or Instagram,” says Lawrence. “Not that it’s all true but it certainly sparks a curiosity to go deeper.”

Lawrence says he only got into publicly investigating UFOs in the last five years. He tells people who are interested that you’re never too old to get involved. He says the Fredericton conference is a good place to start because it is one of the better attended UFO events he has participated in.

Styles says if you are searching for information about unconfirmed events it’s important to check your sources.

“Ninety per cent of what you read is not valid, and I think that’s risen to 99 per cent,” Styles says. “You got to work hard and seek out that one per cent for what it is there and that is worthwhile.”

Styles says when it comes to UFOs there is only one question worth asking

“The big question, of course, are is are we alone? And the possibilities… are both daunting. One is we are, and the other is we are not.”