Pop-up museum to celebrate town’s links with UFOs

APOP-UP display celebrating the world of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO) is on show in Runcorn for two weeks. The Flying Saucer Museum is on from April 10-25 in Runcorn Shopping Centre

Chiz Turnross, the organiser behind the event, is hoping to raise awareness and test the water for a potential alien festival later in the year.

The pop-up museum was inspired by the 60th anniversary of Europe’s first purported UFO contactee, James Cooke, of Runcorn, who claimed to have encountered a space- ship on Runcorn Hill in September 1957 and also to have been taken to the planet Zomdic by his extraterrestrial visitors.

Chiz, who is also an artist, came across the story while researching Cheshire folklore.

He uncovered a Runcorn Weekly News article stored in microfiche format at Runcorn Library with the headline ‘Runcorn flying saucer anticipates red moon’ in reference to the blood moon that month.

The report related the events of James Cooke’s alleged rendezvous with Zomdic.

Chiz has collaborated with curator Jane Anderson, of Models For Practice, composer Lucy Pankhurst and family, friends and residents to produce a miniature archive of UFOrelated material, workshops and perfor- mances, and to gather views and ideas from the public on the alien festival, while researching international collaborators for what he said would be the UK’s first ‘Alien Festival’.

Chiz said: “At first I was researching blind until I hit upon the idea of an Alien Festival for Runcorn and Halton, a heritage project with a difference. Beyond the James Cooke story, Halton appears to be the prime UK window for UFO activity.”

He added: “The fortnight-long mission will culminate in a specially composed alien music performance in the former Mecca Bingo hall in Runcorn Shopping City centre, which we hope will consolidate our research and celebrate our findings.”