Matty Roberts, the founder of the viral Facebook event calling on people to “Storm Area 51,” has made it clear that the whole thing was a joke. But he never should’ve had to. The fundamental characteristics of the idea were beyond ludicrous: gather near the famed top-secret grounds, and “Naruto run” (yes, Naruto run) through the gates and past the bullets to discover the extra-terrestrial truth.
But if you’ve been keeping up with this frustratingly silly story, you know that a lot of people have been taking the invitation seriously. Not only have over 2 million individuals signed on to go – according to the Facebook page – but the local hotels have been booking up, and the government’s even warned against it.
However, it doesn’t look like Roberts is going to leave the idea alone.
If he hadn’t actually been planning on attending his own event before – which sounds like the case – Roberts has found himself another reason to head over to Nevada this fall. He’s now promoting something called the Alienstock Festival, a four-day-long alien celebration that’s set to take place between September 19th-22nd, the same weekend as the Area 51 raid.
According to the festival’s website, its goal is “to establish something unique here, a meeting place for all the believers.” And while this strange congregation’s set to happen in Rachel, Nevada, a small town near Area 51 with a population of less than 100 people, those 98 people aren’t too pleased with the idea.
In fact, they’re warning people against visiting, saying:
“A dubious group, known for chaotic events like Burning Man and the Las Vegas Electric Music Festival has taken over this event. They threaten to ‘take over Rachel’ and claim that the residents are ‘on board.’ The residents were not asked and are not on board and will certainly not allow their town to be taken over. This has a high potential of getting ugly. Please consider visiting at another time.”
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Please, if you’re even thinking about heading towards Area 51 in September, do reconsider. It’s not worth it.
