On Saturday, a Las Vegas businessman hopes to capitalize on that reputation and the recent success of the movie "Independence Day," with an outdoor festival that he predicts will attract at least 500 people to the 100-person town.
The festival, which will be a bizarre blend of a techno music party and UFO rally, is designed to entice young partygoers who may be unfamiliar with Area 51 - as the military base is known - and the supposed UFO crash in Roswell, N.M. on July 4, 1947.
"The target audience that I want is people that are interested in the UFO phenomenon, and my son wants the young. So, we'll combine the two," said Don Suttle, a business owner who has dubbed his brainchild "Abduction."
"A tremendous number of young people don't even know 'ID-4' (the film "Independence Day") was based on the real thing and about the significance of the fourth of July," he said.
The party, which will be held on 10 acres of barren private property adjacent to the heavily guarded military base, has drawn mixed reactions from Rachel residents who are used to lots of attention, but still enjoy their small-town way of life.
Pat Travis, who runs the A'Le'Inn restaurant and motel with her husband, is a firm believer in the existence of alien life and is a recognized community spokeswoman. Nevertheless, she felt slighted by Suttle's failure to involve her and was vexed by stories she heard about "Rave" parties, as techno music celebrations are frequently called.
"I'm scared," she said. "I'm going to have two guards outside my door, and I'm not renting any of my (motel) rooms out that night."
Suttle maintains that the all-night party, where no alcohol will be allowed, is not going to involve a violent, drug-crazed crowd and will be adequately supervised by a team of 20 private security guards.
In addition, extra Lincoln County Sheriff's Department deputies and Nevada Highway Patrol officers will be out on the highways and in the town, said Sheriff Dahl Bradfield.
Suttle said other Rachel residents, almost all of whom live in trailers alongside the state's official "Extraterrestrial Highway" 150 miles northwest of Las Vegas, are supportive of the event, for which he got a county permit and posted a $2,500 bond.
He contends some of them were disappointed by the E.T. Highway's dedication ceremony, a heavily publicized event that attracted hordes of media and stars from "Independence Day" in April. Strong winds hampered the celebration, cutting down on vendors' sales, he said.
Anyone who wants to set up a booth at the festival can do so, he said, and people who claim to have had alien encounters will be on hand to share their experiences with partygoers. Suttle doesn't claim to have firsthand knowledge of aliens, but says he's intrigued by the subject matter and by the town of Rachel.
"I had trouble at first getting people who know a lot of things to talk. Most of them are Rachel residents, although I have a couple of very prominent people ... pretty well-known UFOlogists," Suttle said.
"It will range from the reasonable to the sublime. ... There's enough questions that we really need an answer to."
In addition, attendees will be encouraged to sign petitions urging the federal government to release more information about Area 51, the supposed coverup of alien craft in Roswell, and other related matters.
Ticketmaster, which is handling sales of the $25 tickets, has only sold 50 tickets so far, but Suttle said his production company ZZYZX Productions has received calls from all over the world about the event and an event hotline is averaging 22 hits per hour.
Fellow events promoters have told Suttle to expect most attendees to purchase their tickets at the gate Saturday night, and he expects between 500 and 1,000 people.
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Note: The hotline for information about "Abduction" is 702-380-7122.