Several weeks ago, I wrote about a childhood memory of the surprising visual discovery of a gleaming silver Atlas missile poised above its underground launch pad on a trip to Roswell from my home town in Ruidoso.
At that time in the mid 1960s, the then Walker Air Force Base controlled a number of Atlas missile silos around that southeastern New Mexico city. Eventually, the Atlas missile program was discontinued and the underground silos were shuttered. Some of the silos were later acquired by private investors, one of whom turned the abandoned property into an underground Airbnb rental unit, which I found rather creepy.
But there’s been a new development for use of at least one of the Roswell area silos and I’m taking credit that my blog alone stimulated interest that led to this unusual opportunity.
It’s an event called Atomika Fest and promises attendees — wait for it — “a classified interstellar mission from the desert.”
“We’re energizing space science, immersive art, electronic music and speculative dialogue at a retrofitted Cold War missile silo,” said organizer Nik Halik, described as an Australian born venture capitalist.
He was quoted in an article in the Albuquerque Journal as saying he wants the event to help the world “move past Cold War-era political divisions, offering amore harmonious vision for humanity’s future.”
“All I really want to do is provide a wide canvas for a complex that was built for weapons of mass destruction, converting it to a calibrated constellation for forward-thinking creators, scientists, artists and musicians,” Halik said.
While you ponder that quote, be aware that the exact location of the “calibrated constellation” has not yet been disclosed. There were 12 of Atlas silos ringing Walker Air Force Base and Roswell in the 1960s, including one east of the city that became the Airbnb. I’m not sure if the location I’m most familiar with on U.S. 70 between Ruidoso and Roswell has been selected for the event. I’d recommend it for its spectacular location because of views of the nearby Capitan Mountains, Sierra Blanca, and the high plains surrounding it. I think it would be a great location for “speculative dialogue.”
The event is scheduled Nov. 6-8. The fee to just get into the gate (or silo) is $545. If you want to camp at the site and enjoy other elements, you’ll have to cough up $9,545. But you’ve got to act soon — the event is limited to 1,000 attendees. I think I’ll miss Atomika Fest unless I can get a free media pass, which I think I deserve since my intrepid reporting revealed the opportunity to Mr. Halik.
aero-cordero.com 