A nightmare trip to Rachel, NV - DisclosureFest 2023.
on the trail of the cosmic conmen
On Friday 10th November 2023, The Luxor hotel and casino in Las Vegas was flooded with hundreds of patrons to a large New Age Ufological convention - Stairway to the Stars: DisclosureFest 2023, its eclectic cast of characters, some dressed extravagantly littered the halls as they perused crystal booths and healing prisms in the vendor area.* On the stages, various speakers from the New Age community presented information that is probably not verifiable to people all too willing to part with cash to learn it.
*it was $77 to access the vendor hall
It was just another New Age Convention.
The middle day, the Saturday had an exciting excursion
A night time sky watch in Rachel, NV. - The closest settlement to the famed US military installation known as Area 51.
It was organised by and hosted by Adrian Vallera. The owner of Disclosurefest.
The feeling beforehand was one of excitement, I spoke to witnesses who attended this expedition, what they saw perfectly encapsulates a growing problem in the New Age Ufological community.
One source who wants to remain anonymous told me that
“He (Jimmy) refused to follow the credentialing procedure and Jimmy was like telling other people,
Oh, just tell them you're with Jimmy Church.”
On the condition of anonymity, I spoke with some attendees of the event who recounted it in some detail…
Let's start at the beginning. What were your thoughts going into the conference and what was what was your role there straight from the beginning to the expedition?
“I looked at the prices and I really wanted to go to a UFO conference and I finally, like, had enough scratch that I could go. But their prices were, you know, they’re new age numbers.
So it was like $888 for the whole package, which was going to Disclosurefest at the Luxor in Las Vegas. And then if you look at the prices of the Luxor, that was like 300 a day and like if you want to do the gala, that was an extra. And then the Web version was an extra, I think $111.
The Area 51 excursion was $222. Everything was extra. So I was like, Well, that sucks. But I wrote to the people and said, “Hey, you know, it's kind of prohibitively expensive. I'd be willing to help out”, didn't hear anything.
A common occurrence in the new age circuit is themed pricing, with “mystical numbers” making up the price tags for every single event and access pass. This type of price gouging is becoming commonplace in the new age circuit.
You said, it was $222 for the Area 51 expedition. Where did you first see that?
It's on the Disclosurefest website. They have all the different prices and they make it sound great. They make it sound really good. And actually in I think online it doesn't say it, but in the booklet that they have, it actually says food will be provided.
We have the booklet. So they told everyone food will be provided. And of course most of these people like you, get so many vegans and stress sensitive palates, right? So it's four busses and they're all - So I didn't buy a ticket officially. What happened was this lady said, Hey, my husband and son, I bought them tickets to this thing.
Oh, people were throwing money around like crazy. I thought $888 was expensive. These people were like, Oh, whatever, I'll just buy it again.
I can't believe the money, because I thought it was way too prohibitive. I mean, you're trying to be spiritual and you're getting those kind of people right?
I was then shown a copy of the program over video
“Wow. Dinner is included once we arrive.” I exclaim.
Was the booklet only available at the event?
Yeah. So it's possible online could have said you know, you'll pay for your meal, but the book you know, contradicted.
I did a little digging and found in fact they did change this advertisement on the online PDF. Something the organisers failed to tell the volunteers who gave incorrect information to all who obtained a wristband or a programme for the event.
One interesting moment came during Richard Dolan’s speaking engagement, and set the egocentric tone carried by former syndicated radio host, Jimmy Church as he rushed the stage to take a selfie.
“And I know Jimmy Church's voice like it's a very distinctive kind of douchey voice. I mean, like Dolan was talking, right?
Jimmy gets up on stage and takes a selfie with Dolan in the middle of the sentence.”
In another incident, Jimmy Church is described as interrupting renowned chaneller Darryl Anka mid transmission to wish him a happy birthday.
“When Bashar was there as well, he went up there and said, “oh, it's somebody birthday?” because he always has to be the center of attention.
And then he made everyone sing Happy Birthday to Bashar.
Bashar is giving like information at 100 miles a second and he's like, wasting time singing Happy Birthday.”
Things started to really go wrong however before the four busses were due to leave at 5PM, the bus drivers were arguing, Jimmy Church wanted the expedition to return before 12AM, so he could “get back by midnight to party at velvet again” but the drivers were adamant it would not be possible. Proclaiming “we’d have to leave by 10:30!”.
What was the general feeling like? As you guys are grouping up to get on the busses was there excitement?
Very excited but I was like, “Don't put me on that bus with Jimmy Church on or I’ll jump out the window.” And there were people that requested the Jimmy Church bus. They were like, Hey, I just want to say I'm with Jimmy Church, so can I be on the Jimmy Church bus? I'm sure he told people like, “Oh man, I'm going to have the party bus.”
It's going to be super fun. So it was an element of truth to that. So we got on our bus and, you know, they counted people off and they thought they may have oversold it, but I guess enough people didn't show or whatever, but they made it. There were 200 of us in total on the expedition.”
Just prior to leaving the attendees, some 200 of them, were told “it's going to be really cold” leaving not much time to better prepare. And with that they set off around 30 minutes late at 5.30PM.
Things quickly went downhill, with one bus getting lost, another had a new driver who would only drive at 30MPH, the attendees stated.
“And also there was another bus that had a very new bus driver that wanted to drive slowly.
It was terrifying. The road was windy, so this bus driver was apparently driving like 30 or 40 miles an hour. And then another bus apparently got lost. So we pulled over kind of waiting for a catch up, for these other busses.”
The situation didn’t improve, the bus the attendees were travelling on had a bathroom at the back which was locked and the bus driver did not have a key for it, Leading to a potentially dangerous situation where the attendees who needed the bathroom were forced to go on the side of the road.
“And as we're going there one lady has to go to the bathroom, She goes to the back and the door is locked and she's like, “What's going on?” And I don't think the bus driver had the key either. No bus driver couldn't find the key. So we had to pull over and everyone was running around on the hillside in the bus lights looking for a place to pee. And there is men and women lined up peeing together.”
Along the way, the convoy also stopped a large gas station due to someone on the “party bus” having a hard time.
“And then we pulled into a gas station and we were at this big gas station, but we're not filling up and nothing's happening. And we're like, What is going on?
Well, apparently, according to a lady the next day, On the Jimmy Church bus, Jimmy said, “Hey, guys, this is the party bus, y'all can do whatever you want.”
Some girl took five 20 milligram THC gummies and it was her first time. She had a bit of a freak out, and they were trying to move her to another bus and as the woman who was having the reaction and her mother and the lady that was a nurse got on a different bus, three men arrived, and they didn't have seats for all of them.
And then, some drunk girl from Jimmy Church's bus tried to get on another bus. And then at one point they had to stop and meet on the side of the road. I think because the bus driver can't legally go if they don't have the right number of people…And it was a clown show.”
Interestingly, Jimmy had been touting a surprise speaker, with rumours it was famed guitarist Carlos Santana, who had donated a signed guitar for the raffle event. This allegedly fell through, and James Fox, the Documentarian, was tapped to replace him as one of the “surprise speakers”
While attending this event, James Fox was billed to be presenting his film “Moment of Contact” to the conference, something he ended up missing due to being requested to attend this trip. Something I am sure the ones who attended the screening were thrilled with.
Eventually they arrived to Rachel Nevada just after 8:30PM, they were met with a large group of chairs and screens not far from the Inn
“By the time when they got us to the little al’e’inn which we thought we were going to the little al’e’inn and then we were going somewhere else. But as you pull up, you see like it looks like a wedding set up, all the chairs, all there's like white chairs lined up, monitors out.
Yeah, three big monitors. But if you watch the show Skinwalker Ranch, it kind of looks like that. So it kind of looks like, oh, this is going to be cool. So we all went in to presumably get food, get drinks, whatnot.
And this place was not prepared for that many people at one time. So it's good all the busses didn't get there at the same time. It would have been I mean, it would have been way too many people in one establishment. It would have crushed them from that.
It said food and then vegan options. But they're all prepared on the same grill, right. So not truly vegan, if you think about it.
And then they didn't have enough help. So they call one of the regulars who was having a grand old time talking up all the young ladies in line. They pulled him from the front to help in the kitchen.
And there was these two locals, and they're getting drunk. And like, one of them puts the alien mask on from behind the bar so everyone can take pictures. And the other guy, they pulled him behind and had him work the kitchen because they were just so running out of stuff. And there were only two of them back there, two cooks.
So they couldn't like cook and go get things that they needed.”
At this point I was surprised at the lack of communication between the event and the owners of the restaurant, so I asked
So did you get the sense there was no organisation between the expedition and the Little A'Le'Inn?
No, because the restaurant was like, “wait a minute, we're not paying. I mean, like, y'all didn't pay for that.”
When people are like, “Oh, I didn't bring any money”. And they're like, “Well, sorry.”
So they've advertised in the flyer, that dinner will be provided. But the restaurant didn't know anything about it?
“Yeah.
But they were also selling Area 51 bracelets at the venue at which time you pay for it, you get your bracelet and then you're told by the volunteers what's going to happen.
And we were told meals included. So that's what they were telling people. Online when you buy it apparently it does not state that according to multiple people.”
The witnesses continued their story
“Eventually the lost bus made it. The other bus made it. I think the girl had to stay in the bus the whole time. There were porta-potties there, thankfully, but it was freezing, 20 degrees.”
Once they got out to the night watch area, they gathered around a small fire
So apparently they ran out of the firewood right away that they'd allocated and that drunk man who was sitting at the bar, the one sitting on my left, who also worked in the kitchen was like, “I just felt sorry for y'all.” And he lives locally. So he went and got firewood and he brought it for them, a truckload of firewood and he was just dumping it out.
And I was like, But that's the guy from the bar. And he goes, “I felt bad for y'all. Like, It's cold out here. I just, I brought you some wood.” There was also broken up furniture in the firewood. So that's treated wood that you're putting on a fire that all these people are inhaling. But anyways, thinking of all these people inhaling it, the heat only reached an eight foot radius.
You're burning if you get too close and if you're too far back, you don't feel a damned thing. And you got 200 people. Yeah, but you have people who saw an opportunity early on dragged some chairs over and did not move their asses from those chairs. These are three spiritual people high up in the spiritual world. And they, I guess, felt they deserved a little more credit.
They deserved more. So they put their chairs at the exact distance where you wouldn't be too hot and you wouldn't be too cold. Right. But behind that it's freezing cold. Yeah. And then like in front of that is, is too hot. So like, they're just at the perfect temperature for themselves and for everybody else. A lot of people were like that.
I mean, we could have even done like a bicycle chain marching ant thing, you know. So that everyone gets some warmth, y’know. And then if you if you were downwind, you could be where the Jimmy Church and all the speakers and stuff were hanging out but it would be you would be covered in smoke and you would be assaulted by Jimmy Church's voice, who I think was drinking.
Who do you think was in charge of organising that expedition?
“I think there were a lot of people in charge of organising it, and it's maybe too many. I guess when he was confronted about leading people astray in their behaviour on the bus and he was like, “This is my thing, this is my event.”
And somebody is like, “No, this is not, you are not in charge”. Like, and it was like shut your mouth.
I mean he’d been drinking
And I mean, he was not in charge of anything.”
They had set up 3 screens that would display outputs from the night vision monoculars that had been passed around, but with 200 people, many many people did not get a chance to use them.
“Maybe there are too many moving parts to coordinate. There's more than one person doing the coordination. They had these three screens. Nobody wanted to sit in the white chairs, fucking freezing, but they had these three screens and it looked like a colonoscopy. They had their little monocular or whatever, and they was hooked up to this thing and you're like, What the fuck am I looking at?
You know, like I didn't see anything in there, but Jimmy Church yelled out like two or three times.
“Did you see it?” “It's there.” “Oh, did you see that?”
And people were like, “Oh, I saw it.” And I'm like, I don't see shit.”
Jimmy didn’t stop there, he invited a man up to speak about the seven sisters, a new age term for the Pleiades constellation.
“They did try to have Jimmy…
“Hey, this guy is going to tell a story about the Seven Sisters.”
And they were talking about the Seven Sisters. And then he was like, Yeah, and they were all raped.
Yeah.
And then it was and then somebody was saying something about fertility and “women's seasons” and that like, Yeah. And I mean, I'm like, “Excuse me, you’re in mixed company, I don’t wanna hear this shit.” - laughs - misogynistic jokes.
Anyway, I feel like it was good intentions, but maybe not executed in the greatest fashion.”
“Jimmy was like, “oh, let's just do this by the fire, Where it's going to be a lot warmer for me.” And it was funny because he'd run around the al’e'inn and go, “Guys, you know what’s so much cooler than this? is like sitting by the fire, It's so cool out there.”
And then, you know, we go in and there's Jimmy sitting at a table, like in the warm defrosting his ass.
Yeah. I mean when they do their burger announcements, they had a little karaoke system in the corner so she could announce, Hey, there's a hamburger, right?
Well, of course, Jimmy Church got a hold of the microphone.”
They left at around midnight, and did not end up returning to the Luxor until 3AM, but not before one final drama
“An old man was so belligerent and snuck off of the 30MPH bus… wouldn’t leave his seat. They had to call the sheriff.” the attendee added via text after our zoom call describing a situation in which an older male refused to get back on the bus because it was going to take so long to drive back to Las Vegas.
So to wrap up,
we have a conference falsely advertising a meal inclusion
a party bus in which people fell ill
busses that got lost
six night vision monoculars between 200 people
a slightly famous radio host acting like a brat
and a famous restaurant that appears to have had no idea that 200 people were going to descend on them late into the evening expecting a free meal.
My final question would be, Do you think that expedition was worth $222?
“Absolutely, Absolutely not.
didn’t ask for a refund, didn’t have a great time but instead have a good story
and it’s supposed to be for charity.
Yes, definitely an experience. I don't think it was worth $222
Well, it was called a donation.
It says donation every single one of those little tiers, which is funny, because then I should be able to donate whatever I want.
I would probably pay tens of dollars for that experience. “