Every August, Hopkinsville hosts the Little Green Men Days festival to mark the anniversary of the Kelly-Hopkinsville encounter of 1955 — one of the most famous and bizarre UFO-adjacent incidents in American history. The Sutton family reported that small, silvery creatures with pointed ears and glowing eyes besieged their farmhouse for hours while the family fired at them with shotguns and rifles.
The festival is held downtown and includes a parade, alien costume contests, speakers, and general weirdness. The town has embraced the story with good humour — streetlight toppers in the shape of aliens, a mural downtown, and the festival itself, which draws a mix of true believers, sceptics, and people who just enjoy a good small-town festival. It usually takes place in mid-August.