MANITOWOC (NBC 26) — In 1963, a piece of the Soviet spacecraft Sputnik IV crashed into North Eighth Street in Manitowoc. Decades later, the city continues to commemorate the strange event with the annual Sputnik Fest.
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Started in 2008 and hosted by the Rahr-West Art Museum, the festival continues to grow every year with food trucks, live music and the crowd favorite costume contests, for both people and their pets.
“The thought was, no one was on this ship. We don’t need to memorialize it, let’s just throw a gigantic block party,” Greg Vadney, executive director of the Rahr-West Art Museum, says.
Many attend in costume, some as Star Wars and Star Trek characters, but visitors are encouraged to invent their own characters.
“Stardust is my character,” Amelia Nob, who traveled from Madison with her partner, Paul, says. “It seems like a fun idea, a good reason to dress up and celebrate aliens and history.”
For Manitowoc resident Mary Hamachek, the event is a yearly tradition.
“I love dressing up, as you can see,” Hamachek says. “It’s cool history, and it's great everybody getting together, having fun and dressing up."
Money raised from the festival goes towards programming at the Rahr-West Art Museum.
“We’re an art museum inside a mansion, that’s not for everybody,” Vadney says. “But Sputnik Fest is for everybody. It’s a great way for us to swing open our doors and invite everyone to be a part of this odd, wacky community event.”
