For Canada’s centennial, the Alberta town of St. Paul built a UFO landing pad … but why?

Follow Tamarra Canu on a Prairie road trip across Alberta and Saskatchewan as she continues her search for the origin of the bizarre gargantuan art within small town communities on Season 2 of Big Things Small Towns. Watch the full season now on CBC Gem.

The next time you’re looking for something out of this world, consider visiting St. Paul, Alta. The small town is home to the world’s first UFO landing pad.

Built as part of the Canadian centennial celebration in 1967, the concrete splash weighs over 130,000kg and has a 2.4-meter pedestal. And it’s not just the size of the landing pad that makes it impressive, but its history.

As UFO sightings began to increase across the world, this welcome mat in St. Paul quickly became a symbol of unity and universal acceptance.– Big Things Small Towns host Tamarra Canu

“In 1967, people were reaching to the moon and looking at opportunities — not necessarily for aliens to land, but to give that message that we are open not just to our surrounding area, but, you know, we are an open community,” says Maureen Miller, mayor of St. Paul.

“This then put a mark in Canada’s history that we are open to everybody.”

Across from the landing pad is the town’s museum. In it, there are binders and binders about the town’s history, from UFO memorabilia to alleged landing sites. On this episode of Big Things Small Towns, you’ll discover that art is an essential part of the St. Paul, Alta. community and how it specifically played an instrumental role in their historic landing pad through the prolific and talented multidisciplinary local artist Margo Legacy, who worked on the design of the landing pad.

Watch the episode above and find out why this UFO landing pad has taken off with locals and visitors from around the world.

Big Things Small Towns is back for another road trip and it’s bigger — and smaller — than ever. Watch Season 2 now on CBC Gem.

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