BURLINGTON - The shop at 532 N. Pine St. stands out among the other businesses on one of this city's main thoroughfares.

It could be the inflatable green alien that often stands out front.

It's been more than seven years since Mary Sutherland moved to Burlington, and now she is hoping to make the city a destination for people who are interested in UFOs and the paranormal.

"When I first started this, I told my husband, 'Either Burlington is going to run me out of town on a rail tarred and feathered or they're going to accept this,'" said Sutherland, owner of the Sci-Fi Cafe and Earth Mysteries Museum. "I took a chance and they accepted it, much to my surprise."

If you've ever wanted to learn about UFOs, ancient mound builders, ghosts or the tear in the fabric of reality, now is your chance.

On Thursday, Sutherland is kicking off what she said will become an annual event in Burlington, The Vortex Conference.

The four-day event will feature a variety of speakers on topics as wide-ranging as weather warfare and the physics of the paranormal.

There will be experts on UFOs and aliens, too, in addition to a lecture on a race of people known as the "cat people" who a speakers says once inhabited the area around Burlington.

Sutherland, herself a local paranormal researcher and author, hopes to do for the Midwest and Burlington in particular what the Roswell UFO Festival does for Roswell, N.M. - attract thousands of visitors.

In addition to the speakers, there will be an art and trade fair, an outdoor theater at the Burlington Farmer's Market and a psychic fair. There will be something for people of all ages.

But the big draw is the speakers, according to Sutherland.

In order to go and see any of the speakers of this caliber - the list includes Stanton Friedman, a nuclear physicist turned UFO expert who has been a guest on the Larry King Show on CNN - people would have to go to the east or west coast or Arizona or New Mexico, Sutherland said.

With her background and connections, Sutherland was able to get these experts to come to Burlington, she said. She hopes to attract anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 visitors from around the country during the weekend.

It doesn't matter whether they're believers, Sutherland said, what is important is getting information out so people can make their own choice about what to believe.

The event is scheduled around Halloween, Sutherland said, because it is a time of year when people are a little more open-minded about the paranormal.

Believing has never been a problem for Sutherland.

"I was born and raised to be open to the possibilities. I've always believed in the magic of life, all these things that are around us that we're not aware of," Sutherland said. "It's fun. Forget about the fact that there might be a truth to it. It's good clean fun."

IF YOU GO

What: Burlington Vortex Conference and Fun Days

When: Thursday through Sunday (lectures are scheduled to start on Friday)

Where: Sci-Fi Cafe and Earth Mysteries Museum, 532 N. Pine St.

Cost: $20 per lecture or purchase a package: $55 for one day of lectures, $85 for two days, or $140 for three days.

For any questions feel free to contact (262) 767-1116 or check online at http://www.burlingtonnews.net