The community of Shag Harbour is marking 45 years since a mysterious object fell from the sky and captured the attention of residents and UFO enthusiasts.

This weekend is the annual Shag Harbour UFO Festival.

Witnesses thought it was a plane crashing into the ocean on Oct. 4, 1967.

But after an extensive search, there wasn't a trace of debris to be found, but the flashing light that sank beneath the waters put Shag Harbour on the map.

“It became one of the big UFO incidents, like you know, Roswell,” said Don Ledger, who wrote a book on the incident.

For years, people have taken a pilgrimage to the community to discuss that fateful night.

He says while time is passing, interest in the event is actually growing.

“We see people from different walks of life, it's not just the local people anymore who used to show up in the early years,” Ledger said.

Ledger says they may never know what happened in Shag Harbour 45 years ago.

But most of those who take part in the festival believe something special happened that night.

“Documents from the National Archives of Canada, they list it as a UFO, and in one of them they list it as a dark object,” he said.

Today's activities include a barbecue, parade and seminar hosted by Ledger and his colleague to discuss their theories about that night.