The spot where the remains of Sputnik landed. (File photo)

The spot where remains of Sputnik landed. (File photo)

It’s been called one of the top five “funkiest festivals” in the country by Readers Digest. Manitowoc’s 6th annual “Sputnik-fest” commemorates the 51st anniversary of a piece of a Russian satellite falling to earth there.

In 1962, the Sputnik 4 satellite fell out of orbit and back to earth, breaking up in the skies above Wisconsin. The largest piece of the debris landed in Manitowoc, with a chunk creating a smoking crater in front of the city’s Rahr-West Art Museum.

AUDIO: Greg Vadney (:18)

Museum director Greg Vadney says they decided to have fun with the incident, launching the festival six years ago with space-themed food, live music, costume contests, and a Ms. Space Debris pageant. The festival on Saturday will also include a reenactment of the satellite’s crash landing.

Damon Ryan, WOMT

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