Weird Tales / Weird Tecopa Fest
Three days
of weird.
A weekend of art, film & fun in the weird, wild, and wonderful Mojave Desert.
- 13–15
- November
2026 - Tecopa &
Shoshone, - California
01 / Weekend dispatch
The whole
story.
Times and locations
for your field guide.
01
Friday
November 13
Ted Faye’s The Strange Case of Queho World Premiere
Location: Shoshone Museum
118 CA-127, Shoshone, CA 92384
Check in at the museum at 6:00pm, then go hunting for legends: Ted Faye, Wonderhussy, Mark “The Beard of Knowledge” Hall-Patton, and assorted local oddities can be found in and around the museum, ready to chat and spin a tall tale or two. Then follow the live music three doors down to the Flower Building for popcorn, the premiere, coffee and dessert, and a Q&A with Ted Faye.
Free tickets; $20 suggested donation. All proceeds support SIFPD. Last-minute tickets available online and at the door.
Fri11/13World premiereSeats limitedGet your freetickets today!
02
Saturday
November 14
WTF Art, Storytelling & More
Tecopa Community Center
Event space generously donated by Tecopa Hot Springs & Campground in support of the SIFPD fundraiser.
Free admission to all Saturday events.
Find the event map and directions
Hopping to Shoshone for the screening? See both venues on the amenities map
- Temple of the Weird: 10:00am–5:00pm
- Artesia Belle’s Storytelling Open Mic: 10:00am–5:00pm
- Visit with SIFPD’s Firetrucks: 10:00am–5:00pm
- Bizarre Bazaar: 10:00am–6:00pm
- Wonderhussy & Friends: 12:00pm–5:00pm
- Twilight Weirdness: 5:00pm–6:00pm
- Second Screening of The Strange Case of Queho at the Flower Building in Shoshone: 6:30pm–8:00pm (no reservations needed)
Saturday / 12:00pm–5:00pm / YouTube meet & greet
Five lenses on the desert.
At Saturday’s meet and greet, Wonderhussy Adventures, Tecopa Mines, Wandering Jeepsy, Pahrump Alien Guy, and Desertwaterer bring five complementary ways of seeing the Mojave. Wonderhussy explores remote desert weirdness and local history; Tecopa Mines brings the lore of the region’s mine workings; Wandering Jeepsy shares off-grid travel and life on the road; Pahrump Alien Guy brings local UFO stories; and Desertwaterer follows horses, ponds, and the quiet water in between.
Come hear the stories behind the channels, meet the people who make them, and follow each creator on YouTube below.
Tecopa Mines
Visit channel
Wandering Jeepsy
Visit channel
Pahrump Alien Guy
Visit channel
Desert-
waterer
Visit channel
03
Sunday
November 15
WTF Field Trips
Three ways to wander farther into the Mojave.
- Cathedral Canyon with Ted Faye: Sunday, 9:00am (free; meet at The Kit Fox Café in Tecopa, then caravan about 30 minutes to the canyon)
- Tecopa Mines: contact for availability
- Mojave UTV Tours: Friday, Saturday, or Sunday (reservations required)
Festival weekend / Field trips
The road becomes the program.
When the festival lights dim, the desert is still talking. Walk a canyon with the filmmaker who chased Queho’s legend, follow a miner into the dark beneath Tecopa, or take the wheel and rattle off into the backcountry. The canyon walk is Sunday morning; the mines and the UTVs are yours to book any day of the festival.
Cathedral Canyon with Ted Faye
Join Weird Tales filmmaker Ted Faye for a walk through beautiful Cathedral Canyon, a place with a strange history of its own and a part in the story of Queho. Ted will share what he’s learned about the canyon, plus a few things the film only had time to whisper.
Meet at 9:00am at The Kit Fox Café (860 Tecopa Hot Springs Road, Tecopa), then caravan together, each in your own vehicle, on the 30-minute drive to the canyon.
Tecopa Mines
Ross owns the War Eagle, Grant, Noonday, and Columbia mines, a few minutes outside Tecopa, and is bringing them back from the brink one timber at a time. Follow him down the tunnels, where the mining days still echo in the dark.
The mines are private property, so contact Ross to schedule your tour: TecopaMines@gmail.com or (703) 919-5077.
Watch on YouTube
Mojave UTV Tours
A UTV, or utility task vehicle, is a rugged off-road side-by-side, and on this tour you drive your own. Local guides lead small groups past the festival’s edge into remote canyons and historic mining country, along a Gold Rush–era railroad grade, and out into the wide-open Mojave.
Mojave UTV Tours is based at 2001 Old Spanish Trail Highway, Tecopa, CA 92389.
Book your UTV adventure02 / Keep wandering
The best
part is getting there.
Planning a trip? Find directions, local places to stay and eat, and on-the-ground tips for visiting Tecopa.