(Entertainment-NewsWire.com, July 31, 2012 ) BAR HARBOR, Maine—Residents of Bar Harbor are preparing to celebrate their spectacular views of the stars during the 4th Annual Acadia Night Sky Festival. The Acadia Night Sky Festival starts the evening of September 13th, 2012 and will continue through sunrise on September 17th.
Star-studded events are planned to take place at venues across Mount Desert Island and the Schoodic Peninsula including in Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. The Acadia Night Sky Festival brings together a combination of science and art-based activities such as astronomy lessons, a night sky art show, science exhibits and lectures, evening concerts, film screenings, and the main event: stargazing.
The Acadia Night Sky Festival is family-friendly, seeking to entertain and educate even the youngest star gazers. One popular family event is the Picnic with the Planets taking place Friday September 14 at the Village Green. Participants wearing costumes at the picnic can pick up a free scoop of ice cream before watching an open-air showing of Muppets from Space. Other festival highlights include star parties and guided night hikes in Acadia National Park, a night sky boat cruise, the Starlab Planetarium, a celebration of the sun, and night sky photography workshops led by local photographer Bob Thayer. Many events require advance registration and some require a fee. A schedule of events is available at www.acadianightskyfestival.com.
The Acadia Night Sky Festival is the product of several community and government organizations, each dedicated to preserving Acadia’s night sky. The Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce, with its well-deserved reputation for practicing sustainable tourism, is a key member of the partnership. Another crucial player, and the entity to first bring attention to encroaching light pollution’s destruction of the natural beauty of the night sky, is the National Park Service. In 1999 a team of NPS scientists started documenting the status of night skies. Their findings ignited a plan to preserve this often overlooked yet precious natural resource.
Like those above Acadia, the skies over many national parks remain unobstructed by the light pollution coming from dense population centers, still mesmerizing, still creating a sense of awe in observers. On clear nights, countless points of light swirl above Mount Desert Island. The Milky Way, earth’s own galaxy, is never seen by two-thirds of the population of the Eastern Seaboard. The Acadia Night Sky Festival offers an opportunity for many to experience the full glory of a night sky for the first time.
The 4th Annual Acadia Night Sky Festival is presented by the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with Acadia National Park, Friends of Acadia, Schoodic Education & Research Center, College of the Atlantic, the Jackson Laboratory, the Abbe Museum, Bar Harbor Whale Watch Company and the Mount Desert and Trenton Chambers of Commerce. It is made possible in part by The Bluenose Inn, Jordan Pond House, Bar Harbor Inn, Bar Harbor Bed & Breakfast Association and Oli’s Trolley.
Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce CONTACT: Melissa Walls TEL: 207-404-2921 E-MAIL: mwalls@barharborinfo.com WEB: www.barharborinfo.com View Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce media kit
