Did you hear about the Dark Sky Festival taking place in Florida in under a month? If not you should really check out what they are doing and what they say about light pollution. Light Pollution is not like the carbon dioxide pollution you see about on television and how it is affecting our global climate causing global warming. This really doesn’t do much harm except take away the beauty of the night sky. I love astronomy and anything related to astronomy. When I get the chance I look up at the sky wondering about the stars and the planets and I can actually spot a few planets here in New York City without a telescope. But it is hard with all the light pollution blocking the night sky with its own lights and other luminous objects such as airplanes. And this is exactly what the dark sky festival will let you feel and experience.
On April 5th, 2008 starting at around 7 PM in Florida, the 5th Annual Dark Sky Festival at Harmony will take place and this is the place to be if you always wanted to see what the sky would look like without all the light pollution. If it was 200 years ago, festivals like this in the United States would not be necessary since you would get a good glimpse of the night sky just by looking up. But times have changed and if you want to get an idea, show up at the Dark Sky Festival on April 5th.
Get Ready! This Year’s Dark Sky Festival is Out-of-this-World
HARMONY, FL – March 15, 2008 – The 5th Annual Dark Sky Festival at Harmony will be held on Saturday, April 5, 2008. Sponsored by the Harmony Institute, the Kissimmee Convention and Visitors Bureau, several astronomy clubs, the Osceola News Gazette and Florida Travel & Life Magazine, the event will kick off at 7pm in Harmony’s Town Square.
“The Dark Sky Festival is intended to celebrate and promote the benefits of a night-sky free from the effects of excessive artificial lighting,” said Greg Golgowski, Harmony’s Conservation Director and a key member of the Dark Sky Festival Planning Committee. “Poor outdoor lighting not only washes out the splendor of the heavens, but also reduces visibility at night, wastes energy, and disturbs wildlife.”
As with the past four Dark Sky Festivals, attendees will be able to enjoy viewing the night skies through a variety of telescopes. There also be lots of music and food, numerous specialty booths, an educational zone with presentations from astronomers and other scientists, nocturnal creatures, a Cosmic Kids Zone and so much more.”
Local favorite, the Silver Clouds Orchestra, will start the entertainment portion of the evening at 7:00pm. This will be followed by a free concert by legendary recording artists, Rare Earth.
Rare Earth will take to Harmony’s outdoor amphitheatre stage at 8:00pm for a live concert chock full of their greatest hits including “Get Ready” and “I Just Want to Celebrate.”
“We are ecstatic to have Rare Earth performing at this year’s Festival,” said Shad Tome, president of Harmony Development Group. “We are encouraging everyone to wear comfortable shoes because Rare Earth is known for getting the whole audience up and dancing.”
The festival will be emceed by Magic 107.7’s afternoon drive on-air personality and program director Ken Payne.
The Festival is open to the general public. Over 3,500 people are expected to attend the event this year. The event will conclude around 11:00pm.
This date was selected because it falls on the heels of National Dark Sky week (March 29 – April 4); where people in the United States are encouraged to turn out their unnecessary outdoor lights in order to temporarily reduce light pollution.
For more information, please visit www.DarkSkyFestival.com or call 407-891-8358.
