That Says It All: The 5th Annual Dark Sky Festival

Do you know wonderful it is to look up at the sky at night and see it full of stars? Probably not, not with all the light pollution we have now a days. I remember as a kid being able to go the park and look up at the stars for hours.

Well, the Dark Sky Festival seeks to bring back the wonderment of the night sky. This is the 5th of the festival that is held in Harmony, Florida. The festival will be held at the Harmony Town Square on Saturday, April 5, 2008. There will be telescopes on hand to allow for viewing the stars, astronomers and other scientists that you can meet and talk to and kids can play in the “Cosmic Kids Zone”.

There will also be food and music. This year’s special musical guest is the Motown group “Rare Earth” playing their hit songs "Get Ready" and "I Just Want To Celebrate". There will also be speakers talking about Myths in the Night, speakers talking about light pollution. This year’s Dark Sky Festival kicks off the start of National Dark Sky Week, a week dedicated to detering light pollution by encouraging better overall outdoor lighting practices. See the Dark Sky Festival press release below for more information. And that says it all.

Press Release:

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.
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