Jasper Dark Sky Festival
byIt’s a community celebration that has you contemplating the universe, in one of the most beautiful places on the planet. The Jasper Dark Sky Festival is coming up October 14-23 and you can start plan your experience there today.
Last year’s keynote, Commander Hadfield
Jasper Dark Sky Festival
Get lost in the wonder of one of the world’s largest dark sky preserves as you enjoy a week of festival fun, talks, workshops, and more.
Headliners include George Takei (October 21st) and Bill Nye The Science Guy (October 15th is sold out; October 14th is a special evening with Nye at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge). You can also catch Jeremy Hansen, Canadian Space Agency Astronaut (October 15th).
Other events at the Jasper Dark Sky Festival include the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra Presents: Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons (October 15th sold out), free Stargazing Along the Shores of Lake Annette (October 21st), and the Big Bang Expo, presented by TELUS World of Science Edmonton (October 22nd). SPACETalks will take place October 22nd with Nadia Drake, Bobak Ferdowsi (Mohawk Guy at NASA’s JPL), and more.
Family fun with rockets in the park
A star-filled sky is one of nature’s most beautiful sights. But it’s harder than ever to see it. In fact, because of urban light, the night sky has become so bright an estimated 85% of Canadians can’t see more than a few stars.
You’re only half an hour away from the hustle and bustle of Edmonton but you will feel like you’re in an entirely different part of the world. A place where the trembling aspen glow bright yellow in the fall as herds of elk graze beside swollen ponds, where busy beavers build up their lodges. Read about the trip I took with John last year:
“We stood out on a dock at Lac Beauvert in Jasper, on an October night so clear that the only clouds around were the ones we made with our breath. Across the lake, the bass from a wedding party thumped at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge and above us hung a moon so full we didn’t need flashlights. John set up a tripod, while I doubled up on my gloves, and we attempted our first night time/stargazing photography session…” » Read more…
While some events are sold out, some great tickets are still available along with so many stargazing opportunities in this amazing National Park. Follow Travel Alberta on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to start planning your trip to the Jasper Dark Sky Festival.
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I cannot begin to take the absolute disgust with the way I have been treated by Brewster Rocky Mountain Travel, and by the unforgivably poor training their phone operators have received. I called the 18666066700 on sept 11 of this year and booked a tour for the jasper dark skies festival. It was the ice field tour with the dinner and viewing starts with the member of the royal astronomical society for my mom and son. It was to be partly a birthday gift for my son who is fascinated with the stars and a nice trip for my mom who recently lost my father. I went thru the booking process and paid with my american express and have a charge of 479.85 to prove it, yet I received no email. When I finally called to get the info there is no record on their end of my reservation. I even have a witness (along with proof of payment) who sat with me while I booked it. Yet no one in any of their offices or places could find it, and strangely couldn’t take my credit card number to look it up in your system, which by the way most businesses CAN DO. The person I talked with was more concerned with telling me “It’s not my fault” than taking even a tiny bit of ownership and making me some kind of commitment to guarantee I would not be screwed out of this gift to my family. I would never deal with this company again.