Dear Editor,
I was disappointed to read in your latest issue, that the price the Dark Sky Festival is charging for its 鈥渟ignature event鈥� is $90. Ninety dollars to hear Chris Hadfield and Jay Ingram give speeches and play music; I can鈥檛 afford that, and I doubt many other people in the service industry here in Jasper can either. But then I guess, the very back-bone of this town is not the target audience, are we? I could almost comprehend the price, if it included dinner at the Fairmont.
At last year鈥檚 festival, the signature event for me was the actual, old-fashioned star party at Lake Annette. The native drumming and chanting in the background was a fantastic addition; my only wish would be that it was continuous and evening-long. A simply laid out geometrical pattern of all telescopes would have made them easier to find in the dark, and possibly lessened the line-ups at some. Some more communication between telescope operators concerning the sky objects viewed would be helpful as well.
I really appreciated the fact that some members of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Edmonton chapter, brought out their big, cool telescopes. I wonder if the Festival helped with their travel costs, or were they expected to volunteer? Please bring them back. I still remember my first view of the Veil Nebula, with their help.
I also greatly enjoyed the casual lecture series at the Chaba Theatre. The greatest comet discoverer of modern times was there, David Levy, and I didn鈥檛 have to pay $90 to hear him! The variety of speakers and topics was perfect; it was just too long of a day! I was there from the first speaker on, but was just too tired and had to leave before the last speaker came on.
I understand that the town wants to attract more people during the off-season; I just want to warn the Dark Sky Festival Committee that if you are intent on making this into a big entertainment event, then you are going to lose focus on what it鈥檚 all about in the first place. Concentrate on the substance, not the flash, and on making it accessible to all.
Kevin Hasson
Jasper, AB
