Bringing in celebrities like Bill Nye and George Takei paid off for the sixth annual Jasper Dark Sky Festival, which wrapped up Oct. 23.
According to Tourism Jasper tickets sales increased by more than 250-per-cent compared to last year.
鈥淭here was a great deal of visitors coming from all over the place and for every event there was great audience participation. We also had some new events this year that were well received,鈥� said Sara Hamil, Tourism Jasper鈥檚 communications manager.
鈥淭here was also a lot of familiar local faces coming out so it was really great to see that kind of support and we hope everyone enjoyed themselves.鈥�
For the first time in the festival鈥檚 history, events were stretched out over two core weekends, with Nye headlining the first weekend and Takei taking over the second weekend, selling nearly 5,000 tickets between the two.
鈥淭here was a lot of enthusiasm for both weekends,鈥� Hamil said.
And while official numbers aren鈥檛 in yet, Hamil said early data suggests 10,000 visitors came to Jasper over the course of the festival.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a great sign that the festival is growing and gaining more interest not just regionally, but around the world,鈥� said Hamil, adding the festival received media requests from across Canada, the United States and overseas.
Aside from the headlining events, Hamil said many of the festival鈥檚 free events were also well attended, in particular the Beyond the Stars event held at Lake Annette, Oct. 21.
鈥淭hat was the third year for that event and we鈥檝e seen a lot of growth with it,鈥� Hamil said. 鈥淢ost of our stargazing events were popular this year. We were really lucky that Mother Nature played nice during the second weekend so we had some beautiful clear nights.鈥�
Despite the festival鈥檚 success, Hamil said there is always room for improvement.
鈥淭here are always challenges with events of this scale鈥攖here are a lot of things to take into consideration and each year presents learning opportunities,鈥� Hamil said. 鈥淥bviously when the weather is really great it encourages a greater turnout so next year we鈥檙e making plans to facilitate greater numbers on those super clear nights.鈥�
Kayla Byrne
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