StarFest 2007!! June15th-17th, 2007
StarFest 2007!! June15th-17th, 2007 Mark the date above on your calendar. Our astronomy club, The Amateur Oberservers' Society of New York, (abbreviated AOSNY, or just AOS) is having a star party! (If you want to know what a star party is or, if you think you know what it is, see below, under "About AOS StarFest 2007" for more details) Yes, our first official Star Party and here's where we'll keep you informed as more details emerge. For now, suffice it to say that this event, occuring in a location noted for extremely dark skies (yes!) will be held at the Stone Tavern Farm in Roxbury, NY. Bookmark this page so it'd be easier for you to come here and see the latest posted information and sign-up abilities. In the meantime, you can REGISTER HERE, below, by snail mail or by PayPal, whichever you're most comfortable with. If, after reading everything on these webpages, you still have questions, contact Geoff Cintron, our StarFest coordinator, either by telephone at: 516-398-7766 or by EMAIL.
TO REGISTER (Adobe Acrobat is required to obtain snail mail form)
Registration
Form , PLEASE NOTE, print this form and then mail it, with
your check, to the address listed on the form. If you wish to pay, instead,
via PayPal, then choose below instead.
OR
If you wish to pay by PayPal please first fill the ELECTRONIC FORM out, so you know how much to send, and then click HERE FOR PAYPAL.
Where?
This event will be hosted at the Stone Tavern Farm, under the exceptionally dark skies of Delaware Co. NY. The Stone Tavern Farm is a 400 acre working farm located near the Catskill town of Roxbury, NY This site is within a 3 to 4 hour drive of most of our members located on Long Island. Click HERE for directions.
Facilites on the grounds?
Facilities on the farm include a Bunk House with bunks, comfortable and private bath & showers and a wood floored "MASH" style tent [Bunkhouse sold out, Mash Tent with bunks still available!], a large Pavilion with enough seating for all the attendees, and a large grassy field that we can use to set our telescopes on. In addition there is a 12000 sq. ft Indoor Arena that can be used in the event of inclement weather. The farm also has enough space for camping, which is included free with your registration.
Any other Activities (besides star observing)?
This is a family friendly Starparty with activities for both kids and adults planned throughout the day.
Schedule of Activities
FRIDAY SCHEDULE
Registration Open 11:00am - 8:00pm
Observing field 11:00am - 8:00pm
Parking 11:00am - 8:00pm
AOS Store (all day)
Solar observing (all day)
Free Coffee 11:00am - 1:00am
Pizza party 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Raffle & Door prize drawing 8:00pm
Observing 9:00pm - 4:30am
NOTE: People arriving after 8pm, Friday, are
welcome to join us but will NOT be able to
set up on the main observing field.
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SATURDAY SCHEDULE
Vendors and AOS store All day
Registration All day (till 8pm)
Solar observing All day
Breakfast 8:30am - 10:00am
Free Coffee 11:00am - 1:00am
Harvey's Bicycle Ride around Pepacton Reservoir with Phil Harrington 9:45am
- 1:00pm
Lunch 12:30pm - 1:30pm
Family program 1:30pm - 2:30pm
Speaker Rob Teeter 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Star-B-Que Dinner 5:30pm - 6:30pm
Speaker Bob Berman 7:00pm - 7:45pm
Speaker Phil Harrington 7:45pm - 8:30pm
Main Raffle 8:30pm - 9:00pm
Observing 9:00pm - 4:30am
NOTE: During breakfast the Pavilion will be reserved
for pre-paid attendees. If you
would like breakfast, but have not pre-paid please see a Starfest official.
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SUNDAY SCHEDULE
Coffee 8:30am - 10:00am
Final Words 10:00am
Breakdown 8:00am - 1:00pm
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Solar Observing!
"Barlow Bob" will be bringing his incomparable H-Alpha and "Tri-Spectra"
Solar telescope, and along with others, be having public solar observing for
attendees.
Famous Featured Speakers!
We have two of the top speakers in the astronomical community coming to give
presentations at the AOS STARFEST: Bob Berman, writer for Astronomy Magazine,
and author of several books, most recently "Cosmic Adventure: A Renegade
Astronomer's Guide To Our World And Beyond" and Long Island's own Phil
Harrington, Astronomy professor, contributing editor for Astronomy magazine,
and author of many books like "StarWare", "StarWatch," and
his latest book, "The Illustrated Timeline of the Universe". Phil
will also be staying with us Saturday night to observe, will be going on the
bicycle ride planned for Saturday and help us celebrate our very first Starparty!
Pizza Party on Friday!
Friday night there is a free "Pizza Party" to welcome attendees, and
meals will be available to purchase
Saturday, including breakfast, lunch and dinner. Saturday Dinner we're having
a special "Star-B-Que" featuring the best of the Stone Tavern Farms
"farm fresh" food.
Guided Bicycle Tour of the Area on Saturday
(with Phil Harrington)!
Since the area surrounding the Starparty is perfect for road cycling, Harvey
Miller will lead a local area bicycle ride. Phil Harrington,
famous author of many astronomy books and, incredibly, the gentleman who wrote
the book Short Bicycle Rides in and around NYC, will accompany this group. There
will be two tiers of riding, both rides to circle the nearby Pepacton Reservoir.
The first one will total 47 miles of gently rolling to flat terrain with only
one real hill at the very end. The second one will remotely start and wait until
the first tier riders meet them in the town of Margaretsville about 1/2 hour
after the official start from Stone Tavern Farm at 9:30 am. This allows for
a completely flat ride totally 24.5 miles around the reservoir.
If you'd like to join, make sure you contact Harvey Miller so he can apprise you of the details. NOTE: this tour is not sponsored by our club, the AOSNY, but is simply a bicycle ride led by one of our members who invites all those who are interested to join.
Horseback Riding
The Stone Tavern Farm may be a great place for
astronomical observations at night but, by day, it specializes in horseback
riding, lots of it! For $35/hour you can partake.
ATV Rentals
This is available for $50/hour on premises.
Oh Boy!!
You get camping, the outstanding speakers, activities, solar observing, and
free refreshments all night Friday & Saturday day and night with your $45
registration fee. Also for families, all children under 14 are free!
As you can see we've tried to think of everything
we can to make this the best Starparty you've ever been to.
Attendence is limited so please register soon before all the spaces are taken.
Whether this is your first Starparty or 50'th, this is going to be an event that is not to be missed!
What if I want to stay somewhere else?
There's lots of beautiful places to stay within earshot of Stone Tavern Farm, especially if you have big ears. For a random sampling of them and some info CLICK HERE.
Donations provided by:
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Vendors attending the 2007 StarFest:
Still
Have Questions??????
Contact Geoff
Cintron, our StarFest coordinator, either by telephone at: 516-398-7766
or by EMAIL.
