Wells Gray Country services committee will host the eighth Star Gazing Festival at the Trophy Mountain Buffalo Ranch (20 km up the road to Wells Gray Park from the Infocenter) on Thursday, Aug. 7.
Gates will open at 7:30, with the presentation to begin at 8:30. Admission will be by donation.
Once again, Bill Burnyeat, a resident of Vancouver with a lifelong passion for the stars, will do a presentation on various features of our night sky.
Burnyeat was raised and educated in the Lower Mainland of B.C. He was a daily newspaper reporter in the early 1980s but changed hats to become the community astronomer at the HR MacMillan Space Centre.
For more than 20 years, he has visited schools, communities, and clubs all over British Columbia to put on astronomy presentations. He also has taught night school and continuing education for school districts in Vancouver, Burnaby, and West Vancouver. Burnyeat also taught a telescope-making course at the University of British Columbia.
Since 2001, Bill has been the resident astronomer at British Columbia Institute of Technology, where he operates the 75-seat planetarium star theatre.
Each summer, Bill leads a community astronomy tour of the province, during which a large telescope is trucked around provincial parks, enabling visitors to get a chance to see the stars in pristine outdoor conditions.
Viewing of the stars and planets will follow Burnyeat’s presentation.
Other activities will include a children’s craft table and a concession. People are advised to bring a chair or blanket to sit on. No dogs will be allowed. Lots of parking will be available.
Last year’s event was a success, with approximately 170 people in attendance – a nice mix of local residents and tourists and the highest number of participants yet.
