Dark Sky Festival comes to Grand Marais

The Grand Marais community and stargazers from all around will be celebrating the 6th annual Dark Sky Festival on December 12 – 14. The three-day event will celebrate the county’s world-class dark sky and its impact on humans and nature. The event is hosted by Visit Cook County MN.

Nature enthusiasts will be able to immerse themselves into the pristine night skies of the North Shore.

“We are really proud of how this festival has evolved over the past 6 years,” Linda Jurek, executive director of Visit Cook County said in a press release. “From the experts at NASA, to photography tips from professionals to personal experiences of the night sky – all of these stories continue to deepen our appreciation and understanding of the night sky by connecting the human experience with science.”

The festival features a bunch of activities for people of all ages including guided night sky viewing, educational presentations, live performances and more.

Find full schedule and details at www.visitcookcounty.com/darkskyfestival

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12
4 p.m. – Author Talk & Book Signing- National Geographic’s 100 Nights of a Lifetime, Studio 21, Grand Marais
3:30-5:00 p.m. – Thursday Art Night: Glow-in-the-Dark Star Ornaments, Joy & Co., Grand Marais
5:00 p.m. – Dark Skies Paint & Sip, Surfside Ballroom, Tofte
7:00 p.m. – Presentation & Panel on Light Pollution, Studio 21, Grand Marais

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11
4 p.m. – Untitled Night Dark Sky Dance Performance, Rec Park (sledding hill), Grand Marais
6:30 p.m. – Wandering around Mars presentation by Andrea Jones, planetary geologist and the Public Engagement Lead of the Solar System Exploration Division at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Grand Marais
7:30 p.m. – Cosmic Perspective: How Astrophotography Shifted My Perspective on the Cosmos & Earth by Kyle Johnson, Grand Marais

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9
10 a.m. – Journey to the Mono & Mars: Touchdown! – Build Your Own Lander with NASA, Studio 21, Grand Marais
1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. – UMD Portable Planetarium, Schapp Community Center, Gunflint Trail
3:30 p.m. – Asteroids, Meteors, & Comets, Oh My!, Gunflint Lodge
5:00 p.m. – Dark Sky Dinners – Gunflint Lodge or Borderland Lodge
7:30 p.m. – Astrophotogaphy & Astro Tourism, NEW! Northern Lights Lodge at Gunflint Lodge
Following the Star Tribune Program… Telescope Viewing & Night Vision Opportunities

Happening throughout the Festival
8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. – Documentary: Northern Nights, Starry Skies, Grand Portage National Monument Heritage Center
10 a.m. – 4 p.m. – Art Exhibition: Dark Skies, Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery, Grand Marais
Geminid Meteor Shower.

From December 12 – 14, the prominent night sky constellation is the Geminid meteor shower. It appears to radiate from the constellation Gemini, peaking around the nights of December 13 & 14.