Fountain Hills to host annual Dark Sky Festival this weekend

PHOENIX — Fountain Hills is holding its seventh annual Dark Sky Festival this weekend, featuring numerous displays, activities, guest speakers, a silent auction, live music and more.

The free festival is set to take place Saturday at the Fountain Hills Community Center, off Avenue of the Fountains and Saguaro Boulevard, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The festival will also include virtual reality experiences, meteorite and live nocturnal animal exhibits and laser tours of the night sky.

The event aims to emphasize the importance of preserving the darkness of the night sky in the town east of Scottsdale.

In 2018, Fountain Hills was named as the world’s 17th International Dark Sky Community after years of work to reduce light pollution.

Guest speakers will work to inform the audience of topics ranging from astronomy to how artificial light pollution affects animals and migrating birds.

The family-friendly event will feature plenty of activities for children as well, including face painting, light experiments, a solar walk, coloring books, map-making and story time.

The silent auction began Wednesday and will last until Saturday at 7 p.m. Attendees will be able to bid on telescopes, telescope equipment, vintage astronomy books, a private stargazing package and more.

After the sun goes down, a laser-guided tour of the night sky will be provided where attendees will be offered the opportunity to look through a dozen telescopes to see the moon, planets, nebulae and other solar objects.

Singer-songwriter Dave Clark will provide live entertainment. His setlist includes classic rock from the 1950s through the 2000s, with an emphasis on 1970s-80s favorites.

Guests can also indulge in bites from local food trucks, including Queso Good, AZ Fry Guy, Batchelor’s Pad BBQ, East Coast Joe’s, DonutNV, Swette Ice Cream,  Grapeables and more.

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