Hi Kim, There was some spirited debate about This is the Place. A large number of people, in SLAS, have a desire to have Star Parties in the SL Valley without parking lot lights. This is the Place was that place and is only a trial. Harmons will remain a Star Party venue. I do not believe there will be any, at TITP, there next year. Little Mountain was a big loss and there is still interest in another SL Valley location in the future, this is the desire of the membership. I understand there has been adequate turn out however, the canyon winds are the problem. It does have potential for Sun Parties in that they get a large number of visitors during weekend days, Astronomy Day activities work there also. Sun Parties seem dominated by club members with sparse public, the majority of public along the Jordan River pass by quickly on bikes or roller blades. We have been in much higher traffic areas before, in the Side Walk Astronomer tradition. Erik --- kimharch@cut.net wrote: From: "Kim" <kimharch@cut.net> To: "'Utah Astronomy'" <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Natural Bridges Saturday Night Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2008 11:07:42 -0600 I'll offer one more post on this subject then keep my mouth - uh, keyboard quiet. I offered to do a SLAS-sanctioned/sponsored event in a nearby National Park a couple of years ago. I committed to organize the event and received not a single offer for help from any other SLAS member or even non-SLAS member. The park was no further away than Bryce Canyon or Capitol Reef. When a conflict with my work came up and I had to bail, the NP contact was very unhappy with me. (Yes, I'm afraid I do put work ahead of astronomy.) Fortunately, the weather didn't cooperate that weekend so it wasn't as big a flop as it could have been. So NO, I do NOT support a more aggressive or more extensive star party schedule for SLAS than what we've been doing for the past few years. In fact, I think double-booking for anything such as this weekend's simultaneous star parties at This is the Place and SPOC is a big mistake. I make this observation from personal experience, and not just the bad experience to which I referred above. This issue has been debated for years, including during all the time that I served on the Board. Double-booking and scheduling two or three events each week has NEVER worked. SLAS-sponsored events become an obligation to all SLAS members, but only a relative few take the responsibility seriously. So, let's stick to what we do well and not expand official SLAS events beyond those that have been consistently well-supported in the past. I don't recall that "sidewalk astronomy" is anywhere in our constitution. Those of us who enjoy such informal activities are not at all limited if SLAS doesn't formally schedule, sanction or support them. Regards...and apologies if my SHOUTING has offended anyone, Kim -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of zaurak@digis.net Sent: Friday, September 05, 2008 9:04 AM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Natural Bridges Saturday Night Dan, You are right, a Star Party can happen without board supervision. We are talking about Star Parties that the club organizes and invites the public. I would say I have been involved with more informal than formal star parties. SLAS welcomes all members and non-members and by no means tries to regulate where members go. Many want to have group events and mingle with others, we try to accommodate this with new moon events. Erik --- outwest112@yahoo.com wrote: From: daniel turner <outwest112@yahoo.com> To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Natural Bridges Saturday Night Date: Thu, 4 Sep 2008 13:35:03 -0700 (PDT) This has morphed into a discussion of SLAS and I'm OK with that but I hope people don't get offended when I express my opinion on this. Star parties do not require board member supervision. They really don't even need club affiation. It just requires some one with a telescope set up in a place where some one else can find them. If you go to a National Park and just take your telescope, ask if you can set it up where others can share the view. Star Parties can be spontaneous. This is the spirit of Side Walk Astonomy. It's much better than the turf wars that we go through to try and come up with a schedule. And indeed many people are doing just this. Rob and I met a family at Wolf Creek with an Orion Dob from the Planetarium. They were like others I have met on forest service or BLM land. They have a telescope, are interested in astronomy, they are a joy to be with, and they would never even consider joining SLAS. Maybe we don't get recognition because we don't deserve it. DT _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG. 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