Saturday, 11 September 2021, was partly cloudy. A live in-person Star Party was held at Oracle State Park. Park Manager Vince Micallef welcomed everyone to the first in-person event at the Park in 18 months since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Photos courtesy of Dave Smith

Deb Gaines, the President of the Friends of Oracle State Park, also welcomed everyone and talked about the types of support that the Friends group provides to the Park.

Photo courtesy of Dave Smith

Mike Weasner, local Dark Sky Advocate, welcomed everyone and noted that seven years ago this month the International Dark-Sky Association formally recognized Oracle State Park as an International Dark Sky Park, making it the first park in the Arizona State Parks system to receive this prestigious honor. He also talked about recently published autobiography, Finding my Way to the Stars that was available for purchase. All proceeds from the book sales would go to support the dark sky activities at the Park.

Photo courtesy of Dave Smith

The Friends table and Mike autographing a copy of his book.

Photos courtesy of Dave Smith

There were guided tours of the main Kannally Ranch House while the Hard Sun Aggregate band played Americana music with a touch of Country, Zydeco and Blues on the patio. Gary Mackender was on accordion/vocals, Karl Hoffman on bass/vocals, and Clay Koweek on guitar/vocals.

Food and drinks were available from The Pastizzi Express.

Photo courtesy of Dave Smith

The clouds provided a beatiful Arizona sunset as members of the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association began setting up their telescopes.

The crescent Moon, along with the bright planets Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter were the primary targets for the cloud-hampered telescope viewing.

Don Cain and Richard Spitzer at their telescopes, along with some visitors.

Photos courtesy of Dave Smith

As the sky darkened, more people began viewing through the telescopes.

And the band played on (with the Big Dipper overhead).

Click or tap on image for larger version

Even with the clouds, the first star party at Oracle State Park in a year and a half was an enjoyable event for the over 150 people who attended.

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