Do you like to look up at night and see the stars? I certainly know that I like to do that. Of course, thanks to all of the buildings and what not that have exterior lighting and are just lit up all of the time it is sometimes hard to see those stars up in the sky, especially if you are in or close to a city where they really like to light up every single building they can find. Well, apparently this sort of thing has a name and it is light pollution. You know - all of the artificial lighting that is a bit on the excessive side that is cluttering up things so that you cannot see the stars up in the sky. Well, if you are anti light pollution then you will want to go to the Dark Sky Festival this year. This will be the fifth year if the Dark Sky Festival and it will be held at the Harmony Town Square in Harmony, Florida. You can take part in this year’s event by going on down to Harmony. It is all happening on Saturday, April 5, 2008 with things kicking off around 7:00 pm. The Dark Sky Festival is all about celebrating a night of no light pollution and really enjoying the benefits of a star filled night with no light pollution keeping you away from the stars. For more info, check out the press release below.

Get Ready! This Year’s Dark Sky Festival is Out-of-this-World

HARMONY, FL – March 15, 2008 – The 5th Annual Dark Sky Festival at Harmony will be held on Saturday, April 5, 2008. Sponsored by the Harmony Institute, the Kissimmee Convention and Visitors Bureau, several astronomy clubs, the Osceola News Gazette and Florida Travel & Life Magazine, the event will kick off at 7pm in Harmony’s Town Square.

“The Dark Sky Festival is intended to celebrate and promote the benefits of a night-sky free from the effects of excessive artificial lighting,” said Greg Golgowski, Harmony’s Conservation Director and a key member of the Dark Sky Festival Planning Committee. “Poor outdoor lighting not only washes out the splendor of the heavens, but also reduces visibility at night, wastes energy, and disturbs wildlife.”

As with the past four Dark Sky Festivals, attendees will be able to enjoy viewing the night skies through a variety of telescopes. There also be lots of music and food, numerous specialty booths, an educational zone with presentations from astronomers and other scientists, nocturnal creatures, a Cosmic Kids Zone and so much more.”

Local favorite, the Silver Clouds Orchestra, will start the entertainment portion of the evening at 7:00pm. This will be followed by a free concert by legendary recording artists, Rare Earth.

Rare Earth will take to Harmony’s outdoor amphitheatre stage at 8:00pm for a live concert chock full of their greatest hits including “Get Ready” and “I Just Want to Celebrate.”

“We are ecstatic to have Rare Earth performing at this year’s Festival,” said Shad Tome, president of Harmony Development Group. “We are encouraging everyone to wear comfortable shoes because Rare Earth is known for getting the whole audience up and dancing.”

The festival will be emceed by Magic 107.7’s afternoon drive on-air personality and program director Ken Payne.

The Festival is open to the general public. Over 3,500 people are expected to attend the event this year. The event will conclude around 11:00pm.

This date was selected because it falls on the heels of National Dark Sky week (March 29 – April 4); where people in the United States are encouraged to turn out their unnecessary outdoor lights in order to temporarily reduce light pollution.

For more information, please visit www.DarkSkyFestival.com or call 407-891-8358.