The Fountain Hills Dark Sky Festival, scheduled for Saturday, March 25, is a signature event and celebration of the town’s certification as a Dark Sky Community, a recognition achieved by only 17 communities worldwide.

Held at the Community Center and Centennial Circle beginning at 4 p.m., featured events include keynote speakers, night sky exhibits, a student art contest and activities for the whole family.

Speaker Lineup

The Fountain Hills Dark Sky Association has invited Paul Bogard to speak at this year’s event. Bogard is a writer, professor and author of “The End of Night,” a tribute to darkness and the night. Bogard will speak at 5 p.m. in the Community Center.

Joe Bill, co-founder and president of the International Dark Sky Discovery Center, will answer, “How are NASA, the Smithsonian and Fountain Hills Connected?” Bill is scheduled to speak at 6 p.m. in the Community Center.

At 6:30 p.m., Dr. Rhonda Stroud, a materials physicist and planetary scientist at Arizona State University, will speak with a presentation on “Asteroid Goo, Moon Water, and Stardust: A Laboratory Tour of the Solar System.”

The Fountain Hills Library will be open for the festival, where attendees can discover inspiring books about the night sky, learn about the library’s telescope lending program and find out how to use the library’s Citizen Science sky quality survey kit.

At 4:30 p.m. in the library, Bogard will host a Story Time when he reads his children’s book, “What If Night?” followed by a fun activity for the kids.

The River of Time Museum & Exploration Center will invite visitors to stop in and check out the Dr. Charles Juels telescope, which Juels used to discover hundreds of asteroids from his backyard in Fountain Hills.

The Fountain Hills High School is sponsoring the Virtual Reality Experience, with students leading the entire setup, operation and teardown for the event.

Using VR headsets, visitors can take a 3D tour of the Solar System and see the cosmos as they’ve never seen it before.

The international meteorite company, Aerolite Meteorites, will join in on the fun this year with an exhibit filled with meteorites from around the world. They will have meteorites for purchase in case attendees want to bring something home.

Live Animals

Get up close to live nocturnal animals and cool desert critters at one of five booths. This year, attendees will be joined by Wild at Heart, Southwest Wildlife, McDowell Sonoran Conservancy, the Center for Native and Urban Wildlife, and McDowell Mountain Regional Park. Learn about how light pollution impacts their ability to hunt, sleep, mate, navigate and more.

Star Party

After dark, telescopes will be set up for night sky viewing as the culmination of the entire Dark Sky Festival. Take a peek through one of a dozen telescopes to get an up-close view of planets, star clusters, the moon, nebulae and more.

Dr. Jeffrey Hall, director of Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, will offer two laser-guided tours of the night sky. He’ll help identify a variety of beautiful celestial objects and constellations with the naked eye.

Vicky Derksen, president of the Fountain Hills Dark Sky Association and host of the Night Sky Tourist podcast, will give one laser-guided star tour that will focus on cultural astronomy and ancient star stories.

Dinner and a view

A beer and wine garden, along with food trucks, will provide refreshments including a few options for sweet treats with Fountain Hills Water & Ice and the Swette Ice Cream Truck.

Alcohol will be available all evening in the beer and wine garden, which will include local establishments, Bone Haus Brewing and Grapeables Wine Bar.

Musicians Scott Hallock and Suzi Kiraly will take attendees through a playlist of songs from different genres and eras, digging up some great night sky-themed tunes along the way.

The Fountain Hills Dark Sky Association’s mission is to inspire residents to take pride in the Town’s rare distinction as an International Dark Sky Community and to protect and preserve the night sky for the benefit of all living things.

This event is free to the general public. Parking is also free. For more information, visit fhdarksky.com.