DISCOVER HERITAGE ROUTE 23

DARK SKY PROGRAM at Negwegon State Park with special guest speaker, Mary Stewart Adams, the Dark Sky Program Director of the Headlands International Dark Sky Park in Emmet County. The Friends of Negwegon State Park, the DNR, and the Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan will be co-hosting a special Dark Sky presentation Friday, October 9th at 7:00 p.m. till 10:00 p.m. The event is free, but entry to Negwegon State Park requires a Recreation Passport. For more information contact the Harrisville/Negwegon State Park Office at 989-724-5126, or the Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan at 989-356-2202. The event will start at 7:00 p.m. at the Mountain Inn located on the corner of US 23 and Black River Road, and then progress to the Negwegon State Park for dark sky viewing. Refreshments and drinks can be purchased from the Mountain Inn during the presentation. Bring blankets, chairs, and red-filtered flashlights (easily achieved with red bandana or red tape) for Negwegon. Mary Stewart Adams, the Dark Sky Program Director of the Headlands International Dark Sky Park in Emmet County will be the special guest speaker and host. Mary Stewart Adams is a star lore historian, storyteller and author who has been immersed in the history of star knowledge for nearly 30 years. For the past several years Mary served as the leader of the initiative that achieved International Dark Sky Park designation for Emmet County’s Headlands property May 2011 and now serves as its Program Director. The Headlands was the 6th International Dark Sky Park and 9th in the world at the time it earned the designation in 2011. Today, there are 20 Dark Sky Parks. Mary has received numerous honors for her work with Emmet County, including the 2006 and 2012 Gary R Williams Dark Sky Advocate of the Year Award, the International Dark Sky Association’s Dark Sky Defender Award, and the Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council’s Environmentalist of the Year Award. She writes and speaks extensively to local, national, and international audiences on our relationship to the night sky and its cultural consequences. Through the publication of her wall calendar Fairy Tale Moons and her weekly radio program “The Storyteller’s Guide to the Night Sky” Mary supports her mission to safeguard the imagination by protecting our access to the night sky and its stories. Join Mary under the stars to celebrate the fundamental happiness that results from learning the history, the art, the science, and the poetry of the stars.