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It's back.... And this year we look forward to having another great time!  You asked for it? You got it. The Hidden Hollow weekend Star Party at Warren Rupp Observatory will be back again this year the weekend of October 12- 14! The schedule is now ready!! Don't panic about printing it... We'll have a copy available for you in your registration packet. Without further ado, here's a look at what's happening! Hidden Hollow Star Party – Weekend Schedule Welcome to the Hidden Hollow
Star Party Weekend! One of our major
pleasures is being able to offer our guests a variety of things to do – but the
hardest part is finding time to do them all!
The following schedule took careful consideration and some of our
speakers repeat in order to allow our guests to participate in other program
additions like Workshops and Planetarium programs. No matter what you choose to do and when,
we’re sure you’ll have a wonderful time! FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12 10:00 am –
Registration Opens (Club House) 10:30 am –
Sky View Lodge Opens (Prizes and Exhibits Areas) 12:00 pm –
North Star Concessions Opens (Sky View Lodge) 1:00 pm –
Vendor Area Opens (Sky View Lodge) 1:00 pm –
Raffle Ticket Sales Begin (Sky View Lodge Raffle Area) 1:00 – 3:00 pm – Solar Imaging Workshop (Sky View Lodge) 4:00 – 6:00 pm – Solar Filter & Refractor Workshop (Sky View Lodge) 4:00 – 6:00 pm – Planetarium Program (Sky View Lodge) 4:00 – 5:00 pm - Speaker: Phil Creed (Sky View
Lodge Basement) 5:00 – 6:00 pm – Speaker: Jason Shinn (Sky View
Lodge Basement) 6:00 – 7:00 pm – Speaker: Mike Best (Sky View
Lodge Basement) 8:00 pm –
Sky View Lodge Closes (Concessions Remain Open) 8:30 pm –
Registration Closes 9:00 pm –
Dome and Observing Opens (Lights Out – Parking Restricted) NOTE: Although we
do not anticipate cloudy skies or rain, things can happen! Should the weather not cooperate, Sky View
Lodge will remain open and our guests may join us for additional speaker and
workshop programs. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13 8:00 am –
Registration Opens (Club House) 8:00 am –
Sky View Lodge Opens (Vendor Area, Displays & Ticket Sales) 8:00 am –
North Star Concessions Opens 9:00 – 12:00 pm – Solar Imaging Workshop (Sky View Lodge) 9:00 – 10:00 am – Speaker: Phil Creed (Sky View
Lodge Basement) 10:00 – 12:00 pm – Planetarium Programs (Sky View Lodge) 10:00 – 11:00 am – Speaker: Mark Friedman (Sky
View Lodge Basement) 11:00 – 12:00 pm – Speaker: Ron Ravneburg (Sky View Lodge Basement) 12:00 pm –
Registration Moves To Sky View Lodge (Hidden Hollow Area) 12:00 – 1:00 pm – Speaker: Terry Mann (Sky View
Lodge Basement) 1:00 – 4:00 pm – Solar Filter and Refractor Workshops (Sky View Lodge) 1:00 – 2:00 pm – Speaker: Jason Shinn (Sky View
Lodge Basement) 2:00 – 4:00 pm – Planetarium Programs (Sky View Lodge) 2:00 – 3:00 pm – Speaker: Tom Whiting (Sky View
Lodge Basement) 3:00 – 4:00 pm – Speaker: Mike Best (Sky View
Lodge Basement) 4:00 pm –
Registration, Contest Entries and Raffle Ticket Sales Closes 4:00 – 5:00 pm – Speaker: Brent Archinal (Sky View Lodge
Basement) 5:00 – 6:00 pm – Speaker: Phil Harrington (Sky
View Lodge Basement) 7:00 – 8:00 pm – Contest Winners Are Announced – Door Prize Drawing 8:30 pm –
Sky View Lodge Closes (Concessions Remain Open) 9:00 pm –
Dome Opens, Observing Begins (Lights Out – Restricted Parking) NOTE: Sky View Lodge
will remain open for additional programs in event of poor weather. Welcome to the Hidden Hollow Star Party!! We’re sure there are some
things you’re curious about, so let’s see if we can answer some questions! ASTROPHOTOGRAPHERS AND AMATEUR TELESCOPE MAKERS: This year we
are proud to offer you and opportunity to enter our contests! If you’re
interested, just sign in for the contest you’ll be entering at Registration and
you’ll be given a tag to mark your telescope or photograph. In Sky View Lodge, you’ll find an area to
display your photographs and ATMs will remain outdoors and marked with a glow
stick during Friday night so folks have an opportunity to easily find and visit
with you. In the event of rain, ATMs can
either be moved inside the Dome or Sky View Lodge to give you a secure area to
display them. VOTING FOR CONTEST ENTRIES: All
Hidden Hollow guests will be supplied with ballots in their registration
packets and all contests will be judged by our guests by which they feel is
best in each category. These ballots may
be submitted at the Hidden Hollow display area in Sky View Lodge and must be turned
in by 4:00 pm on Saturday afternoon to allow us to tally votes. Winners will be announced after our final
guest speaker. ABOUT SKY VIEW LODGE: As you can
see from our weekend schedule, almost everything will be held in Sky View
Lodge. The ground floor will hold our
vendor area to the east, the Hidden Hollow and Prize area against the south
wall and the Planetarium and Photography Contest Area to the west. The Solar Imaging Workshop will be held on
the concrete pavilion just outside Sky View’s front doors and the Solar Filter
and Refractor Workshops will be held in the central area of the ground floor
where work tables are located. North
Star Concessions and Exploradome will be located on
the concrete pavilion. As you come in
the front doors of Sky View, you will see a set of stairs leading to the
basement area. Large, naturally dark,
and a little more acoustically inclined, the basement will be the focal point
for our guest speakers. Restrooms are
also located in the basement area. Programs at Sky View Lodge run
simultaneously, so we want you to have the most enjoyable and activity filled
weekend as possible! For those who are disabled or have trouble walking… We
understand. You are welcome to drive to the Sky View Lodge area, but please be
mindful of where you park since many activities depend on the “space”. Be careful of pedestrians along the way! VENDOR AREAS: Vendors will be situated in Sky View Lodge and remain
open for as long as they wish. Please be
courteous to them and do not disturb vendor areas when no one is present. Hidden
Hollow Corner Store is a great place for you to pick up non-profit Hidden
Hollow items or set up an area if you wish to vend items in a Swap Meet
manner. You must be responsible for your
own items or make arrangements with those working in the area. CONCESSIONS: North Star Concessions will be open starting at noon
on Friday and will remain open as long as there’s business! These folks go to a great deal of trouble to
join us each year, so be sure to support them and enjoy their great food! CABINS, BUNKHOUSES, SHOWERS, CAMPING AND
RESTROOMS: Small cabins are available on a first-come basis and
it doesn’t matter which one you choose. There’s always room in the bunkhouses
to grab a few zzz’s!
Hot showers and large restrooms are available in both large bunkhouses –
Women East and Men West. There are also restrooms located in the basement of
Sky View Lodge, one beside the Club House and a port-o-san at the top of the
drive. Self-contained campers, tents and
vans are always welcome, but please be observer friendly and park around the
perimeters of the grounds. Not on the
basketball court, please! You are very
welcome to use a portable grill and we’ll provide you with a trash bag and lots
of trash containers! WARM ROOMS: Sure.
Sometimes it gets downright cold!
If the weather is nasty, Sky View will remain open in the evening and is
heated. The Club House is also heated
and will be open at all hours. Mohican
Lodge will also be open as a warm room in the fireplace area only.
But, be mindful and polite! The southern half of the building is a private sleeping, cooking and restroom
area for many of the folks who must be here 24/7 both before and after the
event. If the door to the private area
is closed, please don’t
disturb! Even we need rest, a chance to
eat and time to clean up! DOOR PRIZES: We’ve got lots of awesome door prizes for you this
year! Be sure to stop by the Door Prize Area in Sky View Lodge… You won’t
believe what we have in store for you! You can purchase the raffle tickets any
time at the Hidden Hollow store in the vendor area and choose which prize in
which you’d like to enter your tickets.
The more you enter, the better your chances are of winning! Included in your packet is one door prize
ticket, but please buy
generously! Putting on a star party is a
costly event and rather than charge you more for your visit, we try to make
ends meet through our raffle ticket sales.
Sales close at 4:00 pm on Saturday and all tickets will be placed in a
larger container and well mixed so drawings are random and fair. The final
drawing will be held in front of the Door Prize display area following the
announcement of our contest winners. If
you absolutely cannot be present, please mark your tickets with your name and
leave your name, address and phone number at sales. LIGHTS OUT TIME:
Sure. I know it gets dark a lot earlier than 9:00
pm. I’m an astronomer, remember? But, we’d like to give everyone the
opportunity to leave and return in a comfortable manner. You are welcome to come and go freely in the
parking area until LIGHTS OUT, but
after 9:00 pm you must park along the downhill drive if you wish to leave
during the evening’s observing time. WHAT IF IT’S CLOUDY OR RAINING? Hey! That’s one of the beauties of the Hidden
Hollow Star Party. All daytime
activities (except the Solar Imaging Workshop) will continue on schedule. For ATMs, we’ll have a display area in the Dome
or Sky View Lodge for the contest. If
the night isn’t favorable for observing, we’ll re-open Sky View Lodge where you
may join our guest speakers for additional programs, or pick up an indoor
workshop. There’s so much room that’s
there’s no need to be bored on a bad night!
Our speakers will be there and wonderful time to ask questions or enjoy
an informal chat. I CAN’T POSSIBLY DO EVERYTHING! Well,
sure ya’ can.
I’ve been careful of how I arranged the schedule, so there really is
time for everything if you take advantage of Friday afternoon programming. Saturday will be very busy, but all the
activities means you get a chance to decide on what you’d like to do. After all, wouldn’t you rather go to a star
party where there’s too much to do rather than not enough?! Who needs to sleep when all this great stuff
is going on! Hidden Hollow was designed to be full of activity and fun. You are welcome to visit the food vendor and
eat your lunch while listening to a speaker – just as you are welcome to join a
speaker at any time. REGISTRATION: During the noted times, registration will be partly
in the Club House and partly in Sky View Lodge.
While this might seem a little confusing, we don’t have a large staff to
run Hidden Hollow and this gives some of our workers an opportunity to enjoy
activities as well. For those who are pre-registered,
it’s just as simple as checking in. If
you’re planning on paying at the gate, please do so during registration hours
or make prior arrangements with HH staff. OBSERVING AREAS:
As you come up the hill, you
can see the area to the north is open for observing. This includes the fields around the Dome and
to the edges of the woods. PARKING: There should be plenty of room for everyone in the
graveled parking lot and surrounding area.
Many of our campers like to set up along the edge near the woods so we
encourage you to be polite to your neighbor.
If you plan on leaving, park where you can get in and out with
ease. If you plan on staying the entire
weekend, park where space is available and most convenient to you. EMERGENCIES: Should an emergency arise, please contact any HH
staff member immediately. Cell phones
are available. I hope that’s answered all of your questions about
the Hidden Hollow Weekend! Check further in your registration packet for
speaker information and other cool stuff. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to
contact any staff member. Have a safe and wonderful time!! |
