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The inaugural Julian Starfest took place on August 1-3, 2008 on the open grounds of the Menghini Winery located in the beautiful  Cuyamaca mountains of Julian, CA.  Julian is a historic 1870’s gold mining town approximately an hour’s drive east of San Diego.  Today, this “small town” famous for their apple pies, is a great weekend getaway filled with shops, historic buildings, Bed and Breakfast Inns and gold mine tours.  The Julian Starfest was the idea of 3 astronomy enthusiasts/owners of separate B&B Inns - Mike Leigh (Observer’s Inn), Scott Baker (Mountain High Bed and Breakfast) and Chuck Kimball (Artist’s Loft Bed and Breakfast).  As legend has it, all 3 men were in the Christmas holiday spirit of things and came up with the idea of having their own huge Star Party event in the San Diego area after a few drinks and some holiday cheers (wink).  With a few phone calls later, word began to spread like wild fire!  Manufacturers and vendors of astronomical equipment began to sign up, astronomy enthusiasts became very interested in attending and speakers began to line up as well.  All proceeds from this event would be used to fund a new observatory for the Julian Union High School District.

Michelle Meskill, Assistant Marketing Manager and Kevin Kawai, Community Relations Coordinator, were on hand to represent Celestron at this event.  Taking advantage of the majestic views of Julian, we rented a house nestled in the woods nearby the Menghini Winery.  Michelle’s husband, Scott and son, Devin, came along for the ride, making it a true family outing.

We arrived at the winery grounds early Friday morning to unpack and set up our company booth.  We just marveled at the wide open grounds and clear, unobstructed sky  The weather was very hot, but the sky was blue and sunny.  The favorable weather condition was a welcome sign and a clear indication of what we all had in store for the rest of the weekend.  We brought along Celestron’s most popular products such as the CPC 1100, a NexStar 6 SE, a couple of SkyScout Personal Planetariums, newly released SkyScout SD cards, a SkyScout Speaker, and our newest Ultima and Axiom premium eyepiece lineup.   In addition, we brought along boxes of orange Celestron Frisbees (which proved to be a big hit with our guests), Star Pens, Sky Almanacs and Posters of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (which Celestron is proud to be one of the Global Sponsors).

The Starfest drew hundreds upon hundreds of people from all over California and out of state.   Motorhomes and SUVs adorned the hillside, as people claimed their campsite.   The event was highlighted by a variety of different activities such as: Bus tours throughout the weekend for those making the pilgrimage to the legendary 200″ Hale telescope on Mt. Palomar, wine tasting, a beer garden, swap meet, BBQ, guest speakers and a raffle prize drawing.  Celestron donated a brand new NexStar 6 SE for the raffle prize.

Throughout the days, we met with fellow astronomy enthusiasts from beginners to seasoned veterans.  It’s always fun demonstrating and answering people’s questions about our products, especially telescopes.  Everyone was looking forward for nightfall to really see our scopes in action.  As a matter of fact, so were we.  As dusk approached, we headed back to our rental home for a delicious home cooked meal prepared by a co-worker.  Imagine having dinner outdoors on a patio, along with scenic views of the mountains as a backdrop.  It was incredible being in touch with nature!  With some time to spare, we visited a nearby horse ranch and played a bit of “Rock Band,” before we headed back for the star party.  Watch out for Devin!  He’s pretty good on the drums for a young lad!

By the time we arrived back, guests were already lined up outside the Celestron booth eager to peer though our NexStar 6 SE and CPC 1100 telescopes.  The Summer night sky was absolutely brilliant!  The Milky Way arched its way across the night sky just like a river of milk.  Michelle and I took requests from guests and commanded both telescopes to take us all on a tour of celestial objects such as the Globular clusters M4, M13, M15 and M22; Open clusters M6, M7, M11, NGC 869 and NGC 884; Planetary nebulas M27, M57 and M97; Emission nebulas M8, M16, M17 and M20; Galaxies M51, M81, M82 and NGC 4565 and Planets Jupiter and Uranus.  Once the scopes cooled and the atmosphere settled down, the views were just riveting!  The amount of detail seen on Jupiter’s surface and resolving the Hercules cluster (M13) to the core were just spectacular!   For those guests who were contemplating purchasing a Celestron computerized telescope, we even allowed them to “test drive” the telescopes for themselves to experience how user friendly the NexStar computerized system really is.  Hearing a lot of “oh my” and “wow” were not uncommon as the night wore on.  It’s the best part of sharing the night sky with others, and you never get tired of hearing.

Celestron would like to congratulate Mike, Scott and Chuck, in association with the Julian Merchants Association and the Julian Chamber of Commerce for the inaugural launch of the Julian Starfest.  This will now be a yearly event bringing astronomy to the area for everyone to enjoy and will surely grow larger in the years to come.  Celestron will be back for sure, but next time, we’ll make sure to bring along more orange Frisbees.