From 14 to 21 March, hundreds of people attended StarFest’s 23 public events, astrophotography exhibitions and constellation trail as Tisbury claimed the mantle of ‘Starlight Capital of England’. The public events ranged from interactive workshops to storytelling, astro-related talks to music and film, planetarium shows to live stargazing. Local schools had bespoke astromythology storytelling, planetarium shows and Space Detectives workshops, and there were special sessions for the Tisbury Memory Group.
There was also a children’s poster competition, with a display in the Nadder Centre. It was heartwarming to read the children’s commentaries on why they created their designs, expressing a care for our wonderful natural world.
The feedback from those who attended has been fantastic; we appear to have spawned some new Dark Night Sky advocates and perhaps triggered the formation of a new astronomy club for the village.
We owe huge thanks to a great many people without whom none of this would have been possible. Firstly, all those who attended, whose presence lent such a buzz to the week. Secondly, Tisbury Parish Council Environment Group who undertook the mammoth task of organising the entire festival. Lastly (and by no means least!) the volunteer stewards and helpers from both Tisbury and Cranborne Chase National Landscape who took a lot of the load off the rest of us; people commented how much they were a credit to the communities they represented.
We like to move StarFest around the Dark Sky Reserve and are now seeking a host (or hosts) for StarFest 2027. If a parish (or group of parishes) in or adjacent to the Dark Sky Reserve would like to consider this, we’d love to hear from you! Contact stevetonkin@cranbornechase.org.uk.