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Hey Steve!

The new moon dates for 2020 are as follows:

August:? August 18th

September:? September 17th

October:? October 16th

Cherry Springs State Park is committed to the Galeton Rotary Club's Woodsman's Show that occurs every year on the first weekend in August.? See here:??.??This is non-negotiable and all star party events have to work around this.? For 2020 its scheduled for?July 31, August 1 & 2, 2020.

The observing field is quite a mess after this event.? I would tend to think August 18th is probably not enough time to remove all of the wood chips, logs, pile-driven timbers etc. from the field.? This is why I believe September will be the date.

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Paul Leuba

On 11/11/2019 10:22:54 AM, "Steve Taylor" <steveastrouk@...> wrote:

The schedule for the next BFSP is not yet known. The September date WAS very popular, we got decent seeing on a couple of nights, but? members of the CPO board are a little concerned we don't chase the moon out to the end of September. We are currently working with the State on dates for next year, and we have a board meeting (with Bill G) where dates and future plans will be discussed. There is no enthusiasm for early August, that's for sure. I think the weekend nearest new moon in August is closer to it than the September one, but I might have my dates crossed up.

Steve, President CPO

On Mon, 11 Nov 2019 at 10:03, Paul Leuba <paul@...> wrote:

Hi Phil,

Thanks for the response to my points, but I need to add some clarity.??

1.? Constant communication with Steve - as in the Bat Phone???? Seriously, regarding the Black Forest Star Party - Bill Gartner is the gentleman you need to speak with. Steve Taylor (steveastrouk) is a terrific guy whom I met, and corresponded with on CloudyNights.? Didn't Steve vote for October???? ? Anyway, for up to date info, Bill is your guy.? The last time I spoke with Bill, he indicated that a September date was preferable.? Incidentally, he received overwhelming positive feedback from this year's event on the late September dates that were used.? Its the latest star party ever at Cherry Springs and it was fantastic.? My group was there for 8 nights - we observed every night.? For those that have never been here is some additional information.

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2.? I don't think I used the word "compete" or "competition".? Nevertheless, what I meant to say is this:? ?I like star parties.? I like astronomical observing.? I would rather not make a choice as to which one to attend, but rather attend BOTH.? The only way that happens is if the two events occur on different dates.? If you force us to choose, We'll choose the Black Forest party.? By "us" I mean my observing group of about 9 folks from Southern York County and Northern Baltimore County.? Maybe, your event is not really about observing/astronomy and more about getting together - which is fine.? Then no need to have it on a "dark of moon" weekend.? ??

3.? Logistics issues for Busy Bee notwithstanding; if you are in the catering business, these are fairly easy to overcome, especially if the reward will be great.?

4.? You mentioned the last 10 years of star parties.? Are you mixing this event, with the Mason Dixon Star Party?? The last Mason Dixon I attended was in 2014.? I think Cindy may have been running that one and Mark Starner ran a couple of them prior to that.? In 2002 I was responsible for having Phil Harrington as the speaker.? I put you in touch with him.??This was the last year at Spring Valley.??And, in 2008, Bob Forbes and I recruited Tom Trusock to be the keynote speaker.?

5.? Regarding Brad Heist and Event Coordination.? ?Phil, your memory fails you.? Perhaps, this was during the time period where you were mired in the accounting irregularity that was uncovered with the YCAS and were not able to focus on astronomy activities.? Brad is one of my best friends and to be clear (and my log books bear this out) Brad and I coordinated 23 public observing sessions.? Brad and I we'll be together over the Thanksgiving weekend.? Also, he believes he WAS a member of YCAS 10 years ago.? You may want to fact-check this since you brought it up.??

Look, at the end of the day, its your gathering so do as you wish.? The feedback from folks was interesting.? But honestly, this seems less about astronomy and more about just getting together socially.? If thats the case, no worries but don't call it a Star Party.??

I brought a telescope to work to view the Mercury transit.? Hope others did the same.

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Paul Leuba

On 11/10/2019 11:19:50 PM, philderosa1@... wrote:

Hello all,

Thank you all who have shared your thoughts about the vote.?

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In response to your concerns, I will try to address them briefly, IN UPPER CASE.? Please do not consider this SHOUTING.? It is simply to distinguish the response.? I don’t expect everyone to read this message, but I felt compelled to reply to the issues raised.

Here we go:

? Did you count the votes like mine that were sent as emails and not votes? The Yahoo site wouldn't let me vote, so I simply sent the email.

The other email type votes I saw were all votes for October.

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ANSWER: YES??? I have copies of all votes from the poll-- I get direct notification of all votes to my inbox.? Likewise, all the emails and response I got are saved in a separate file.? Also got the responses that were tagged to the bottom of the poll.

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This will - almost certainly - be the dates of the Black Forest Star Party.

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WELL, MAYBE.? ACTUALLY, I’VE BEEN IN CONSTANT COMMUNICATION WITH STEVE TAYLOR, A MEMBER ON THE BFSP?COMMITTEE.? My first question was when the BFSP will be.? His best GUESS that he gave me LAST WEEK would be August.? No promises.? The CPO is currently in re-negotiations with the State Parks.

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Rather then the temperature, what will prove devastating - from an attendance standpoint - for your event is that anyone wishing for a superior observing experience will choose Cherry Springs and the Black Forest Star Party instead of the YCSP. ??

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THIS STAR PARTY IS NOT TRYING TO COMPETE WITH BFSP, AHSP, STELLAFANE, OR ANY OTHER PARTY.? THERE WILL ALWAYS BE PEOPLE WHO CHOOSE TO MAKE THE TRIP TO THOSE PARTIES.? Having been involved with this party since 1995, my opinion is that it is a niche party, fairly dark enough for the observers in the big cities or south of here, within 2-3 hours’ drive of this area.? Many attendees would have to double their drives to attend the bigger parties.

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If YCSP is to be considered a “can’t miss” regional star party rather then the a small gathering of 20-30 people you need not have it on the same dates as the Black Forest Star Party.? By doing so, you’ll limit your attendance

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I HAVEN’T SEEN ANY SIZABLE ATTENDANCE BY ANY OF THE LOCAL CLUBS (Harrisburg, York, Lancaster, Reading, Westminster) ?IN 10 YEARS, EXCEPT FOR THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE FAITHFULLY ASSISTED ME KEEP THIS PARTY GOING.?

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and the sales/profits that Buzzy Bee will realize.? I do know that the folks running the Black Forest Star Party are looking at contacting Busy Bee as a possible food vendor for 2020 Black Forest Star Party.

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I’VE ALREADY DISCUSSED THIS WITH BUSY BEE.? I think there are some logistics issues that might be of concern going north.??

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Finally, your poll only took into account people who attended this year, and/or are members of this group.? This is a much smaller audience then potential attendees if you were not competing with the Black Forest Star Party.

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(SEE ABOVE REMARK ABOUT COMPETING)

“THIS (YAHOO/.io) GROUP HAS ABOUT 200 MEMBERS.? THEY NEVER ATTEND ALL AT ONCE.? Some haven’t attended for years, retired, or lost interest.? I also questioned people that attended that aren’t on the groups (yet?).? A sizable amount attended this year simply because they found out about it on the web.? I am trying to fill a void, because there appears to be a need.

I ran the party for over a decade when it was consistently over 325 attendees.? That was great to increase funds for “the club”.? Apparently I was no longer needed for that purpose.? With the amount of people that joined the new group from the Yahoo group, and the interest of other people AND CLUBS ?that have contacted me after the Cloudy Nights review by Glen Ward, I am not worried about becoming as big as the other parties… actually, attendees have expressed concern if it DID get that big.? This location might not be able to support that many people, anyway.? Nor might the park supervisor want that many overusing this pristine park.? I’m fine with that.? I DON’T NEED THAT MUCH WORK.? OR THAT MUCH PROFIT. ??AND…I WANT TO HAVE FUN AGAIN.?

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I am not sure why you mentioned Brad Heist as it made no sense, but he’ll be attending the Black Forest Star Party. ?

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I DON’T THINK YOU EVER attended club events when Brad was “event coordinator”.? For a while he joked he was ready to sell all his equipment because of the weather.? He quit the club well over 10 years ago.? He also stopped coming to this party years ago.? I consider him a friend, and would love to see him join us sometime.? I like knowing most people’s names, though I’m getting old enough to start being concerned about my memory.

There is no way to make everyone happy.? For those of you who decide to go elsewhere, I wish you safe travel, and great observing opportunities.? This party may still be here if you can attend in the future.? All are welcome.? I’ve been to Cherry Springs a few times, and was lucky to observe every time.? I’ve heard others haven’t been that lucky.?

As my friend in Canada says,

Clear Skies!

Phil

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