Julian Starfest
Enjoy the largest free public star party in Southern California at the annual Julian StarFest, hosted by the San Diego Astronomy Association, under the dark skies of Menghini Winery near San Diego’s mountain resort of Julian. Look through telescopes and see the wonders of the night sky: the rings of Saturn, Mars the red planet, nebulae where baby stars are being born, open clusters of stars shining like diamonds, globular clusters with hundreds of thousands of stars packed together in a ball, and other galaxies, far-far away.
With astronomical events, including guest speakers, exhibits by major telescope and accessory vendors, an astronomy swap meet, a drawing on Saturday afternoon with thousands of dollars of donated astronomy equipment, astronomy games and crafts for kids, food vendors, an optional night sky photography workshop on Friday by photographer Dennis Mammana, an opportunity for a behind-the-scenes tour of the world-famous Palomar Observatory on Saturday morning with our own Palomar Observatory docent, and finally the public star party on Saturday night. The star party on Saturday night is free.