[NOVAC announcement] Astronomy Festival on the National Mall Volunteers

[Chris Kagy]

All,

As of today, Zack has heard from six members who are planning to support
the Astronomy Festival on the National Mall this Saturday, June 22 from
6-11 pm. Thanks to John Halsema, Alvin Manalo, Brian Cummins, Bob Robinson,
Pete Johnson, and (tentatively) Arlen Raasch for stepping up.

But six is not enough! This is the single largest public outreach event in
our area - possibly even in this part of the country. Sure, light pollution
in the city means it'll be hard to see much, but many of the people who
we've met at these events have never looked through a telescope. These are
exactly the people who could most benefit from our outreach.

If your schedule allows it, please strongly consider helping the club and
the Astronomy Festival on Saturday night. If you want to help, but are
uncertain/nervous about participating, please don't be. Other members will
lend a hand as needed, and the public will be excited to peek at anything
through a telescope.

Email Zack Pantzke (zack.panitzke at gmail dot com) and let him know you
can help. Zack will be sending an email out to the volunteers we've got
lined up with details about parking and gear drop-off.

-Chris
President, NOVAC

From Zack's prior email:

The Astronomy Festival on the National Mall is this Saturday, June 22 from
6-11 pm. We're in a new location for 2019, right in front of the
Smithsonian Castle!

This is a fantastic opportunity to spread the word about NOVAC to the DC
metro area community. Thousands of people walk around the mall on the
weekends. Over the last three or so years, it's been a thrill to see so
many stopping in to see what this event is all about. To complement the
Astronomy Festival, the Smithsonian is holding its own event, Solstice
Saturday. All of the Smithsonian museums will stay open until midnight, so
I expect the crowds to be even larger as a result.

We're looking for quite a few volunteers for this event:
 - Telescopes for night observing (at least 6, but preferably more!)
 - Solar (or solar filtered) telescopes for the two or so hours of sunlight
we'll have left
 - One or two additional members to help run the NOVAC table (last year I
had no voice left by the end of the night!)

The logistics are promising to be simpler this time around. The event is
taking place in front of the Smithsonian Castle. If you're familiar with
the area, there is a road running between the Castle and the mall, along
which we'll be able to park to unload our gear. We're working with the
organizer on the specifics of parking, but that should be easier this year
as well.

The rain location for the event is the Smithsonian Castle itself. We should
need fewer volunteers in the event of rain, but I'll still need at least
some support for the NOVAC table in that case.
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