SPRINGFIELD, Vt. – This year, the Stellafane Convention, to be held Aug. 13-16, will have several convention centennial special events. Please join for this celebration.
As always, the convention offers three nights of dark-sky observing with your own scope and four operating observatories. Many tall trees have been removed from the edge of the main observing field to widen access to the sky. Attendees can also participate in the Observing Olympics, discover interesting objects, and win a beautiful enameled pin.
A very special event, the premiere of the feature-length documentary “Stellafane and Beyond,” will be held early Friday evening, Aug. 14, in the Great Hall at 100 River Street. You can purchase tickets or a film sponsorship to support its creation and the club.
The Hartness House workshop is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 13. The program for the day will be a heterogeneous collection of high-quality presentations on a variety of astronomical subjects, with the usual opportunity to mingle with the speakers and other attendees at the historic Hartness House Inn. There is a separate admission fee for these events.
Do you have a short presentation you would like share with other conventioneers? Sign up for the Friday informal talks at www.stellafanevt.org/community.
Program highlights include keynote speaker Ruskin Hartley, CEO of Darksky International; the opportunity to build a cubesat and “fly” it on a zip line; an amateur telescope competition, both optical and mechanical; an amateur telescope-making demonstration; swap tables on Saturday morning, Aug. 15; and a full program of daytime speakers presenting topics of interest to amateur astronomers and telescope makers at the beginner, intermediate, or advanced levels. A complete program schedule can be viewed at www.stellafanevt.org/2026/scheduleofevents.
The Town of Springfield is celebrating with us: We will have a new museum space open during the convention in conjunction with the Springfield Art & Historical Society. There will also be exhibits of Stellafane founder Russell Porter’s artwork at Gallery at the Vault, the Springfield Library, the Springfield Chamber of Commerce, VRmont Studios, and our new museum. See www.stellafanevt.org/otheractivitiesfor hours and locations.
Camp on site or stay in local lodging. Saturday dinner packages are available to order with your tickets. Food services will be operating Thursday at noon through Sunday morning.
Ticket prices will increase on July 13, so buy your tickets now for lowest price. Visit the convention website, www.stellafanevt.org, to purchase tickets or for more information.
Additionally, club member Glenn Jackson is creating a time capsule to be opened at the 2126 Stellafane Convention. Each and every member of the Stellafane community is invited to participate. Write a biography of your journey through your telescope. Include a picture of you and your telescope, and answer questions such as “what brought you to Stellafane?,” “what are your most memorable experiences?,” and “is your career related to space and astronomy?” News articles, club fliers, and anything that will be celebrated in 100 years are welcome. The time capsule will be sealed at the club’s December 2026 meeting. Drop your contribution off in the collection box in the Flanders Pavilion. You may also send a PDF to Gsjackson4955@gmail.com and Glenn will print it on archival paper, or mail it to Springfield Telescope Makers, P.O. Box 601, Springfield, VT 05156.