The undeniably largest light in Earth’s sky on a nightly basis is the moon—but what if our nearest celestial body made an appearance in a far more localized location?
Visitors to Pixel Park over the next several days will get to see the moon up close and personal, along with Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, and other planets in the solar system as part of the art installation Galactic Atmosphere.
That light display is being hosted as part of the Night Light Festival from the Victoria Park BIA, along with partners from CMLC, the City of Calgary, and Big Art, among others.
Victoria Park BIA Executive Director David Low said that this year was the biggest and best version to date for Night Light.
“You know, first time is chance, second time is coincidence, and third time is a pattern. So, going into year three, we’re really hoping to nail the pattern here,” he said
He said the real benefit of the festival was that, despite being run by a business improvement area, the Night Light Festival is entirely free for visitors to attend and there was absolutely no expectation for anyone to spend any money.
“Most major cities in the world do things like that for their citizens, where they put on these large-scale, very high-quality gestures for the public to enjoy,” said Low.
“To have events like this of this caliber, where you can bring your family and not be afraid that you have to spend money, it is so important, and I think it is a cornerstone of many of the great cities in the world, where they do these gestures for their citizens.”
Joanna Pesta, Senior Manager of Programming and Events at CMLC said that the Culture and Entertainment District was pleased to partner with the Victoria Park BIA for their third year.
“The exciting thing is that this is our first time hosting a night light installation at Pixel Park in the C+E,” she said.
“We really love partnering with Victoria Park BIA on their initiatives, and we’re really excited that they have extended their footprint to include Pixel Park. We’re their last stop on their immersive experience that extends along 12 Avenue. So yeah, we’re really excited to partner with them on that and have them, or have Pixel Park be a part of their program.”
Low said other exciting exhibitions of light were an exhibition of what would likely be a record-setting tic tac toe game in size, a return of the fire-breathing dragon from True North Absurdities, and a star gate of light in Haultain Park.
He said that the activities during the festival were also family-friendly, including kids’ face painting, and the opportunity to take part in laser graffiti.
“The festival does run from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., and that’s for the folks that want to come down and maybe just see some of the less light-intensive installations, some of the sculptures we have. So we have things for people to see and engage with, and then you can get home and get to bed early if you need to. If you want to see the big, flashy stuff after 7:30 p.m. is your best bet,” said Low.
For more details and a map of the installations, see www.nightlightvicpark.ca. The festival runs from Sept. 25 through Sept. 27, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. each night.
