Dark Star Park Festival
Release Date: Wednesday, July 1st 2009
Rosslyn BID & Arlington County to Celebrate 25 Years of Public Art
With a Festival for Dark Star Park on August 1
Rosslyn (Arlington, VA) – The Rosslyn Business Improvement District is pleased to announce the Dark Star Park Festival – a celebration of the 25th Anniversary of Dark Star Park, taking place on Saturday, August 1, 2009. The park’s sculptor, Nancy Holt, will be present at 9:32 a.m., as she and other art lovers gather to watch the spheres and poles of Dark Star Park create a shadow alignment – a once-a-year event. The rest of the day’s activities will celebrate the birth of Arlington’s public art program.
The festivities kick off Friday, July 31 at dusk with a free outdoor screening of E.T at Gateway Park. Saturday morning, August 1 at 8:30 a.m. the shadow alignment program will be held at 1655 N. Ft. Myer Drive, just three blocks from the Rosslyn Metro, leading up to the 9:32 a.m. event. In Arlington, attending this annual alignment of the shadows has become a ritual for area workers and residents. In addition to gaining an appreciation for public art, festival attendees will also learn about astronomy and planetary movements from NASA researchers and the Arlington Public Schools’ Planetarium Director Jonathan Harmon.
“We are proud that Arlington’s public art program was initiated right here in the urban district. Rosslyn continues the tradition by delivering high quality public art and now, a festival to celebrate it,” says Rosslyn BID Executive Director Cecilia Cassidy.
Nancy Holt will travel from New Mexico to discuss the history of Dark Star Park. Holt used spheres, spires and shadow-images on the ground to create Dark Star Park. The piece commemorates the day in 1860 when the land that eventually became Rosslyn was purchased. It set a precedent for integrated public art – art that doesn’t stand apart from its surroundings, as a single sculpture in a plaza, but becomes part of its environment.
The event is sponsored and supported by the Rosslyn BID, Arlington’s Cultural Affairs Division, Arlington Public Schools, Monday Properties, NASA, and NewsChannel 8.
Other event highlights include guided public art and historic tours of Rosslyn and a screening of a movie about the making of Dark Star Park. Families can enjoy activities sponsored by NASA and free screenings of space-related movies in the nearby Dome Theater, some of which have been shown at the Air and Space Museum. Arlington Public Schools will offer a free “star talk” and a 400-piece art show by Arlington students on display in the Dome.
Adjacent to the Dome Theater, in Freedom Park, there will be NASA-sponsored children’s activities. Other highlights include food, live musical entertainment by Rocknoceros and The Grandsons, and intergalactic educational performances by Synetic Theater.
Dark Star Park is just three blocks from the Rosslyn Metro and free event parking is available at 1101 Wilson Blvd. Other event venues include the Boeing Conference Center at 1200 Wilson Blvd.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Monique O'Grady
mogrady@rosslynva.org
(703) 522-6628 ext.14
Communications Director
Monique O'Grady
mogrady@rosslynva.org
(703) 522-6628 ext.14
Communications Director