NIGHT SKY, ALIVE: If you've been to the desert after sundown, you've noted three things. One? It gets surprisingly chilly, even if the daytime temps pushed into the three digits. Two? The howls and skitters of surrounding fauna comfort more than they chill. And three? The whole universe is yours, from far horizon to far horizon, just for the looking up. Few locations own this concept more fully than Borrego Springs, which happens to be plunk in the midst of one of our state's most arid and elegant stretches of rocky, silent, ocotillo-dotted beauty. Astronomers flock their to enjoy the after-dark heavens, and, will soon again, and festivals spring up, taking their name inspiration from astronomy-loving videos. Oh, did we just say "astronomy-loving videos"? In fact we did: Gavin Heffernan's Sunchaser Pictures recently created a time-lapse of the twirly, lit-up heavens over Borrego, a work that's so whimsical, thanks in large part to framing the sky against animal statues on the ground, that a local festival is adopting the video's name: Borrego Stardance.
BORREGO STARDANCE, THE VIDEO... captures that quintessential desert night, told over time, but the Borrego Stardance Festival? That's happening at Borrego Days Desert Festival over the Oct. 24-26 weekend (a parade, kidly happenings, food, and more fill out the three-day party). As for more look-up doings around the desert? Borrego Springs Resort & Spa throws a Moon Shadow! party on Thursday, Oct. 23, in honor of "rare partial eclipse of the sun." The telescopes'll be out, and "astronomers from around Southern California," and there are hotel stayover deals to boot. Need to get in the celestial-Borrego state of mind now? Time-lapse wonder awaits...
BORREGO STARDANCE from Sunchaser Pictures on Vimeo.
