New planetarium is latest addition to Jasper Dark Sky Festival

Stargazing tourists from around the world are trekking to the Canadian Rockies this weekend to catch the final few days of the Jasper Dark Sky Festival.

This year's event, which ends Sunday, drawing an estimated 3,500 tourists for discussions with experts, such as NASA astronauts twins Mark and Scott Kelly, stargazing walks and a visit to the new 50-seat planetarium.

What began eight years ago has grown "from a small gathering to a globally-recognized celebration of dark sky and science," said James Jackson, general manager for Tourism Alberta.

The festival, which entices tourists to town during the shoulder season, has been out of this world for business, Jackson said.

"In 2011 occupancy around this time of the year was around 30 per cent, 35 per cent. Now we're up over 80 per cent."

So how did the stars align to have this all happen in the mountain resort town 366 kilometres west of Edmonton?

Like any other tourism venture, it's all about the location, location, location.

"We're in the second-largest dark sky preserve in the world; [we're] in a UNESO World Heritage Site; we're in the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies and I don't want to try to guess how many stars are in the sky, but there's a lot," Jackson said smiling.

Peter McMahon could probably tell you. The astronomy journalist and author of The Space Adventurer's Guide is also the general manager at the newly-expanded Jasper Planetarium.

"We just built this dome in the summer and it's allowed us to increase our capacity, so instead of having half a tour group in, we can fit an entire busload of tourists in and that's allowed us to welcome more people," said McMahon.

Once inside, visitors experience a 35-minute guided tour of the galaxy through a multi-media presentation which covers the science of space, the constellations and light pollution.

"As cities get bigger and light pollution gets more and more pronounced, people experiencing the night sky and experiencing beautiful views of galaxies of the Milky Way and the aurora becomes less and less accessible," McMahon said. 

"It's more and more important for those of us who can share environments like Jasper Dark Sky Preserve."

Jim White's family sits in the planetarium sandwiched between tourists from Australia, the U.K. and China.

"Fantastic, great to take your kids to, teaches them lots about the universe, where we are, what we could see," said White, who's from Brandon, Man.  

"From what I saw, [there's] lots of up-to-date information, which is wonderful staying up with the times." 

McMahon admits many visitors are taken aback to see a planetarium in a town of 5,000 people. The other thing that's surprising is its location, just off a busy hotel parking lot in the centre of town.

But Jackson believes the planetarium is the latest example of the town's dedication to the dark sky designation.

What's next for the festival? Jackson isn't saying, but he hints it's going to be big

"I don't want to share too much right now but next year, for our ninth year, I think we'll be able to share some pretty exciting news." 

You can see more from Jasper this week on Our Edmonton on Saturday at 10 a.m., Sunday at noon at 11 a.m. Monday on CBC TV.