Cosmic Multicultural Bucharest in the Pandemic (35):
SARM at Bucharest Astrofest 2021
By Andrei Dorian Gheorghe (astro-photo-poem-essay) and Florin Alexandru Stancu (design)
“We must learn to reconnect to heaven
because man is the connection
between earth and sky.”
-Valentin Grigore
(from his speech on the stage of Bucharest Astrofest 2021)-
On July 23 and 24
the team of the magazine “Science and Technique” organized Bucharest Astrofest 2021 (chief-organizer: Adrian Banuta) in the Crangasi Park near the Mill Lake.
An edition with a central stage for speakers (some of them were guests from other Romanian towns), image projections and electronic music, many tent-stands with astronomical souvenirs and educational offers (Astronomical Institute of the Romanian Academy, Bucharest Astroclub and Urania Astronomical Association - that made a “parade” of telescopes -, other Bucharestian institutes, associations and publishing houses, and even an exhibition with old astronomical instruments for seamen (given by the AstroNauticus Association from Mangalia)… and many visitors.
The second national astronomical society in Romania’s history (after the former society created by Victor Anestin in 1908), the Romanian Society for Meteors and Astronomy (SARM, founded in 1993 with its headquarters in Targoviste) made its own program (with astrophotographic paintings, sky maps, booklets, night sky planispheres, eclipse glasses, astronomical magnets and stickers, “astral” pencils and even a heavenly globe for the blind) and also hosted other valuable exhibits from Romania: the famous collection of meteorites of Razvan Andrei (from Targu Jiu), three books of the Astromix Publishing House (created by Dan-George Uza in Cluj-Napoca), other books from the Mihail Sebastian Cultural Centre (by Zigmund Tauberg, Bucharest) and SARM Gorj Astroclub (by Marcel Jinca, Bumbesti Jiu), a few astrophotographic paintings by Catalin Beldea (the “national” eclipse hunter, founder and chief-organizer of the first editions of the Bucharest Astrofest), which were exhibited near Valentin Grigore’s astro-paintings .
Valentin Grigore (helped by volunteers Bogdan , Claudia and others) taught numerous mini-courses of astronomy for visitors and gave an applauded speech on the central stage, while my main “mission” was to tell about the history of astronomy and astropoetry, and to catch a few heavenly sequences in those days.
It is to note that many children wanted to dress star costumes (donated to SARM by the American astronomer Audrey Fischer at Targoviste International AstroFest 2018) and created joyous moments in this beautiful celebration of astronomy, Bucharest Astrofest 2021!
#poetry