Starlight and Celebration: Recapping the 2025 Voyageurs Star Party
Photo by Gordy Lindgren
Over Labor Day weekend, Voyageurs National Park became a gathering place for stargazers during the fifth annual Voyageurs Star Party. Held August 29-30, 2025, this family-friendly event invited visitors to celebrate the park’s designation as an International Dark Sky Park and to honor its 50th anniversary of parkhood. Together, Voyageurs Conservancy, the National Park Service and partner organizations brought to life a weekend of special speakers, hands-on activities and stargazing that highlighted the scientific, natural and cultural significance of the night sky.
On Friday evening at the Rainy Lake Visitor Center, visitors began the weekend with screenings of Northern Nights, Starry Skies, an award-winning film that weaves together Ojibwe and Dakota star stories with perspectives from astronomers and night-sky advocates. The program also featured a presentation by Todd Burlet, President of Starry Skies North, who spoke about the urgent need to reduce light pollution and protect the brilliance of our shared skies. Families had the chance to get creative and curious with the Bell Museum’s “gravity jars,” an interactive activity that let participants feel the difference in weight and mass on planets across the solar system using an everyday object – peanut butter jars! Throughout the night, many got the chance to get out on the water for a sunset or night sky paddle cruise on Rainy Lake with Wilderness Inquiry’s Canoemobile.
Photo by Gordy Lindgren
Photo by Gordy Lindgren
The next day, the celebration continued at the Kabetogama Lake Visitor Center with a full slate of activities that mirrored Friday’s programming. Guests learned about nocturnal wildlife with the Voyageurs Wolf Project and joined in stargazing & telescope sessions with Jesse Gates, Voyageurs Conservancy’s own education specialist and NASA Ambassador.
Photo by Gordy Lindgren
A highlight of the weekend was the special evening presentation, Spirits Dancing – The Night Sky, Indigenous Knowledge, and Cultural Connections to the Cosmos, by Anishinaabe photographer and storyteller Travis Novitsky. Novitsky shared his breathtaking images of the night sky while weaving in Indigenous cultural knowledge and star teachings. As the photographer for the book Spirits Dancing and co-producer and narrator of Northern Nights, Starry Skies, his work has become a cornerstone in celebrating dark skies throughout Minnesota, especially in Voyageurs National Park, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and Lake Superior’s North Shore. For many attendees, his talk was a moving reminder of the deep cultural and spiritual connections that unite people with the cosmos.
This year’s Star Party was fortunate to have beautiful, clear skies, with the Milky Way stretching across the horizon. By 10:00 p.m. each night, visitors were gathered around telescopes to get a clear look at Saturn’s rings and learn how to find night sky cornerstones including the Big Dipper, Cassiopeia and the North Star.
As Voyageurs National Park marks its 50th year, the Star Party stood as both a celebration of the past and a commitment to the future of dark-sky preservation. The weekend reminded us all that protecting the night sky is about more than just stars, it’s about safeguarding cultural heritage, supporting wildlife and ensuring that future generations can experience the same sense of wonder.
Photo by Gordy Lindgren
Photo by Gordy Lindgren
For those who missed this year’s gathering, there are still opportunities ahead! Voyageurs Conservancy and the National Park Service will continue to host Park After Dark programs throughout September, keeping the spirit of stargazing alive well into the fall season.
Funding for this project was provided in part by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).
The Trust Fund is a permanent fund constitutionally established by the citizens of Minnesota to assist in the protection, conservation, preservation, and enhancement of the state’s air, water, land, fish, wildlife, and other natural resources.
This program was made possible by a grant from the National Park Foundation through generous support of partners including Union Pacific Railroad and donors across the country.
