Marian Call’s Official Blog

Rocketfest!!!

I am doing a very special thing this week.  I have been excited about it for months.  But I have not communicated my excitement to you guys yet.

ON LABOR DAY I AM GOING TO SPACE CAMP.

I am taking with me some of my favorite people:  Molly Lewis, Ken Plume, Joseph Scrimshaw, Phil Plait, George Hrab.  We are trucking over from Dragon*Con Monday morning.  We are there going to present the live audience in Huntsville, AL with a variety show of terrifically geeky sciencey entertainment, and we will be streaming the show LIVE FROM SPACE CAMP TO YOU.

How to watch: tune in to http://spacecamp.com on Monday Sept. 3rd at 2pm Central.  Facebook event here (share it!).

Here’s the why of this event.  It’s a fundraiser for the U.S. Space & Rocket Center Scholarship Foundation.  That’s a fancy way of saying we’re raising money to send more kids to Space Camp.  There will be stuff you can order, special goodies from Thinkgeek and Space Camp, and everyone who donates $10 or more online during the live stream will be entered to win a bigger prize from Thinkgeek. (Thank you Thinkgeek!)  Of course you can just donate too, that’s an option anytime at http://spacecamp.com/rocketfest.  But I hope that during this livestream we can flood the gates a little.  I want to demonstrate to the folks at USS&RC that the internet is full of people who want to support them.

When I was young, I was totally the scholarship kid at horse camp.  I begged and begged my parents, but they couldn’t afford it.  When I finally got to take my swim test, saddle up for early morning trail rides, and take my first crack at archery, it was thanks to anonymous strangers who helped to provide scholarships.  So there’s a big soft spot in me where summer camp is concerned.  It’s not just camp, it’s a big deal for a kid.  It’s CAMP.

And this is not just CAMP, it’s SPACE CAMP.

Science has been on my mind this year.  I know, I’m a liberal arts nerd, I don’t have much right to step into the science nerd realm.  [Insert rant about the overstated divide between “fuzzy” and “techie” and how early a girl is forced to choose.]  But in light of Curiosity’s landing, our little Mars invasion — and in light of the shuttle’s last landing and Sally and Neil leaving us — I feel more and more urgency about science education.

No, not education, excitement.  Science Excitement needs to become a national priority.  We need a tiny bit of moon landing feeling back.  A few of us experienced an incredible thrill as Curiosity landed.  I want to know how to spread that feeling, to make it more universal and less niche.  Because that sentiment is what would help to reorient the U.S. toward invention, discovery, research and development as a public prerogative.

I feel strongly about this (and I’m late to the game, I know, a lot of you have been fighting this fight for decades).  And I don’t know how I can do anything to change national sentiment as an individual.  But this seemed like a good little place for a singer-songwriter to start.  So here I go.

On Labor Day I hope you’ll tune your computer to SpaceCamp.com at 2pm Central and watch our little show, have a look at Rocket Park, even if it’s just on in the background while you barbecue on the deck.

And if you are within driving distance of Huntsville, I’m talking to you Dragon*Con attendees, consider bringing the family out for the day — Space Camp is throwing a field day from 10am-5pm, complete with rocket launches and bubbles and science demos.  The price of admission gets you our show and everything else in Rocket Park.  How cool is that?  Come sit on the lawn and have a picnic among rockets and be entertained.  We definitely need a live audience, so bring the kids and come play.  Make a pilgrimage to Space Camp! Especially if you’ve never been.  You know you want to!

Last: please, tell everyone.  Tell the whole internet.  This is just a little tiny thing but let’s get some eyeballs on it.  I’ve worked hard to pull it together and I really hope it will be half as beautiful as in my head.  Point people to info at http://spacecamp.com/rocketfest, and RSVP or share the Facebook event here.  If you can possibly blog about this or otherwise publicize it — DO.  The official press release is below.

Stars and stars and stars to all of you — writing from Cincinatti at 3am between concerts —

Marian

P.S. If you are in Huntsville or Atlanta, and you could Minion for me and the other entertainers, we need two volunteers to come along and help out for the day.  We can provide round-trip transport from Atlanta, and lunch.  Write to marian@mariancall.com if you are interested in going to Space Camp to help.  Sound/web/social media skills a plus, we’ll need some of that.  Loving Space Camp a double plus.

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ROCKETFEST
LABOR DAY 2012

When:          Monday, September 3, 2012, 9am – 5pm, entertainment at 2pm Central
Where:        U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville, AL, streaming live at http://spacecamp.com   
What:            Rocketfest, a fun filled day of music and family entertainment

On Monday, September 3, the U.S. Space & Rocket Center will host ROCKETFEST.  With your paid admission to the Space Center on Labor Day, the whole family can enjoy a fun-filled day.  There will be family activities on site like rocket launches, bubbles and science demonstrations;  attendees can win prizes from Thinkgeek and enjoy a special concert and variety show in the park.

The entertainment lineup (2pm) will feature nationally renowned musicians George Hrab, Molly Lewis, and Marian Call, along with science and geek culture icons Phil Plait the Bad Astronomer, Ken Plume and Joseph Scrimshaw.  All entertainment will be exciting and family-friendly.   The festival performance will be streamed LIVE on the web at http://spacecamp.com.

The event is a fundraiser for the U.S. Space & Rocket Center Scholarship Foundation. For more information or to donate, check out http://www.spacecamp.com/rocketfest.

The USSRC is home to Space Camp, Aviation Challenge, The Davidson Center for Space Exploration and world-class traveling exhibits.  It is also the official visitor’s information center for NASA – Marshall Space Flight Center.  To learn about all of the exciting programs and activities at the USSRC, go to www.rocketcenter.com.  The U.S. Space & Rocket Center is a Smithsonian Affiliate.

Press Contact:    Tim D. Hall, timh@spacecamp.com  (256) 701-0916