Ely Dark Sky Festival

Ely Dark Sky Festival  - January 10th & 11th, 2025Join us in celebrating our incredible dark night skies with a variety of indoor & outdoor events. Learn about astronomy, astrophotography, winter recreation, and the wonders of the Northern night sky. Visit the Festival Facebook page for updates and more information.

Visit the Ely Dark Sky Festival Facebook Page

Event Schedule

Friday, January 10th

  • 10:30 - 11:15 am | Preschool Story Timeat the Ely Public Library (224 E Chapman St) | Free, no registration required.
  • Starts Friday at 1:00 p.m. | Honoring Your Inner Wild Woman 2-Day Retreatat the International Wolf Center (1396 MN-169) | $225, register at InnerWildWomanStudio.com 
  • 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. | Painting the Aurora Classwith Cecilia Rolando at Ely Folk School (209 E Sheridan St) | $34, Register at Elyfolkschool.org
  • 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. | Astronomy Science Stationsat the Ely Public Library (224 E Chapman St) | Free, no registration required.
  • 4:30 - 7:00 p.m. | Sunset Tours of Listening Pointby Listening Point Foundation | $10, register at Listeningpointfoundation.org/ events
  • 5:00 - 6:30 p.m. | Intro to Astrophotography Classwith Marc Rassel and Les Conrad at Ely Folk School (209 E Sheridan St) | $20, register at Elyfolkschool.org
  • 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. | Night at the Museumby the Dorothy Molter Museum (2002 E Sheridan St) | Free, no registration required. Dress for the weather, historic cabins are not heated.
  • 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. | Dark Sky Triviaby Ely Trivia at the Boathouse Brew Pub (47 E Sheridan St) | Free, no registration required.
  • 6:30 p.m. | Romeo & Juliet performanceby NLAA at the Vermilion Fine Arts Theater (1900 E Camp St) | $10-25 (tiered pricing), buy tickets at Northernlakesarts.org/the- great-nordic-shakespeare- festival
  • 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. | Winter Starbathing in the Northwoodsby Meadowlark Meditation on the Trezona Trail (meet in Grand Ely Lodge Lobby, 400 N Pioneer Rd) | Free, no registration required.
  • 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. | Dark Sky Dogsleddingat Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge (1101 Ringrock Rd) | Free. Space is limited, email info@dogsledding.com to reserve your spot.
  • 8:00 - 9:30 p.m. | Wolf Howling Safariin the Superior National Forest by the International Wolf Center (1396 MN-169) | $11-13 (tiered pricing), register at Wolf.org. 

Saturday, January 11th

  • 10:30 - 11:30 a.m. | Nighttime Navigation in the Wildernesspresentation at Friends of the Boundary Waters (8 E Sheridan St) | Free, no registration required. 
  • 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. | Daytime Sidewalk Astronomy with Solar Telescope and Sun-Safe Glasses  by Voyageurs Conservancy Outside Friends of the Boundary Waters (8 E Sheridan St) | Free, no registration required.
  • 12:00 p.m. | Unlocking the Bard Shakespearean Workshopby NLAA at the Vermilion Fine Arts Theater (1900 E Camp St) | $10-30 (tiered pricing), register at Northernlakesarts.org/the- great-nordic-shakespeare- festival
  • 12:30 - 1:30 p.m. | Northern Lights for Newbieswith Elizabeth Miller at Friends of the Boundary Waters (8 E Sheridan St) | Free, no registration required.
  • 1:45 - 2:45 p.m. | Aurora Apps: the Good, the Bad, and the Uglywith Elizabeth Miller at Friends of the Boundary Waters (8 E Sheridan St) | Free, no registration required. 
  • 2:00 p.m. | Shakespeare Unleashed Workshopby NLAA at the Vermilion Fine Arts Theater (1900 E Camp St) | $10-30 (tiered pricing), register at Northernlakesarts.org/the- great-nordic-shakespeare- festival
  • 2:30 - 3:30 p.m. | Daytime Sidewalk Astronomy with Solar Telescope and Sun-Safe Glasses  by Voyageurs Conservancy Outside Grand Ely Lodge (400 N Pioneer Rd) | Free, no registration required.
  • 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. | Northern Nights, Starry Skiesscreening presented by Starry Skies North at the Grand Ely Lodge (Banquet room, 400 N Pioneer Rd) | Free, no registration required. 
  • 4:00 - 4:30 p.m. | Astrotourism & Light Pollutionpresentation by Starry Skies North at the Grand Ely Lodge (Banquet room, 400 N Pioneer Rd) | Free, no registration required.
  • 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. | Outreach Expo at the Grand Ely Lodge  (400 N Pioneer Rd) with kids activities, story time, demos, and more! | Free, no registration required. 
  • 4:30 - 5:00 p.m. | "Star Party" Story Time  by Polly Carlson-Voiles and Consie Powell at Grand Ely Lodge (400 N Pioneer Rd) | Free, no registration required.
  • 4:30 - 7:00 p.m. | Sunset Tours of Listening Pointby Listening Point Foundation | $10, register at Listeningpointfoundation.org/ events
  • 5:00 - 6:30 p.m. | Outdoor Kids Activities and Constellation Identification  by Ely Adventure School at Grand Ely Lodge (400 N Pioneer Rd) | Free, no registration required.
  • 6:30 p.m. | Romeo & Juliet performanceby NLAA at the Vermilion Fine Arts Theater (1900 E Camp St) | $10-25 (tiered pricing), buy tickets at Northernlakesarts.org/the- great-nordic-shakespeare- festival
  • 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. | Moonlight Kicksled Adventureon the Trezona Trail by Ely Bike and Kicksled (125 N Central Ave) | Free, no registration required.
  • 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. | Snowshoe Hike on Fall Lakeby Friends of the Boundary Waters (Fall Lake Campground public landing) | Free, no registration required.
  • 8:00 - 9:30 p.m. | Telescope Stargazing & Constellation Storiesby Arrowhead Astronomical Society at Pioneer Mine upper parking lot | Free, no registration required. | Event is dependent on relatively clear skies.

Bonus Events

  • Tuesday, Jan 7 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. | Aurora Chasing with Alex Falconerby Boundary Waters Connect at the Grand Ely Lodge (Banquet room, 400 N Pioneer Rd) | Free, no registration required. 
  • Sunday, January 12th, 2:00 p.m. | Romeo & Juliet Sunday performanceby NLAA at Vermilion Fine Arts Theater (1900 E Camp St) | $10-25 (tiered pricing), buy tickets at Northernlakesarts.org/the- great-nordic-shakespeare- festival
  • Monday, January 13th, 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. | UMD Traveling Planetariumby Ely PTO at Ely Public Schools (600 E Harvey St) | Free, no registration required. | 5-minute videos play for the duration of the event, stop by any time.