Peter Shokeir | [email protected]
The Dark Sky Festival capped off when 150 drones filled the night sky with moving lights to help tell an Indigenous origin story about the skies.
Local Indigenous Knowledge Keeper Matricia Bauer narrated the creation story of Star Woman for the sold-out event at Commemoration Park on Oct. 23.
“This creation story is really from the beginning, and it shows the relationship that Indigenous people have with the sun and the moon and the stars,” Bauer said.
“So, basically, they launch all of these drones, like over 100 drones, and they make these images, and then you hear my voice in the background telling this creation story about how Star Woman falls to the earth and how she creates Turtle Island.”
The drone show was put on partly as a nature-friendly alternative to fireworks and also a way to collaborate with Indigenous partners to tell a story in an innovative way.
“I don’t think this is anything anyone has seen before in Jasper,” Bauer added.
“We’re taking the old, and we’re taking the new, and we’re marrying them together, and I think that’s going to be a really powerful way for individuals to connect to those concepts and that Indigenous culture.”
The drone show is a brand-new edition to the Dark Sky Festival.
Jeff Clarmo, president of North Star Fireworks and Drone Shows, which put on the drone show, explained how drone shows were not only greener compared to traditional fireworks but could also create complex shapes in the sky to help illustrate stories.
“When they realized that potential, I think the whole idea of switching from fireworks to drones became a null point, because they didn’t realize how they could make this festival extra cool by doing something that was extra different and supporting First Nations at the same time,” Clarmo said.
“I think it fits in perfectly with what they were trying to do.”
The drones were shipped out from Ontario and transported to Jasper, while organizers required permission from Parks Canada and Transport Canada.
“The show gets set up on the ground, and we just work our magic from there with signalling and GPS and everything else that goes along with running a show like that,” Clarmo said.
Prior to the drone show, Daily Planet host Jay Ingram and the Beakerhead Band performed with their updated “Lunacy,” the history of people’s obsession with the moon.
Tourism Jasper, which organized the festival, reported that 1,500 spectators were inside the fence and another 1,000 watched outside the perimeter for a total of 2,500.
“We’ll definitely do a comprehensive assessment with Parks, a big debrief, and at a later date, we’ll determine if it’s something we can do again,” said James Jackson, president and CEO of Tourism Jasper.
“But we know it was well received by the community.”
