Mountain Words Festival 2026

After sunset, the stars come out at Crested Butte in all their wonder. The town is an excellent place for stargazing, as it is far removed from city lights to see the Milky Way. The Mountain Words Festival will host stargazing on the park space near the Center for the Arts on Saturday, May 23 at 9pm. We’ll meet outside the arts center, then walk to the stargazing spot. Your host is festival participant Garrett Peck, author of The Bright Edges of the World: Willa Cather and Her Archbishop, who regularly teaches stargazing in Santa Fe.

Participants are encouraged to download a stargazing app on their phone (Garrett uses SkyView, which has a free lite version, and a paid version with more features), which can help identify constellations, planets, and other interstellar objects on their smartphones. Guests should also shift their phones in advance to dark mode so as to eliminate white light that can disrupt the class.

Please note the cool to cold evening weather and come prepared with jackets, layers, blankets, and a chair if you can.