Santa Rosa, CA, April 09, 2016 –(PR.com)– This weekend, at 200+ events in more than 50 countries across the globe, Yuri’s Night celebrates the 15th anniversary of the World Space Party, 55 years since Yuri Gagarin’s historic flight into space on April 12, 1961 and 35 years since the first launch of the Space Shuttle on April 12, 1981.
At the nearly sold-out flagship event in Los Angeles, Yuri’s Night co-founder Loretta Whitesides will join ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, who recently returned from the International Space Station, legendary moonwalker Buzz Aldrin, and hundreds of partyers at the California Science Center for a night of dancing, costumes, and space-themed cocktails under the Space Shuttle Endeavour. Representatives from NASA, Planetary Resources, SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, the Planetary Society and other organizations will be on hand with displays about the latest in futuristic space technology.
Inside both the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and McMurdo Station in Antarctica, scientists and explorers will once again raise a traditional toast to Yuri from the bottom of the world.
In and near Moscow, Russia, four separate events will be celebrating Yuri’s Night on Russia’s “Cosmonautics Day” holiday.
At the Odysseum in Cologne, Germany, children and adults are invited to view the museum during the day and experience “Mission Mars” at night, a 2-hour roundtable talk about the opportunities and challenges that lie in a mission to the red planet.
At the Federal University of Technology in Akure, Nigeria, students will be putting on a play entitled “Voyage To Mars” and celebrating a professor for his contributions to space science.
With dozens of events in any given country, prospective party-goers can find the closest event to them by visiting the Yuri’s Night website at http://yurisnight.net/events .
Yuri’s Night was excited this year to celebrate both the record-breaking number of applications NASA’s astronaut office received with a special patch and a unique partnership with Disney Jr.’s TV show “Miles from Tomorrowland” which provides an easy way for young space-fans to celebrate Yuri’s Night with a kit of activities, recipes, and decorations to power their local party.
The limited-edition 2016 #BeAnAstronaut patch sold on the Yuri’s Night website, designed by Tim Gagnon, celebrates the 18,300 people who applied this year to be space explorers. It is only on sale during the month of April for $6-7 plus shipping and is an exciting collectable for the many people who want to join the 500+ people who have become space explorers in the last 55 years.
Yuri’s Night has also teamed up this year with Disney Junior’s hit intergalactic animated TV series “Miles from Tomorrowland” to release a special at-home party kit of activities, recipes, and crafts for kids and their families in celebration of the 55th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s pioneering flight into space on April 12, 1961. The kit can be downloaded from the yurisnight.net website to be printed at home.
“The team is at full throttle while more registrations continue to pour in,” said Yuri’s Night Executive Director Ryan Kobrick. “It’s hard to express how excited we are to help connect over 200 stellar registered events in over 50 cities on all 7 continents all celebrating human spaceflight. The Disney Junior Miles from Tomorrowland partnership is the most professional educational program we have ever been a part of, and we are honored to work with the best storytellers in the universe!”
About Yuri’s Night
Yuri’s Night is a global non-profit organization dedicated to celebrating humanity’s past, present and future in space each April 12 in commemoration of Yuri Gagarin’s first human spaceflight in 1961 and the inaugural launch of the Space Shuttle in 1981. Since 2001, Yuri’s Night has been celebrated annually by tens of thousands of people in over 75 countries on all seven continents, virtual worlds such as Second Life, and the International Space Station.
Contact
Yuri’s Night
Rick Hanton
651-747-5864
www.yurisnight.net