| abstract
| - The Star Festivals is a model concept for the kind of cultural festivals which may develop in the many communities of TMP. Not so much a specific proposal as a possible example, the intention of this idea is to suggest one of many possible forms this sort of community activity could take. Such festivals might be founded today, but most likely they will be more relevant in the context of new Foundation and later phase communities. Festivals are an important expression of cultural identity in many communities. They offer a welcome excuse for group recreational activity, an attraction for tourists, a time for reflection on things beyond the mundane, and a temporary venue for cultural and artistic expression on grand scales. Most festivals commemorate specific events of the past. However, the Star Festival is intended to commemorate an event in the future; mankind’s colonization of the stars. Thus its basic themes are the future, the stars and other bodies in space, and the human relationship to the universe. The unifying aesthetic theme of the Star Festival is light, thus most of its activities would be conducted at night with the key features of its décor and activities being various forms of illumination; lights and lanterns, luminous floats and displays akin to those of Japan’s Nabuta Festival, optical and kinetic art, balloon lamps and video displays, floating and underwater lights, and fireworks. These are intended to represent a fanciful stylistic microcosm, alternately boisterous and serene. It may display a character in many ways similar to the Burning Man Festival and similar contemporary festivals. There is no great ‘message’ to the Star Festival. It is simply a celebration of the future, life, community, and the cultural elements common to TMP related communities. It both identifies TMP communities as distinct while welcoming the overall society to join the party. Intended to be an annual festival, it is likely to be centered on a date suitable to the best evening climate for a given hemisphere. In space, seasons are less important and the ‘year’ more abstract and of varying length. And so a festival date may be chosen more arbitrarily or matched to those on Earth as a recognition of terrestrial heritage and solidarity with Aquarian communities. With its potential for great and artistic spectacle, the Star Festivals are likely to become important sources of revenue to the more creative communities, attracting large populations of tourists. This would, of course, also be a great opportunity to spread knowledge of TMP’s development goals, though by the time there are communities able to hold such festivals it is likely that TMP would be well promoted by other means. Thus these festivals would serve best as a venue of promoting the character and lifestyle of given communities.
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![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)