The Huachuca Astronomy Club of Sierra Vista, AZ, in cooperation with Celestron and Starizona, presented an all Celestron star party this past weekend - June 19 and 20, 2009, named "C-Row Star-B-Q" which was held at the RepoGazer Observatory (RGO) in Palominas, AZ.  Keith Mullen, Vice President of the Huachuca Astronomy Club and brainchild of this event, originally put together his first "C-Row" back in 2003 during his term as Treasurer and Observatory Director for the Sacramento Valley Astronomical Society.  During that time, he organized a group of 50 or so members, all owning Celestron scopes, in what was called the "C-Row gang."  Celestron scopes were all lined up in an unbroken line, in which no other brand of scopes was allowed.  His motto - "If you're not on C-Row, you're on Z-Row!"  Keith, along with his wife, Teresa, has since retired and moved on to darker skies of Southern Arizona, which they now call home.  While they both have enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere in their new setting, along with magnitude 7 skies and 640 acres of backyard space, they realized there was something missing - C-Row.  Last June, Keith had invited a couple of Celestron Representatives to his residence to have a mini C-Row star party, along with another 50 or so members from the Huachuca Astronomy Club, for a trial run which turned out to be highly successful and a platform for this year's grand C-Row Star-B-Q event.  For the second half of 2008 and the first half of 2009, Keith and Teresa worked triple time to seek the cooperation from many people and organizations to help make C-Row into a National Astronomy Event with the grand kickoff in 2009.  With more than abundant space to accommodate RVs, tents and scopes, the Mullens presented their vision to Celestron, which an agreement was made to have a Celestron presence, complete with Door Prizes, Raffle Prizes and even an appearance and speech by Celestron's President and CEO, Joe Lupica Jr.  Starizona and other vendors followed suit, and world renowned speakers such as David Levy, Steve Coe, Bob Gent and Kim Rogalski agreed to participate and signed on.  With local officials notified to make sure that everything was in compliant with local laws for fire abatement and sanitary requirements, C-Row Star-B-Q 2009 began to take shape. 

Celestron flew out a contingent of representatives to Arizona - including President and CEO, Joe Lupica Jr, his wife Carole; Vice President of Engineering, Corey Lee; Marketing Manager, Michelle Meskill and Repair Supervisor, Daniel Fuentes.  Lead Repair Technician, Hector Antuna and I, Kevin Kawai, Community Relations Coordinator, drove out on the long 9 hour road trip from Los Angeles to southeastern AZ transporting our products and equipment.  Weather was nice and sunny along the way and listening to Hector's corny jokes sure made the time go by quickly.  Before we knew it, we had arrived at our destination by late afternoon and was greeted by overcast skies.  Several of Keith's friends including Steven and Jeanne Herbert of the Huachuca Astronomy Club, noted avid astronomers Steve Coe and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Jim "Jimbo" Van Buskirk of the 60's band "Free and Easy," had already arrived and staked out their viewing spots.  Michelle arrived to C-Row soon after, and we were treated to one of the most spectacular desert sunset imaginable.  The sky and clouds quickly turned to a purplish/pinkish hue, as we enjoyed a chicken and corn on the cob meal compliments of the Mullens.  Any plans to set up our tent and scopes early were quickly extinguished as rain drops began to fall and lightning lit up the sky.  All we could do was sit back and enjoy nature's spectacle and hope the sky would clear out the next couple of days.  To pass the time, Jimbo brought out a mechanical toy called the YOT.  The YOT is a shiny, metal disc that holds a US silver dollar sized coin.  To retrieve the coin you have to open it by somehow pulling up on the center knob.  Jimbo's new toy had everyone puzzled until he revealed the "magic" behind the toy (YOT spelled backwards).  Once Hector learned the secret, he was out on a mission for the duration of C-Row to challenge people and make new friends.  He's quite a character and the life of the star party, but is an expert when it comes to repairing or tuning up telescopes.

On Friday, June 19, the gates opened at 11:00 AM but no vehicles were seen.  The rain continued to fall and the observing field was just a muddy mess.  Setup was put on hold as everyone had a dampened look on their faces.  We checked the Clear Sky Chart and partial clearing was forecasted for the afternoon.  We sat and patiently waited.  Sure enough, within hours, the rain stopped, and the Sun began to break free of the clouds.  Cars and RVs finally began to make their way into C-Row and both Daniel and Corey arrived on scene.  You could just feel the big sigh of relief, as we waited for the Sun to dry things up, so the event could get underway.  It's amazing how fast the hot desert Sun can dry the dirt and grass so quickly.  Vendors such as Dirk, from Infini-Tees and Bob Kepple and Glenn Sanner, authors of The Night Sky Observer's Guide, began to open up their booths.  We erected the Celestron tent within a short amount of time, and the dynamic Repair Department duo of Daniel and Hector set up a telescope maintenance shop inside the RGO and had guests already waiting for a telescope tune-up or firmware upgrades.  The sky was still at bit "iffy" throughout the day, but more and more guests continued to pour their way into C-Row.  Joe arrived on scene and was greeted by many Celestron fans and well wishers.  It was such a thrilling moment for everyone, including top-ranking Astronomy Club Officers to meet and talk to the President and CEO of Celestron in person.  We're certainly moving forward and showing our commitment with our customers and becoming more involved in the astronomical community by bringing Celestron and Celestron products to the people.  We conducted a walk through C-Row and met our loyal Celestron supporters.  We saw many "classic" orange tube telescopes ranging from C14s to C5s throughout the observing field that were well in care of.  Many black tube OTAs and modern day Celestron scopes and binoculars were also visibly present as well.  There was a lot of pride on that field and it showed.  Hot dogs and hamburgers adorned the menu that evening, and there's nothing like a good old fashion hearty BBQ to satisfy one's appetite.  We all definitely ate well for sure, as we enjoyed yet another spectacular sunset. (MJ) Dark ominous clouds began to make their way into the area and once again, a lightning show commenced across the Mexican border.  My gut feeling told me to shelter our equipment, and I was right.  Rain began to fall within minutes, and it appeared the event's first night of star gazing would be another wash out.  However, the storm quickly moved through and stars began to appear in the southern sky.  Soon, stars such as Vega and Arcturus became visible and miraculously the clouds dissipated in almost a blink of an eye.  Low and behold, a majestic canopy of stars filled the night sky, as the Milky Way flowed from horizon to horizon.  Despite the wet grass, Daniel and I quickly took out our scopes to take a few HyperStar imaging shots.  Dean Koenig, of Starizona, was also present and helped out a beginner with HyperStar on his new CPC 1100.  All three telescopes were set up in an Alt/Azm configuration but the super fast nature of HyperStar had us gasping in amazement with the images being taken in a matter of seconds.  There is no substitute for clear, dark skies!

The next morning, clear skies prevailed as more and more late arrivals began making their way into C-Row.  Keith could be seen making the rounds in the "Water Wagon" for all the guests to stay hydrated, while Teresa and the ladies busily prepared breakfast and snacks.  The registration booth opened and raffle tickets were sold for a chance to win many great prizes, including a brand new CPC 800 as the grand prize.  With many cool raffle and door prizes to be given away, which also included CDs, DVDs, books, shirts, mirror cleanings, HyperStar accessories, etc, nearly everyone had a good chance to leave with something nice to take home.  As an added bonus, we brought along a couple of new optical tubes to give guests a "sneak peek" of a new optical system that will be officially announced in the near future. In addition, our new flagship mount - the CGE Pro; a mid-range mount, the CGEM and a NexStar 6 SE were set up to demo.  The Celestron tent was busy all day long as guests came to see the latest products and interact with Staff, Representatives and the President.  We had a great time meeting our loyal supporters and having them meet us - the people behind the Celestron name.  We were also fortunate to meet with high-ranking astronomy club officials from throughout the west who were interested in conducting their own future C-Row events.  Dean Koenig, from Starizona, kept busy too installing HyperStar lens systems on customer's scopes throughout the day.  You could say this was a very proactive HyperStar imaging crowd at C-Row.  After lunch, Kim Rogalski led off the presentations with his fascinating talk of our home planet - "Earth" while everyone attentively gathered around.  Speakers David Levy, Steve Coe and Bob Gent would deliver their informative PowerPoint presentations in front of a large audience later that evening and most fittingly -under the stars.  As a special treat, professional musicians - guitarist Carlos Rios, who performs with Stevie Nicks, and singer/songwriter/guitarist Gigi MacKenzie, who has performed with Michael McDonald, Christopher Cross and most recently on an upcoming Whitney Houston CD, conducted a musical performance of 1970's classic rock and modern day songs during the dinner hour.  Their appearance seemed to have caught most people off guard, as they were purposely left off the Program of Events to make it a surprise!  Yes, even celebrity rock stars enjoy astronomy and telescopes too.  At the same time, a small aircraft circled overhead and took aerial photos of the event.  We have yet to see the photos. Meanwhile, a local newspaper reporter also made an appearance and was seen interviewing guests regarding their experiences at C-Row Star-B-Q.  A link to the article is here:

http://www.svherald.com/articles/2009/06/24/news/doc4a41d170cfd1e175368799.txt.

Dinner consisted of a delicious southwestern style BBQ with steaks, chicken and baby back ribs that guests had to grill for themselves.  Looking back now, makes me hungry just reminiscing over that juicy steak I had with all the trimmings.  Next to telescope observing and meeting up with new and old friends, isn't that what a Star-B-Q is all about?  By the ways, for the record, Joe volunteered and BBQ'd all of his staff's steaks.  How cool having our President do that?

By now, it was time to conduct the big door and raffle prize drawing, but first, everyone gathered in C-Row for an official group photo, followed by a talk by Celestron President and CEO, Joe Lupica Jr.  Joe presented a motivational speech to everyone in attendance regarding the state of affairs with Celestron and the positive direction the company is going.  He also singled out his staff and explained our roles within the company.  Joe is quite a charismatic speaker and when he speaks, people listen to what he has to say.  We were all so proud that our President took the time from his busy schedule to attend this event, along with his wife, Carole.  Joe thanked all the guests for believing in and supporting Celestron throughout the years, and pulled no punches that the best is yet to come, as Celestron will be celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2010.  With that said, Joe switched gears and hosted the door/raffle prize drawing.  With Michelle and Hector joining him on stage, Joe called out winning prize numbers and one by one, excited guests came forward to claim their prizes.  The prize drawings was a lot of fun, and it was just great to see all the happy faces.  The CPC 800 Grand Prize was won by a member of the Huachuca Astronomy Club, and we learned that the telescope will be put to good use at public outreach events.  As a token of Celestron's appreciation, Joe called the C-Row Star-B-Q Organizers Keith and Teresa Mullen to the stage and presented them with a plaque for their tireless efforts and dedication on making the C-Row event a reality.  It was really a special moment, and everyone broke out in a thunderous applause. 

With darkness fast approaching, the lingering clouds with us for most of the day, miraculously disappeared and left us with a clear view of the Arizona twilight sky.  It's quite ironic to be a major telescope manufacturer, yet we rarely encounter such pristine skies since our headquarters is located in the suburbs of a major light polluted city we all know as Los Angeles.  Armed with our HyperStar setups, Corey and I went after imaging big game objects as soon as darkness fell.  My targets for the evening included - M8, M11, M16, M17, Veil Nebula, M22, M27, M65, M66, M101 and few other deep space gems.  Daniel brought out his one-of-a-kind NexStar 8i/SE GPS hybrid which he used to navigate his way through the night sky.  It was his first views of a dark sky from the desert, so he was just amazed at what he saw.  We saw many satellites passing overhead, including a bright Iridium flare that disappeared between the stars. Two of the most memorable objects viewed included Omega Centauri through the 20" Dob housed in the RGO and the Veil Nebula, as seen through Jimbo's scope.  Everyone had a great time observing the night sky and checking the views through other people's scopes.  There was definitely a lot of camaraderie amongst fellow Celestron scope users. 

C-Row Star-B-Q could not have been possible without the vision, drive, determination, commitment and Celestron brand loyalty that Keith and Teresa Mullen possessed to bring together and unite other fans of Celestron telescopes for one special weekend in the southern Arizona desert.  Their intentions was to record the infrastructure required to organize such an event, so other astronomy clubs could utilize the "know how" to bring about their own future C-Row Star Party events to life - they succeeded. The amount of work, coordination, expense, planning and team work involved was certainly challenging, but fortunately, we have people like the Mullens who have done all the hard work and learned what works and what doesn't.  With that alone, we are certainly most grateful for their achievements.  Keith and Teresa have earned the distinct honor of being called the founders of C-Row, and we certainly feel it's a title unquestionably earned.  On behalf of the entire Celestron family, we congratulate you both for organizing and executing a well planned C-Row Star-B-Q 2009 event.  We'll see where the 2010 C-Row Star Party will be held.  For additional photos and information regarding this event, please visit the Huachuca Astronomy Club's website at:

http://www.hacastronomy.com/starbq/2009/gallery/index.php

Yo Keith and Teresa!  You did it!!