Calendar of 2026 MERAL events
Listed in chronological order - some events are not in the MERAL region but are close by

Staunton River Star Party - March 16-22 , October 5-11
Staunton River State Park, VA
http://chaosastro.org/starparty-home/

South Jersey Astro Club Star Party - April 9-12 CANCELED
https://sjac.us/

NEAF - (Not in MERAL, but close!) -  April 11-12
Rockland Community College, NY
https://www.neafexpo.com/

Triad Starfest at Gilford Tech Community College - April 11
Guilford Technical Community College, Jamestown, NC
Click  here for the link to the event

East Coast Star Party (Spring) - April 16-19
Chippokes State Park, Surry, VA
http://backbayastro.org/ecsp/ecsp.php

Crystal Coast Star Party - April17-18
Cape Lookout National Seashore, NC 
https://ccgazers.com/crystal-coast-star-party/

Northern Virginia Astronomy Club Astronomy Day - May 2
Crockett Park, Midland, VA
https://www.novac.com/wp/

Night Owl Star Party - May 14-18
Spruce Knob, WV
https://experience-learning.org/nosp/

Cherry Springs Star Party - June 11-14
Cherry Springs State Park, PA
https://www.facebook.com/CherrySpringsStarParty/

WV Astrophotography Conference - July 9-12
Blackwater Falls State Park, WV
https://www.facebook.com/WVAA1  https://www.wvaa.us/

Green Bank Star Quest - July 15-18
Green Bank, WV
http://www.greenbankstarquest.org/

Mega Meet, Pulpit Rock, PA - August 7-9
Pulpit Rock, PA 
https://lvaas.org/page.php?page=megameet

Almost Heaven Star Party - August 10-16
Spruce Knob Mountain Center in Circleville, WV
https://www.ahsp.org/

Astronomical League Convention - August 12-15
Cincinnati, OH
https://www.astroleague.org/

Stellafane in Vermont - August 13-15
Springfield, Vermont
https://stellafane.org/

Black Forest  Star Party - September 11-13
Cherry Springs State Park, PA
https://bfsp.org/

KVAS Blackwater Falls Astronomy Weekend - September 18-19
Blackwater Falls State Park, WV
https://kvaswv.org/astronomy-weekend-2026/

Northern Virginia Astronomy Club Star Gaze - October 3
C.M. Crockett Park, Midland, VA
https://www.novac.com/wp/

Staunton River Star Party (Fall) - October 5-11
Staunton River State Park, VA
http://chaosastro.org/starparty-home/

Astroblast Star Party sponsored by the Oil Region Astronomical Society, October 6-11, 2026
Oil Region Astronomy Learning Center, Cranberry, PA
https://oras.org/astroblast/

York County Star Party - October 7-11
Susquehannock State Park in central Pennsylvania
https://www.yorkcountystarparty.org/

East Coast Star Party - November 5-9
Chippokes State Park, Surry VA 
http://backbayastro.org/ecsp/ecsp.php

 

James River State Park Star Party - November 13-14
James River State Park, Gladstone, VA
https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/event?id=2024-01-05-14-36-16-803959-4dy