Don’t miss the Southern California Astronomy Expo (SCAE) on Saturday, July 10th and Saturday, July 17h, 2010 at Oceanside Photo & Telescope! The store will be open from 10:00AM until 5:00PM on Saturday, July 10th and from 10:00AM until 7:00PM on July 17th, and we'll have special sale prices going on all day long both days! Check out the line-up of events we have planned for SCAE...you gotta come!
Saturday, July 10th - SCAE Swap Meet & Star Party on Palomar Mountain!
Swap Meet at OPT: Bring your gently used (or maybe not so gently used) astronomy gear and join OPT for a day of fun and selling in the parking lot! We will provide the tables and you provide everything else. The day will start at 10AM and end at 4:00PM. Don’t forget to bring an umbrella or other portable shade with you if you don’t like the sun! OPT will be selling discontinued, one-of-a-kind, refurbished, and scratch-and-dent items at this special sale as well, so there should be quite a selection if you are looking for a good deal on used equipment! If you don't find what you're looking for at the swap meet, never fear, because almost everything in the store will be on sale at special "SCAE Saturday" prices. Choose from a huge selection of telescopes, eyepieces, CCD cameras, telescope accessories, binoculars, spotting scopes, photographic supplies, and much more!
Star Party on Palomar Mountain: The party is far from over after the swap meet ends at OPT, and this year, we are doing something completely different! Since the 10th of July happens to be very close to New Moon, we decided to have a star party at a dark sky site, and what better location than in the shadow of the 200" Hale Telescope on Palomar? The only thing stopping us was parking considerations, but we solved that one by chartering several buses for the evening to take attendees up to the mountain and back. The star party will start at dusk and go until 11PM. Staff members from OPT and volunteers will have a variety of telescopes set up to gaze at old favorites like Saturn, Venus, & Mars as well as a myriad of galaxies, nebulae, star clusters, and more! Representatives from companies like Apogee, Meade, Celestron, Chronos and Planewave will also be on hand to demonstrate their telescopes, mounts, and imaging cameras...just wait until you see a galaxy through one of the big scopes out there, or the beautiful images that can be produced with an Apogee CCD camera!
Important Note: The site for this star party does not have parking facilities and you will not be allowed to park along the road. If you want to attend, you MUST ride on one of the buses we will provide. Buses will pick up riders at both a coastal and inland location. A limited number of Star Party Bus Tickets are now available. Ticket prices are $20 for adults and $10 for children under 12. Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. You will be mailed a boarding pass for each person in your party, and this boarding pass must be shown each time you board the bus as well as when you enter the star party area. You will also be mailed more information about the bus pick up locations. Since an outdoor star party is definitely dependent on weather, you will receive a refund for the ticket price if the event is officially cancelled.
Saturday, July 17th - Telescope & Astronomy Demonstration
On Saturday, July 17th, almost forty telescope, CCD, and other astronomy product manufacturers & organizationswill be on hand at OPT to show off their latest and greatest gear, and you’re invited! The SCAE 2010 Telescope & Astronomy Demonstration kicks off at 10AM and runs through 7PM. This year there will be more going on than ever to keep you busy and entertained! Special speakers will give presentations in the Gallery throughout the day, an awesome BBQ lunch will be available on-site for a nominal fee, and, of course, the OPT Giant SCAE Raffle will commence at 5:00PM! Five o’clock isn’t the only time you will have a chance to win a prize, though…this year we have FIVE different drawings…check ‘em out:
- The SCAE Online Giveaway, where everyone, even those folks who can't attend SCAE, can sign up for a chance to win one of four prizes worth a combined total of over $8,000! All you have to do to sign up is click the link below. You will be taken to our customer login page. If you are already an OPT customer, then just login and you will automatically be entered in the contest. If you are not a customer yet, it only takes a few minutes to sign up! You can register now through midnight, July 16th, 2010. Winners will be notified on Monday, July 19th.
- The SCAE Onsite Giveaway and Raffle is so big we are doing three drawings during the day this year! You must be present to win:
- a. SCAE Free Giveaway – 12:00PM – For Adults & Teens 14 & Older
- b. SCAE Free Giveaway – 3:00PM – For Adults & Teens 14 & Older
- c. SCAE Giant Raffle – 5PM – For Adults & Teens 14 & Older. This raffle will include the majority of the big prizes. A ticket will cost you $2, and the money will be donated to Friends of Palomar. One ticket per person.
- d. SCAE Kid’s Free Giveaway – 5PM – For Kids Up to Age 14. Tickets will only be handed out to kids who are in the presence of a parent or guardian.
Attendees can get a ticket for the Onsite Giveaways and Raffle at the OPT ticket booth between 10am and 4:45pm on July 17th, but they must be present if their number is called in order to win.
For more information on SCAE, including schedules for presentations and seminars, attendees, a list of donations, etc. scroll down and click on the links below.
General Event Information
The Southern California Astronomy Exposition will be located at OPT’s beautiful showroom location. The address is 918 Mission Avenue in Oceanside, California. We are located 250 yards west of Interstate 5 on the corner of Mission Avenue and Horne Street.
Directions to OPT…
For those of you who have not visited OPT before, you will need to find your way to Interstate 5. If you are coming north on the 5 freeway, you will exit Mission Avenue and take the left hand branch for Downtown. This will swing you around heading west towards the beach. Go west approximately 250 yards and you will come to the intersection of Mission and Horne. OPT is the big building on the northwest corner.
If you are coming south, exit Mission Avenue and stay in the right hand lane. Turn right on Mission Avenue and head west. Go west approximately 100 yards and you will come to the intersection of Mission and Horne. OPT is the big building on the northwest corner.
There is plenty of free parking in the vicinity. The most popular lot is located directly west of OPT in the Mission Square Shopping Center, however there is plenty of street parking nearby as well.
For those of you planning on staying the night in the local area, there are a number of quality accommodations in Oceanside, Vista, and Carlsbad…all within a few miles of OPT. Search the internet for more information.
The closest major airport is the San Diego International Airport. It is approximately one hour from the airport to OPT and it is an easy drive north on the I-5.
In conclusion…
We are expecting this to be an amazing, must-attend event. Every SCAE since it’s inception six years ago has been a huge success, so we expect bigger and better things for SCAE 2010! If you have any questions, please feel free to give us a call or send us an e-mail to opt@optcorp.com. If you have a specific question about the event or wish to participate in the event as a demonstrator, please e-mail me direct at penny@optcorp.com and I will get back to you. Thank you for visiting!
Penny Distasio
OPT Event Coordinator - SCAE
Check Out the Links Below for More Info on SCAE Events!
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