The Naramata Dark Sky Committee is currently hoping to connect with an amateur or professional astronomer who might enjoy sharing their knowledge and enthusiasm with the community.

On a clear evening in Naramata, when the village quiets down and the last light fades across Okanagan Lake, something remarkable appears overhead. The stars gradually brighten, constellations emerge, and on the darkest nights the Milky Way stretches across the sky like a pale river of light.

On a winter night in Naramata, the dark shows up in a familiar way.

The road settles down along the bench. A neighbour’s porch light clicks off. The lake goes dark unless the moon happens to be out. Things open up. The quiet stretches. Nothing much has changed, and yet it feels different.

It’s easy to forget how rare that’s becoming.

As the new moon rises this week, Naramata steps into another chapter of its journey toward becoming British Columbia’s first certified International Dark Sky Community. With the sky at its darkest, it offers the perfect moment to reflect on how far we’ve come—and where we're headed next.

In May, Naramata slows into its bloom. The orchards hum. The lake glimmers longer in the light. Evenings stretch just enough to remind us summer is on the way. And after the sun dips behind Giant’s Head and the hills blush with dusk, we have a choice: to keep the dark—or to drown it in light.

There’s a special kind of stillness that settles over Naramata after dark. When the wind calms, the lake quiets, and the stars begin to emerge—one by one—it feels like the night is inviting us to pause, to look up, and to listen.

This week, we look up with even greater purpose. It's International Dark Sky Week—a global celebration of the night, led by Dark Sky International, and perfectly timed to include Earth Day.

As Earth Day approaches on April 22, a quiet revolution is unfolding — not in protest or policy, but in light. Or rather, in the absence of it.

Because some things are best enjoyed with the lights off…