Dark Star Park Day Celebration Returns To Rosslyn

ARLINGTON, VA — Arlington is celebrating Dark Star Park Day on Tuesday morning, when the public is invited to watch the shadow alignment created by the artwork's poles and concrete spheres.

Dark Star Park is located at 1655 N. Fort Myer Drive, at the convergence of N. Fort Myer Drive and N. Lynn Street, just off Arlington Boulevard. Light refreshments — sweet treats and coffee — will be provided by the Rosslyn Business Improvement District at Tuesday morning's event.

The artwork, created by artist Nancy Holt in 1984, was designed so that the shadow alignment would happen at the same time every year. The actual shadows cast by the poles and spheres will align with their permanent forms in the shape of the shadows on the ground beneath them on Tuesday at 9:32 a.m.

The annual event also marks Rosslyn’s founding in 1860 by William Henry Ross.

Holt, a land-art artist who died in 2014, did most of her work in remote areas. Dark Star Park, Arlington’s first major commissioned public art project, is among her few major artworks in an accessible urban area. Dark Star Park underwent a restoration in 2002.

This year's shadow alignment will launch Arlington Public Art’s 40th anniversary observance, with a series of events highlighting the entire collection planned throughout the year, including the dedication of several artworks new to the collection.

The public can also watch a livestream on Facebook beginning on Tuesday at 9:15 a.m.

Below is a video of the Dark Star Park Day celebration on Aug. 1, 2019.