Starting this weekend at 200+ events in over 50 countries across the globe, Yuri’s Night, which is in its 16th year, celebrates 55 years since Yuri Gagarin’s historic flight into space on April 12, 1961 and 35 years since the first launch of the Space Shuttle on April 12, 1981.

At the flagship event in Los Angeles, Yuri’s Night co-founder Loretta Whitesides will join ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, recently returned from the International Space Station, legendary moonwalker Buzz Aldrin, and hundreds of partiers at the California Science Center for a night of dancing, costumes, and space-themed cocktails under the Space Shuttle Endeavour. Representatives from NASA, Planetary Resources, SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, the Planetary Society and other organizations will be on hand with displays featuring the latest in futuristic space technology.

At both the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and McMurdo Station in Antarctica, scientists and explorers will once again raise a traditional toast to Yuri from the bottom of the world.

In and around Moscow, Russia, four separate events will be celebrating Yuri’s Night on Russia’s “Cosmonautics Day” holiday.

At the Odysseum in Cologne, Germany, children and adults are invited to view the museum during the day and experience “Mission Mars” at night, a 2-hour roundtable talk about the opportunities and challenges that lie in a mission to the red planet.

At the Federal University of Technology in Akure, Nigeria, students will be putting on a play entitled “Voyage To Mars” and celebrating a leading professor for his contributions to space science. Similar parties and events will be held throughout the month on all seven continents and several online/virtual platforms.

With dozens of events in any given country, prospective party-goers can find the closest event to them by visiting the Yuri’s Night website at http://yurisnight.net/events .

Yuri’s Night is excited this year to celebrate both a limited-edition space patch and a unique partnership with Disney Junior’s TV show Miles from Tomorrowland to help support parties for young space fans.

The limited-edition 2016 #BeAnAstronaut patch sold on the Yuri’s Night website, designed by Tim Gagnon, celebrates the 18,300 people who applied this year to be space explorers. It is only on sale during the month of April for $6-7 plus shipping and is an exciting collectable for those who want to join the 500+ men and women who have become space explorers in the last 55 years. 

Yuri’s Night has also teamed up this year with Disney Junior’s hit intergalactic animated TV series Miles from Tomorrowland to release a special at-home party kit of activities, recipes, and crafts for kids and their families in celebration of the 55th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s pioneering flight into space on April 12, 1961. The kit can be downloaded from the yurisnight.net website to be printed at home.

“The team is at full throttle while more registrations continue to pour in.” said Yuri’s Night Chairman & President Dr. Ryan Kobrick. “. It’s hard to express how excited we are to help connect hundreds of stellar registered events in over 50 cities on all 7 continents all celebrating human spaceflight. The Disney Junior Miles from Tomorrowland partnership is the most impactful educational program we have ever been a part of, and we are honored to work with the best storytellers in the universe!”

About Yuri’s Night

Yuri’s Night is a global non-profit organization dedicated to celebrating humanity’s past, present and future in space each April 12 in commemoration of Yuri Gagarin’s first human spaceflight in 1961 and the inaugural launch of the Space Shuttle in 1981. Since 2001, Yuri’s Night has been celebrated annually by tens of thousands of people in over 75 countries on all seven continents, virtual worlds such as Second Life, and the International Space Station.

For further information, interviews, or help getting press credentials for events, contact:

Rick Hanton, Yuri’s Night Media Chairman
Phone: 651-747-5864
E-mail: rick@yurisnight.net

OR

Dr. Ryan Kobrick, Yuri’s Night Chairman and President
E-mail: ryan@yurisnight.net

Thank you,

Rick Hanton
Yuri’s Night Media Chair
cell: (651) 747-5864
Twitter: rack88