Luke Coletti mentioned Stellafane in a message. Stellafane is the observing site and clubhouse in Springfield, Vermont, USA of the Springfield Telescope Makers, perhaps the oldest amateur astronomy club in the US. Springfield was the birthplace of amateur telescope making. Russell Porter, who later helped with the mechanical design of the 200" telescope at Mt. Palomar, helped found the club in the 1920's. They hold a convention every year on the weekend closest to the new moon in late July or early August. It can attract 2000 amateurs. It is strictly non-commercial. They have a telescope competition in mechanical design and optical performance for homemade telescopes. This year we had really nice weather, warm and dry and two nice dark clear nights. In recent years there has been pouring rain on Friday or Friday night, but clear on Saturday night.
