Grassroots space celebration to be observed at 173 events in 49 countries

Find your local event at www.yurisnight.net

When Yuri's Night, an organization dedicated to forwarding the cause of space exploration by holding events around the world each April 12, held over 120 parties on a single day in 2007, it was viewed as an incredible accomplishment unlikely to be topped. Earlier this week, though, Yuri's Night 2008 not only met that mark but completely left it in the dust, registering 173 events in 49 countries, with 3 days still left before the big event.

"Yuri's Night is about enabling everyone on the planet connect with space," said Loretta Whitesides, Yuri's Night Co-founder.  "It is exciting to see so many new people join the movement this year to celebrate our space future."

With the recent confirmation of a Yuri's Night party planned for Antarctica's South Pole Station, Yuri's Night has parties registered on all 7 continents for the first time since 2006, and for the second straight year Yuri's Night will be holding parties on two "worlds"--thanks to its event on the Second Life virtual world. Parties are planned for the steppes of Zelenogorsk, Siberia, to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from the mountains of Santiago, Chile to the bayous of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and everywhere in between.

Yuri's Night is dedicated to celebrating the anniversaries of Yuri Gagarin's first manned spaceflight and the first space shuttle launch in a variety of ways, and a host of celebrities and personalities are coming out to speak or participate in various events. Will Wright, the legendary game designer of SimCity, The Sims and the highly-anticipated Spore, is the keynote speaker at Yuri's Night Bay Area, which will also feature former Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh and renowned electronic artist Amon Tobin.

"I was astounded," said Director of Media Relations Brice Russ, who's been involved with Yuri's Night since 2006. "Breaking 100 parties in 2007 was fantastic, but the rate of growth we've seen this year has just been phenomenal. It's going to be great to watch all the events come together this Saturday."

Award-winning science fiction writer David Brin will be present at Yuri's Night Second Life (to be held in the Extropia community), and NASA Ames center director Pete Worden is one of many NASA officials, scientists and space experts expected to attend one of the 173 events. There might even be a prerecorded greeting from a surprise group, available for display at all YN parties. Wherever you are, there's probably going to be a Yuri's Night party nearby--so visit http://www.yurisnight.net to find out how you can party for space this weekend.

Yuri's Night is a program of the Space Generation Advisory Council, an organization dedicated to engaging and developing the next generation of space leaders. Contact brice@yurisnight.net for more information about Yuri's Night.