Three Stars Dark Sky
Helping a Destination Event Find Its Feet, Its Funding, and Its First Public Night Sky Moment
Three Stars Dark Sky began as a bold idea: position Huu-ay-aht First Nations’ ancestral lands as a dark sky tourism destination rooted in cultural connection, environmental stewardship, and the wonder of the night sky.
In partnership with Huu-ay-aht First Nations and HFN Group of Businesses, BadAss Creative supported the development of this initiative from early concept and pilot planning through to its first public launch.
The project brings together Indigenous cultural knowledge, astronomy, tourism development, environmental awareness, and community-based event planning. It is not simply an event about looking up. It is about helping visitors understand where they are, whose lands they are on, what stories are held there, and why darkness itself is worth protecting.
From Pilot Project to Public Launch
The original Three Stars Dark Sky pilot created the foundation for a future destination event in Bamfield and Anacla, BC. It tested programming ideas, built relationships, gathered learning, and demonstrated the potential for a dark sky experience that could support tourism, culture, education, and local economic development.
In 2026, the initiative reached an important milestone with its first public launch.
BadAss Creative supported this next phase by helping secure grant funding, strengthen project planning, and build the internal capacity needed to move from promising concept to public-facing delivery.
That meant supporting not only the event itself, but the systems, materials, funding strategy, partnerships, and planning structure around it.
Grant Strategy & Funding Development
I supported the development of funding applications and grant strategy to help secure resources for the public launch of Three Stars Dark Sky.
This included aligning the project with funder priorities, shaping the case for support, developing narrative materials, supporting budgets and timelines, and positioning the initiative as more than a one-time event.
The funding story focused on the broader value of the project: Indigenous-led tourism development, cultural programming, environmental education, dark sky preservation, regional visitation, and long-term destination-building.
Capacity Building
A successful public launch needs more than a good idea and clear skies.
I supported capacity-building work to help the project become easier to plan, fund, explain, deliver, and grow. This included project documentation, funding readiness, planning tools, communications support, reporting considerations, and strategic framing for future development.
The goal was to help create a stronger foundation so Three Stars Dark Sky could continue evolving beyond a single event cycle.
Event Development & Public Launch Support
BadAss Creative supported planning and development for the first public launch, helping connect the big-picture vision to the practical details needed for delivery.
This included support for programming structure, stakeholder communication, project coordination, funding alignment, promotional language, and the overall visitor experience.
Because with destination events, the magic matters. So do the road signs, schedules, budgets, approvals, relationships, weather plans, and tiny logistical gremlins hiding in the bushes.
Strategic Positioning
Three Stars Dark Sky has the potential to grow into a signature cultural tourism experience rooted in place, story, science, and stewardship.
I supported the strategic positioning of the project so that funders, partners, visitors, and stakeholders could understand both the immediate event opportunity and the long-term vision.
That included framing the initiative as a platform for cultural programming, dark sky education, tourism development, environmental awareness, and community benefit.
Why This Work Matters
Dark sky tourism is not just about stars.
It is about land, story, protection, access, hospitality, interpretation, and the relationship between people and place.
For Huu-ay-aht First Nations, Three Stars Dark Sky creates an opportunity to share cultural knowledge, welcome visitors with intention, support local tourism, and build an event experience that reflects the distinct beauty and significance of Anacla, Bamfield, and the surrounding lands and waters.
For BadAss Creative, the work has been about helping the project become more fundable, more organized, more sustainable, and more ready to meet the public.
The BadAss Creative Role
My role has included:
Grant strategy and application development
Funding narrative and case-for-support writing
Capacity-building support
Project planning and documentation
Event development support
Stakeholder and partner communications
Promotional and website copy support
Strategic framing for public launch and future growth
Reporting and funder alignment considerations
The Outcome
Three Stars Dark Sky moved from pilot concept toward public launch with stronger funding, clearer planning, and a more developed foundation for future growth.
The first public launch marked an important step forward: a chance to welcome audiences, test the model, share the experience more broadly, and continue building toward a sustainable dark sky tourism initiative led by Huu-ay-aht vision, place, and story.
Big sky. Deep roots. Better systems behind the scenes.
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Fund Development Professional -
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Relationship Manager -
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