On Tuesday the 26th the president of my astronomy club sent an email to all members saying he had several inquiries from the public asking if we were going to have a special viewing of Mars. He decided we would have an impromptu unpland star party that night and everyone was invited.
That night at our usual viewing area about 30 people showed up. That may not seem like much but normally we get no more than 10. Most were not astronomy buffs and we had a good time explaining the things to them. Lots of kids, and adults with good questions. I think we also got a couple of new members. We probably would have had more but there were low clouds around the area and some probably thought it wouldn't be visible. However we were above the clouds and had a beautiful view.
We were also treated to a spectacular meteor flashing across the sky Northeast to the South. It seemed to go on forever, white red then green. The best I have ever seen.
.