ADAMS TWP — The Martian New Year celebration will kick off with an appropriately themed Blast-Off Dinner on June 18.

The fundraising event begins at 6 p.m. with a happy hour at the Treesdale Golf and Country Club, 1 Arnold Palmer Drive, Gibsonia. Tickets are $100, and the proceeds go to fund the weekend long Mars-centric celebration.

Mars History & Landmark Society and NASA speakers, stargazing and a Pittsburgh Symphony Quartet performance are all part of the evening event.

“The Blast-Off Dinner is going to help set the tone for the rest of the weekend,” said Gregg Hartung, Mars mayor.

Julielynn Wong is the keynote speaker for the evening. She created and taught computer-assisted design, 3-D printing, and suturing skills workshops to more than 150 medical professionals at NASA Ames Research Center.

She is a graduate of the International Space University and trained in space medicine at NASA Johnson Space Center.

April Lanotte, a Mars High School alum and Einstein Fellow working with NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, also will provide some remarks.

“Being a Mars High School graduate and working for NASA, it’ll be a special evening for her,” Hartung said.

Also, a question-and-answer session will allow guests to ask questions about Mars — the planet or the town.

A Martian of the Year will be announced that night as a person who has give a lot to the Mars community.

For information, visit www.MarsNewYear.com.