The Aurora Australis puts on a display over Tekapo earlier in the year.Mackenzie's International Dark Sky Reserve is about to be celebrated at a festival in Twizel.

Some of the stars of the astronomy world are about to arrive in Twizel and the town is buzzing, the organiser says.

The three-day Aoraki Mackenzie Starlight Festival, a celebration of dark skies, astronomy, and the global success of Mackenzie's International Dark Sky Reserve will start on Friday, bringing with it international speakers, exhibitions, displays and documentaries.

The event had its inaugural event in in Tekapo in 2013 and in 2017 will be held in Mt Cook village.

Starlight Reserve board member Margaret Austin said about 300 people had come from out of town to Tekapo in 2013 and Twizel was confident of bettering that this year.

This year is the UN's international year of light, recognising the value of darkness and the problems associated with light pollution. That connection gave the event even more momentum, Austin said.

"It's all go at the moment in Twizel. We're feeling very comfortable and confident about what we've got to offer. It's very exciting."

Austin said the aim of the festival was to not only create awareness of the stars and dark sky, but excitement about astronomy and science.

"Science and art naturally overlap, and we are exploring and celebrating those connections. This is an exciting and innovative way of demonstrating how important these relationships are."

A photographic and art exhibition with works by some of New Zealand's most prominent astro-photographers will feature at the event, with nightscape astro-images and landscapes of the Mackenzie Basin for sale.

The 'LIGHT: Beyond the Bulb' exhibition by Harvard University – which is currently displayed at the Christchurch Airport – will be transferred to Twizel for the duration of the festival.

The exhibition features 60 images related to the physics and technology of light, which were crowd-sourced and expertly curated.

The 'Planetarium Show' will be held at Hillary Alpine Centre Planetarium in Mt Cook and will feature a one-hour 'live' event with a presenter 'free flying' through the universe, as well as a 30-minute movie.

Two documentaries will also feature at the festival, including the New Zealand-made 'Dark Sky' and award-winning 'The City Dark' from New York.

The City Dark, a feature documentary about light pollution and the disappearing night sky, premiered at the 2011 South by Southwest Film Festival.

The 'Dark Sky' documentary was created by Jerry Rock-Archer and Laura Sargisson of the University of Otago, and is about Lake Tekapo's gold standard starlight reserve – New Zealand's haven from light pollution.

There will be an open day and a stargazing opportunity at Mt John Observatory in Lake Tekapo during the festival.

Perhaps the highlight of the event is its world-renowed special guests. Professor Chris Lintott from Oxford and Dr Seth Shostak of the SETI Institute in California will present talks.

There will also be a UNESCO starlight concert, featuring the Woolston Brass Band and the festival will be opened by New Zealander of the Year Dame Anne Salmond.

Austin said the range of attractions showed how important the Dark Sky Reserve was as a visitor experience.

"The popularity of starlight tours are growing significantly for Canterbury, especially in the Chinese market, as visitors increasingly include astronomy and other science-related activities in their travel itineraries," she said.