story by Glenda Winders
It’s being said that the total solar eclipse coming to Indiana on Monday, April 8, 2024, is an event we will remember for the rest of our lives. The last one in the same place was in 1869, and the next one to affect the area won’t be until 2153. “Totality is the most amazing, earth-shattering thing you’ll ever see in your life,” said Dan McGlaun, a Clayton resident and self-described umbraphile who has chased 15 such spectacles all over the world. A mathematician, he is also the creator of www.eclipse2024.org, where he tracks 140,000 cities on some 120,000 pages. Even NASA uses his data and features his site in their exhibits.
McGlaun cautioned that everyone should wear special eclipse glasses so they can watch all of the phases, but when totality is complete, it will be safe to take them off and look up into the sky.
And while the sun will be the biggest show in town, it won’t be the only one. Throughout the path of totality, cities are planning events that will make the experience even more enjoyable.
In Jay County, for example, a two-day “Moonstock” festival with music, food, camping, vendors and educational activities is on the calendar. They’ll also be holding a group wedding for couples who want to make a special day even more so.
In Delaware County the weekend leading up to Monday will begin in Muncie on Thursday with an art walk and continue with makers’ markets, local food, and music. On Saturday they’ll have a “Light Up the Sky” light show as well as a concert at the fairgrounds, and Sunday will see a concert that features Orchestra Indiana and Ball State PBS at the Minnetrista Museum and Gardens.
Or plan to “Get Mooned in Boone County” with an eclipse- eve concert and light show featuring the music of Pink Droyd. Over in Thorntown, enjoy the eclipse at Dull’s Tree Farm for the perfect setting from which to observe this natural phenomenon, or spend the day at Mulberry Fields Park in Zionsville, where STEM activities, food trucks, crafts and family bike rides will be waiting to be discovered. Lebanon is planning an ‘80s weekend with roller skates, a costume contest and more.
In Henry County rural Farmer’s Pike and Saddle Club will have camping with electric set-ups beginning on Friday to accommodate out-of-towners. The Indigos will perform Saturday and Monday and Cook & Belle on Sunday with laser shows all three nights. New Castle Main Street will celebrate with food, music and games.
Wayne County bills itself as “The Best Place to Be in the Dark” and backs up this claim with a multitude of activities that begin on Friday and last through Monday. Located at the confluence of several major highways, they are establishing viewing locations all around the county and turning the fairgrounds into a campground with electricity and water for 400 sites. Visitors will be entertained by tribute bands saluting Michael Jackson, Elton John, Led Zepplin and Kiss. They will also have Zorb balls, zip-lining, a drone show, fireworks, rock-climbing, educational forums and more.
In Indianapolis NASA and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway have teamed up to offer a day filled with astronauts, STEM activities and broadcasts in addition to viewing. It will also be possible to camp there. The Children’s Museum will offer an “Eclipse Extravaganza,” and astronaut Mark Brown will be on hand at Conner Prairie along with music by Stella Luna and the Satellites as well as an inflatable planetarium.
Newfields (formerly the Indianapolis Museum of Art) plans a “Total Eclipse of the Art,” an art festival with activities throughout their campus. Watch from a canoe, kayak or paddleboard on the White River, and at White River State Park enjoy a party atmosphere with a food-truck festival and optimal viewing over the river and the city skyline. Local bars and restaurants will be serving up eclipse-themed cocktails.
In Shelby County the open farmland at Pat & Pat in the Dark will be the place to go for parking, camping and viewing. Similar opportunities are available at the Meltzer Farm next to the Meltzer Nature Preserve. Many churches and nonprofits will hold Eclipse Day events, and the Skyline Drive-In eclipse event will offer campsites, classic movies at night and daytime activities from April 5-8. The price of a ticket brings with it a pair of eclipse glasses for each attendee. A musical festival in downtown Shelbyville is being planned for April 7 with a full eclipse theme.
Even distilleries are getting in on the fun. The Hunt Club Distillery in Sheridan is throwing an “Eclipse Party” featuring live music, cocktails, pizza, and viewing glasses. They even have a few spaces available to park your RV.
The Morgan County Fairgrounds is a designated viewing site where there will also be a limited number of camping sites available. Mooresville will combine their celebration with the city’s bicentennial, with festivities including a downtown street fair with a kids’ area, food trucks and vendor booths. Live music on Saturday evening will feature the Woomblies Rock Orchestra and Cook & Belle, plus more casual live music on Monday.
The Cedar Creek Winery, Brewery & Distillery will offer food and viewing glasses to their guests. Meanwhile, in Martinsville it will be a “Not-so-Starry Night” with a concert at The Venue downtown on Saturday and an eclipse-themed exhibition and arts activities hosted by the Art Sanctuary of Indiana.
McGlaun said that in the event of bad weather we’ll still be in the dark; we just won’t be able to see the ring around the sun. Planners in Bartholomew County say they’ll be having a good time whatever happens with a free Renaissance Faire event at the airpark in Columbus. Children can head Kidscommons for eclipse-related activities and viewing through solar-safe film tents with no worries about glasses.
Lake Monroe and Lake Lemmon are good viewing spots in Monroe County, and they’ll have entertainment at the fairgrounds and more fun at Switchyard Park. Indiana University will hold its celebration at Memorial Stadium.
A watch party in French Lick will include live music and food trucks, and if you stay at the historic French Lick Resort you’ll also enjoy themed dinners, a private viewing area and memorabilia to take home. Also in Orange County, join the party at Paoli Peaks with live music, a DJ, food trucks and a beer garden or visit “Totally Blacked Out Orleans.”
Events are being planned through- out Dubois County for the 2024 Solar Eclipse. In Ferdinand, there will be a day-long festival, Total Eclipse in the Park, while the Sisters of St. Benedict will allow camping and eclipse viewing during their event, Day in the Dark at the Dome. Historic Downtown Huntingburg will be celebrating their annual Daffodil Stroll in addition to a full-day festival at the Huntingburg Airport. Visitors can Ride the Rails into totality on the Spirit of Jasper. Riders will disembark the train and watch as the sky becomes dark before returning back to the Jasper Train Depot.
Knox County, which will have the longest period of totality at four minutes and five seconds, is planning a brew fest, a Weddingpalooza, “Laughter Before the Darkness” at the Red Skelton Museum and music by Think Floyd to accompany their “the Dark Side of the Wabash” event. They are also commemorating the significance of “Tecumseh’s Eclipse” in 1806, when the chief’s brother’s prophecy united the Indigenous People against their oppressors.
But there’s more, too. “The thing I always come back to is that Covid separated us for so long, and we had to be so purposeful in that separation,” said Sarah Wolfe, Vincennes’ eclipse events director. “Now we have an opportunity to be together under an event that is out of our control but a very unifying happening. We need to take advantage of that as an introspective healing that we don’t often get these days.”
