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Wednesday, April 10, 2024
Eclipse draws crowds from near and far to region
LEFT PHOTO BY RON GIOFU, RIGHT PHOTO BY DONNA TUCKWELL, ECLIPSE PHOTO IN CENTRE SUBMITTED BY SANDIE OLDER
Susan Szalay and Deb Furlong came to Holiday Beach from Kitchener-Waterloo to view the eclipse (left). All eyes were on the sky at a viewing party at G.L. Heritage Brewing Co. (right). The eclipse itself provided the real entertainment (centre).
By Donna Tuckwell and Ron Giofu
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no, it’s an eclipse. April 8, 2024 was a day that will go down in history. All across southern Ontario thousands of people gathered to watch the first solar eclipse since Ottawa saw a partial solar eclipse in the early morning of June 10, 2021. The weather didn’t cooperate for all areas. The Niagara Region was overcast although some people were lucky enough to catch a glimpse. Most of Essex County had clear, sunny skies, at least until approximately 3:14 p.m. when the temperature dropped and night time fell for about three minutes, there were even a few very confused mosquitos flying around. Izzy Grondin and her friends Isaac Moore, Noah Renaud, and Paige Jimmerfield, were all watching the event for the first time from G.L. Heritage Brewery. For the most part they all thought it was pretty cool, but Jimmerfield said “I thought it was a little bit anticlimactic, I was expecting to see the ring around the sun from behind, but it was just really dark.” GL Heritage Brewery partnered up with Bryerswood
Youth Camp Optimist Club to create a family friendly event. Children were able to make and design their own sun visors and bracelets or color pictures. Families played corn hole, a parachute game, or just relaxed in lawn chairs or on blankets in the open fields and enjoyed snacks from Nat’s Wraps and Apps food truck. Adults enjoyed the creative brews made at the brewery. Brandon Rino is one of the owners of the Pepper Cat restaurant on Dalhousie St. in Amherstburg. “I thought the eclipse was beautiful, said Rino. “We came here because we wanted to support another local business and check out a once in a lifetime solar eclipse.” Also in attendance was a retired educator to share the status of, and science behind, what was occurring up in the sky and its impact on people and nature, and Essex County’s newest radio station CKRT Border City Radio was on site doing interviews and entertaining folks with some great classic rock. The next total eclipse in Canada won’t be until Aug. 23, 2044 and will be visible in the Rockies. At Holiday Beach Conservation Area, the Essex
Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) hosted “Celest-Fest at the Beach” with crowds lining the beach and setting up lawn chairs on grass areas nearby to catch a glimpse of the total eclipse. Angie Stockwell and Ken Dufour came in from LaSalle to view the eclipse through their special glasses. “Through my work, I got tickets,” said Stockwell. “I’m excited.” Dufour joked he just got back from vacation and left early to go view the eclipse. “My boss is cool, he said ‘go ahead’,” said Dufour. Dufour added it is a local event and one that doesn’t happen too often. “The weather is perfect too,” added Stockwell. Bruce and Andrea Kraler from Amherstburg arrived early at Holiday Beach to get a good spot. “We’re retired and we’re looking for something to do on a Monday,” Bruce said, with a laugh. Andrea added they were actually expecting more people but enjoyed the event. There were food vendors and games nearby in the hours leading up to the eclipse itself.
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