Middlebury and large swathes of northern Vermont experienced a total solar eclipse for seconds to minutes on Monday, April 8. To commemorate this once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon, communities and individuals across the state have undertaken extensive preparations for months or longer — Brandon, Vt., for instance, started planning for the eclipse a year ago. Events spanned the entire weekend leading up to eclipse day, aiming to create a memorable experience for locals and visitors.
After Monday’s eclipse, Vermont will not see another total solar eclipse for about 300 years. Vermont last experienced a total solar eclipse in 1932.
Amy Tatko, director of communications and public outreach at the Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT), wrote in an email to The Campus that she anticipated an influx of up to 160,000 visitors into Vermont, meaning there would be an additional 60,000 vehicles on the roads. Scott Bourne, superintendent of the town of Middlebury’s Parks and Recreation, noted that hotels and Airbnb accommodations in major Vermont towns were fully booked.
To manage traffic and weather conditions, the Agency of Transportation focused on effectively utilizing highway message boards. Colleen Wright, assistant to the recreation director for the town of Brandon, said that the town turned off traffic lights and used police officers to direct traffic instead. The city also encouraged locals to remain on side streets, allowing tourists to use the main roads.
The town of Brandon arranged a weekend of festivities to celebrate the occasion. Many of its events centered around the eeriness of the eclipse, including a “Night of the Living Dead” zombie walk at Brandon Town Hall where grade school bands replicated a funeral march through a graveyard set with zombie-like creatures.
Pat Wood, a Brandon Chamber of Commerce board member and Brandon Museum steward, highlighted the town's comprehensive approach to embracing all dimensions of the eclipse.
The town even has a tagline for the weekend: “Come to a small town experience of a big time event,” according to Wood.
For example, a local brewery tackled the party aspect of the weekend by concocting an “Eclipse Beer” made from a variety of hops named eclipse.
Five local Brandon churches focused on the spiritual aspect by participating in the "Ring in The Eclipse" event, synchronously ringing their bells at 2:14 p.m. to signify the eclipse's commencement. Wood emphasized the historical significance of their coordination, as the last time these bells chimed in unison was at the end of the Civil War. The town also prepared numerous performance events ranging from an “Among The Stars Cabaret” on Saturday to a dance group that broke into a dance of Michael Jackson’s Thriller on Sunday.
In Bristol, Vt., the Lawrence Memorial Library hosted "Eclipse Programming" throughout the weekend, allowing community members to pick up glasses and learn about the eclipse. The library's program included an informational exhibit provided by the ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain. On eclipse day, the library hosted a children's eclipse-themed storytime.
Katie Male-Riordan, director of the Lawrence Memorial Library, emphasized the importance of including an event geared specifically towards children.
"This is such a neat opportunity to kind of help the kids understand this sort of once-in-a-lifetime experience that's coming their way,” Male-Riordan said. “It's such a great entry point for talking about science-based learning, providing literature and other materials to kids to help them wrap their heads around something really neat that's happening in their area.”
The town of Middlebury hosted a viewing party with a live DJ and food trucks at the Middlebury Recreation Park called “The Great Middlebury Solar Eclipse Celebration.” With the Addison Central School District and Mary Hogan Elementary School canceling classes, Bourne and the rest of Middlebury Parks and Recreation looked forward to the commitment of Middlebury’s community in assisting with crowd management. Many locals worked to ensure a safe and secure environment for everyone attending including those at the Ilsley Public Library, which closed for the day so their staff could provide support.
“I know full well 100% that on the day, people will just say, ‘Tell me what to do. I'll help you in any way that I can. Just tell me what to do,’” Bourne said.
In Monkton, Vt., Cindy Belanger, Marilyn Cargill, Jessica Demeritt and Teri Fitz-Gerald organized the "Solar Eclipse Party in Monkton" after Cargill noticed that the front lawn of Monkton’s Town Hall was a prime westward-facing location to view the eclipse. Sponsored by the town and the Monkton Friends Methodist Church, the event featured food trucks, trivia games, a singalong, sun salutation, and arts and crafts.
A highlight was the creation of a time capsule filled with photos and mementos from the day, to be opened at Vermont's next total solar eclipse in hundreds of years. Cargill and Fitz-Gerald also spotlighted a special feature of Monkton’s celebrations: One local artist redesigned the town flag of the sun rising over the Monkton fields and lake to now depict a solar eclipse rising over the same scene. Fitz-Gerald and Cargill emphasized that they felt touched as they imagined the lasting impact of their party on future generations.
“We're going to have babies who are in the arms of parents in the selfie booth, who are going to send those pictures to put in the time capsule. And that baby could be the grandmother that looks at that, and that's pretty cool to me when I think about that no one will see that picture until potentially that child as an elderly person sees it. That just gives me goosebumps,” Cargill added.
In some cities of Vermont, totality only lasted around one minute, but McKinley Brumback, associate professor of Physics at the college, described that as making it all the more special.
“We as human beings spend most of our life avoiding looking at the sun because we are not designed to do so,” Brumback said. “It's like taking something that we see every day and take for granted, and we get to see it in a completely different way.”
When the solar eclipse passed over the U.S. in 2017, Observatory Specialist Dr. Catherine Miller was not in the path of totality. She recalled being mesmerized by the moving crescent eclipse shadows, and became determined to witness the next total solar eclipse that passed over the country.
“I started looking at eclipse maps for the future because when I realized I wasn't going to be able to get to totality in 2017. I was like, ‘Okay, what's my next chance?’” Miller said.
Many, like Miller, were determined not to miss Monday’s solar eclipse. This week, numerous cities in Vermont lay in the path of totality, attracting many New Englanders from outside the narrow band where the full eclipse occurred.
A total solar eclipse occurs only in rare instances when the moon appears to pass in front of the sun, completely blocking the face of the sun from the earth, according to Brumback.
“This is just actually a really beautiful coincidence. There's no physical reason why this is the case, but the sun and the moon appear the same size in the sky. And if this was not true, if the moon was smaller, or if the sun was bigger, then we would not see total solar eclipses,” Brumback explained.
Brumback described her 2017 total eclipse experience as awe-inspiring and surreal.
“To have the air around you grow cold, the sky grow dark, to have the sun disappear from the sky — if you didn't know what was happening, it would feel like a very terrible omen because it feels ominous and spooky,” she said.
Owen Kelliher ’27.5, a Monkton native, expressed his excitement at experiencing this historic event in his home state surrounded by friends. Reflecting on Vermont not usually being the center of attention, Kelliher hoped that the visitors whom Vermont communities have gone to great lengths to welcome realize how unique the small state is.
“Anything that people can agree on is something that we can bond over. Especially today when so many people have such just kind of conflicting views with each other. It's nice to have something that brings people together,” Kelliher said.
