AUSTIN (KXAN) — In less than three months, Austinites will be dazzled by a natural phenomenon, with the Texas capital located in the path of totality of the next total solar eclipse.
Experts said it marks the first time a total solar eclipse has passed over the area Austin resides in since 1397. In celebration of the April 8 phenomenon, the Simons Foundation has collaborated with the Waterloo Greenway Conservancy, the Long Center for the Performing Arts and Fusebox to host three days of eclipse-related programming from April 7-9, per a Wednesday release.
Festivities begin at Waterloo Greenway at 6 p.m. on April 7, with performances and presentations from musicians, writers, artists and other public figures set to read poems "that speak to the science of eclipses," per the release.
A free eclipse viewing party will be held on April 8 at the Long Center. Doors for the event open at 11 a.m. ahead of the eclipse's totality, set to happen at 1:36 p.m. in Austin. Music performances and visual storytelling events are also planned the day of, along with specialty beer and food before the event wraps at 3 p.m.
The release said guests will receive a pair of eclipse viewing glasses and can chat with astronomers during the event.
On the morning of April 9, Waterloo Greenway will host a children's story time with a reading of Molly Webster's "Little Black Hole," a space-themed story.
“This initiative is about celebrating that the eclipse is happening where you are, in this moment, and how special and rare that is. The idea is that the powerful experience of seeing an eclipse can provide onramps to lifelong relationships with science for people who may not identify as science enthusiasts," said Ivvet Modinou, vice president of Science, Society & Culture at the Simons Foundation, in the release. "Given Austin’s rich history of convening people -whether around music, culture, art or science- it is the perfect place for us to headquarter our day-of eclipse efforts."
