BASKING IN THE DARKNESS You've probably heard that there's a pretty big event happening in the Arkansas sky on the afternoon of April 8, 2024.
That's when a good portion of the Natural State will be in the coveted "path of totality" as the moon glides between the sun and Earth during the Great North American Eclipse. The last time Arkansas was in such a primo spot for solar eclipse viewing was June 8, 1918, and it's the sort of once-in-a-lifetime event that is expected to attract a lot of travelers to our lovely little patch of ground.
A partial eclipse was visible here in 2017, but in 2024 a swath of Arkansas, from the southwest to the northeast, will be beneath a total eclipse. In Little Rock, the partial eclipse begins at 12:33 p.m.; full eclipse will be reached by 1:51 p.m. and will last about three minutes. In some areas, like Clinton and Hardy, it will last more than four minutes.
Overall, totality will be visible in a narrow strip across North America, beginning at the Pacific Coast and ascending through Mexico, the U.S. and Canada.
Visitors -- possibly a million of 'em -- are expected to stream into Arkansas for the event, and preparations are already being made.
Kim Williams is the 2024 Eclipse Project Manager for the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism.
"What we learned in 2017 is that eclipses have become tourism events," she says. "It's humongous. Every state in the path of totality in 2017 recorded record visitation and record economic impact."
Williams points out that the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism reported that about 1.6 million people traveled there to view the 2017 eclipse, leaving a $269 million economic impact.
Arkansas tourism officials started preparing for 2024 not long after the 2017 eclipse, says Williams.
They have created a handy website with a countdown clock and links to a map of the path of totality and eclipse-related events in the state (the Dem-Gaz, ahem, also has a countdown clock).
Towns in the path are planning events for the influx of eclipse-chasers, Williams says, and she's ready to show off the state.
"We are going to have a group of visitors that may have never been to Arkansas, and I have full confidence that our partners across the state will show them a good time like they've never experienced before."
email: sclancy@adgnewsroom.com