Burlington officials anticipate an influx of visitors in the mid-five figures during the complete solar eclipse on April 8.
Joel Hakken and his wife live on South Winooski Avenue, and they have multiple reasons to celebrate on that day. It’s Joel’s wife’s birthday, but they’ll also have visitors from the upper Midwest for the eclipse.
“We do have friends coming in from Michigan, and they’re going to be driving,” said Joel Hakken, who lives in Michigan. “I don’t know when they’ll come! “We hope sooner rather than later.”
Zach Williamson, the Burlington City Arts Festival and event director, is one of the organizers of Obscura BTV, the city’s official eclipse celebration. He estimated that up to 160,000 visitors from outside the region would rush to northern Vermont for the occasion.
“We believe we can safely accommodate up to about 50,000 people (in Burlington),” Williamson stated at an educational gathering Thursday night. “That’s an estimate, of course; we know the hotels are packed. We know that many individuals will come from outside the path of totality. We hope it is no more than 50,000, but we are prepared for more and as ready as we can be.”
Almost all of Burlington’s public parks will be designated as approved eclipse viewing areas. Most will feature live entertainment such as bands, DJs, or both.
The Hakkens intend to spend some time outside with their visiting Midwestern friends.
“Well, we told them to bring their ski boots ’cause we figure we’ll get them out skiing,” Hakken added. “And if it doesn’t (turn out to be a good time to) ski, we’ll ride bikes!”
The Hakkens inquired off-camera about what would happen to Burlington’s streetlights on the afternoon of the eclipse.
“There are no switches that let you turn off streetlights, so it is a challenge,” she remarked. “Every streetlight contains a photosensor that detects light and switches on when it becomes too dark. We’re working with Burlington Electric to come up with the finest balance possible.”
Burlington City Arts communication director John Flanagan also explained the origins of the Obscura BTV name during Thursday’s meeting. He explained that he chose it because of the term ‘camera obscura’, which refers to a darkened room with a hole on one side through which an image is projected. The phrase was not coined by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, but he is thought to have employed a camera obscura—or more than one—to investigate eclipses about 2,500 years ago.
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