Watertown will host eclipse viewing event in Thompson Park

Feb. 24—WATERTOWN — Thousands of out-of-town visitors are expected to converge on Thompson Park on the day of the total eclipse to experience lasting memories of the sky darkening and to see the shadow of the moon.

"It's going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience," Mayor Sarah V. Compo Pierce said.

On April 8, the city will host a viewing party, Total Eclipse of the Park, in Thompson Park for solar spectators coming from all over the country.

With such an influx of visitors, Corey C. Fram, director of the Thousands Islands International Tourism Council, said the city can't get a much better marketing opportunity than hosting the eclipse.

Although it's April and not the best time for the weather, Watertown "can impress" eclipse visitors by showing off its beautiful park, that it has 1,200 hotel rooms and it offers quality dining, he said.

"By being a good host, it's allowing the city to invite those people back," he said.

For more than a year, a group of local officials and volunteers in Watertown have been planning the Thompson Park event.

Initially, they thought that between 7,500 and 10,000 people would be coming to the city to view the eclipse. However, the city recently learned that as many as 174,000 people could be coming to the Watertown area for the big day — if the weather cooperates.

That means the city-owned park event has gotten bigger and a lot more planning is going into it.

"It's has evolved," Parks and Recreation Superintendent Scott M. Weller said.

The path of the total eclipse — considered North America's most anticipated celestial event for years to come — runs right through the north country. At 3:22 p.m., Watertown will experience "totality" for three minutes and 39 seconds.

Billed as "An Out of This World Event," the Total Eclipse in the Park celebration will feature a line up of music and food, arts and crafts vendors, exhibitors and family activities.

The event will be held from noon to 6 p.m. Visitors can start entering the park at 10 a.m. The park will close the night before.

Zoo New York also will be open that day in the park. With a grant from the Simons Foundation, the Sci-Tech Museum of Northern New York will expand programming for the eclipse.

With about six weeks until the big day, Weller and the Parks and Recreation Department staff are organizing much of the park event, but other city departments are heavily involved as well.

"It's all hands on deck until the big day," he said.

But just how many people show up to watch the eclipse in the park depends on the weather, Compo Pierce said.

Jordan Northrop, who works for the parks department as the Thompson Park Golf Course's general manager, hopes for clear and sunny skies that day.

"Pray it doesn't rain," he said.

If it's sunny, organizers believe that Thompson Park will be one of the best places to view the eclipse.

They think that the park will fill up with visitors from all over the world. They've already confirmed that people are coming from England, Italy, Canada, Nigeria, Florida, the Carolinas and all over the west coast. Of course, local residents also will be headed up to the historic park, they said.

Long-distance travelers are expected to arrive on Friday or Saturday and be in the area until after the eclipse is over. Day trippers will look for the best weather and head there on shorter notice.

Organizers think that city streets will be jammed with traffic. But organizers have a plan in place to get people into the park.

The city is providing continuous shuttle bus service that will run 15- to 20-minute loop routes within the park. The bus runs begin at 10 a.m. and will continue until everyone is out of the park.

City planner Geoffrey T. Urda, who's handling the transportation aspects of the park event, said it'll be the responsibility of visitors to get to the shuttle buses from locales around Watertown.

They will not be allowed to drive into the park.

They will board the buses at three pickup spots in the park, at Gotham Street and Thompson Boulevard, Franklin Street and Thompson Boulevard and at Park Circle.

"Our goal is to move people in and out of the park as efficiently as possible and keep them safe," Urda said.

For planning purposes, the parks department is asking people to register for free tickets to ride the buses by going on the event's Facebook page.

That will provide information to the city where people are coming from and how many will attend, said James J. Scordo, the department's program manager,

That's the only way to gauge attendance figures and it allows vendors to know what to expect that day, he said.

Anyone wanting to become a vendor can apply by finding the form online at www.watertownnewyorkeclipse.com.

People viewing the eclipse will need special viewing glasses to prevent eye injuries. Thousands of pairs of glasses have been collected and will be distributed by different organizations leading up to the event.

As the day gets closer, the city will provide updates on the Facebook page about the eclipse so that residents know what's going on, Compo Pierce said.

She expects that local restaurants and businesses will get involved in the excitement of the eclipse and benefit from the influx of visitors.

As the event continues to evolve, city officials haven't put together a budget or tabulated just how much the eclipse-related plans will end up costing the city.

When plans first started, the City Council set aside $5,000 to pay for any expenses that would be incurred by the city. It's probably going to be much more than that, organizers said.

At some point, the council will be asked to amend the city budget to pay for the park event and other costs associated with the eclipse.

The last total eclipse in North America was in 2017. The next total solar eclipse viewable in the north country won't be until Aug. 2, 2399.

Sackets Harbor, Henderson, Cape Vincent, Clayton and Tupper Lake are among other communities organizing eclipse viewing events. Fort Drum is planning its own event.