Texas Eclipse Festival canceled over weather hours before eclipse. ‘This is insane’
The Texas Eclipse Festival, a music and arts festival celebrating the 2024 total solar eclipse, was canceled just hours before the rare celestial event.
The festival in Burnet announced its cancellation around 10 a.m. CT on Monday, April 8. Festival goers were planning on viewing the total solar eclipse at 1:30 p.m. Monday.
But because of the forecast of severe weather, which includes high winds and tornado activity, the festival ended early.
“Your safety is our top priority. With the support and coordination of Burnet County officials, local safety agencies, and the National Weather Service, we’ve agreed to end the festival today in a calm orderly manner,” the festival said on its website and on social media. “Leave early for safety and to beat traffic. Guests may stay for the eclipse provided they pack and are prepared to depart after totality.”
Featuring Zeds Dead, Subtronics, Tycho, Clozee, Big Gigantic, STS9 and dozens more acts, the festival began April 5 and was expected to continue through April 9.
At least 30,000 people were in attendance, KXAN reported.
“People are flying in from everywhere – like New Zealand, there’s a ton from Europe, and Australia,” Melanie Hutzler told MySA. “I’ll see people that haven’t gotten their tickets yet, and they’re driving from Seattle. It’s crazy.”
The Burnet County Sheriff’s Office said it was expecting “a surge of traffic in the county” following the cancellation.
While many people applauded the festival for the decision to end the event because of the weather, others were unhappy.
“There’s people with flights that can’t go home, expected to camp at your camp site and have nowhere to go now,” one person said on Instagram. “This is insane lol.”
“Where do the people supposed to leave tomorrow go?” another person asked in a comment.
Attendees will receive a partial refund, the festival said.
Burnet is about a 55-mile drive northwest of Austin.
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