Crawford County gearing up for April 8 eclipse

Mar. 20—Local tourism is gearing up for thousands of visitors expected to show up in Crawford County on April 8 to gaze at the 2024 total solar eclipse that afternoon.

Crawford lies within the path of totality of the eclipse which will throw the county into darkness for a brief period.

Totality is the maximum phase of a total eclipse during which the moon's disk completely covers the sun throwing a shadow toward the Earth as the moon passes between the sun and the Earth. The period of totality can last from a fraction of a second to a maximum of 7 minutes 32 seconds, according to NASA. For Meadville, totality will last 2 minutes 35 seconds.

Almost 435,000 Pennsylvanians live in the path of totality which impacts Crawford and Erie counties and parts of Mercer and Warren counties.

As many as 200,000 people are expected in the city of Erie alone, which could lead to travel challenges throughout the day, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

For Meadville on April 8, the partial eclipse will begin at 2:02 p.m. with totality reached at 3:16.33, according to NASA's eclipse website. Totality for Meadville will last until 3:19:08 with the partial eclipse ending at 4:30.

"We don't know the weather's impact — for better or worse," said Allen Clark, emergency management director for the Crawford County Department of Public Safety. "There's a lot of planning for the influx by public safety agencies. The biggest hazard will be traffic."

Crowded conditions are anticipated due to a lack of available hotel and motel rooms for April 7 and 8.

In Crawford County, the four motels in Vernon Township at the Meadville/Conneaut Lake interchange of Interstate 79 — Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Suites, Econo Lodge and Quality Inn — have a total of 266 rooms. They're all sold out for April 7 and 8.

Titusville has a 48-room Quality Inn motel and the 21-room Caboose Motel, both of which also are sold out for those two days.

"That in of itself says we're going to have an influx of people," said Victoria Dickson, director of the Crawford County Convention and Visitors Bureau. "Some of the hotels in totality to the north of us were going for over $1,000 a night with a several-night minimum."

There are alternatives to motels such as Airbnb, the online broker where people rent rooms or an entire home for a short-term stay. But, a number of Crawford County places available as Airbnb and similar services already are booked.

"We have our (booking) schedule open for 18 months and last May we started getting calls and emails," David Gordon said of the April 8 availability of the short-term rentals that he and his wife, Karen, own.

The Gordons have three upper-floor, short-term apartment units on Water Street in downtown Conneaut Lake that they list on Airbnb.

"We chalked it up to a wedding or a celebration of life," Gordon said. "Then, we were getting inquiries from Texas, California and Massachusetts. We didn't realize at first it was for the eclipse."

One of the units was rented for the eclipse by June 5, 2023; the second, by Aug. 1, 2023; and the third, by Dec. 12, 2023, after there had been an initial cancellation.

Airbnb can send out an alert to would-be renters if there's a cancellation, he said.

There were some accommodations in Crawford County still available via Airbnb for dates around the eclipse, but required a two- or three-night minimum stay.

They included a multi-room guest suite in Meadville at $360 per night plus booking fee; several cottages in the Canadohta Lake area from $200 to $600 per night plus booking fee; and whole homes near Conneautville at $1,500 per night and Cambridge Springs at $550 per night plus fees.

Campgrounds are an alternative as well, but they also are seeing bookings for the eclipse.

Pymatuning State Park is opening up portions of its campgrounds at Jamestown and Linesville earlier than usual for the eclipse. But those sites that were made available, 270 of them, already are booked, according to Dan Bickel, park operations manager at the park.

The Crawford County Fair Board also is opening the county fairgrounds for camping during total eclipse weekend. The board needs a minimum of 40 reservations by April 1 to open the fairgrounds, but only has 14 so far, Dean Maynard, the board's president, said Tuesday.

Any reservation requires a $50 deposit to the fair board by April 1. There is a three-night maximum for camping, April 6, 7 and 8, for a $250 fee; or a $100 fee per night for only one or two nights of camping.

Reservations with the $50 deposit by check must be received by the fair by April 1, Maynard said.

Checks are to be made out to Crawford County Fair Association and mailed or dropped off at the Crawford County Fair Office, Crawford County Courthouse, 903 Diamond Park, Meadville, PA 16335.

ECLIPSE EVENTS

There are a number of events planned in Crawford County associated with the April 8 eclipse.

—Allegheny College Eclipse Fest, Robertson Athletic Complex Football Stadium, Park Avenue, noon to 4 p.m. First 500 attendees receive free eclipse glasses. Attendees may use the visitors bleachers or take a chair or blanket on the field to view the eclipse. Astronomy-themed music, concessions and merchandise trailer. Allegheny College Astronomy Club and astrophysicist Professor Jamie Lombardi will answer questions and explain the phenomenon.

—Eclipse Block Party in downtown Meadville, 1 to 4 p.m. with free parking from noon to 5. Multiple activities scheduled with Chestnut Street closed from Diamond Park to Water Street; the 200 block of Arch Street at Voodoo Brewing also will be closed.

—Solar Eclipse Party at Voodoo Brewery, 215 1/2 Arch St., Meadville, noon to 8 p.m. with specials and celestial-themed food items for sale.

—Sun & Moon Festival at Highland Bed & Breakfast, 628 Highland Ave., Meadville, noon to 5 p.m. Tickets are $89 per person including lunch and snacks, two drinks and souvenirs.

—Once in a Century Holland Hall (Eclipse) Tour, 681 Terrace St., Meadville, 1 to 3:30 p.m., by Crawford County Historical Society. Tour of Holland Hall followed by libations and hors d'oeuvres. Tickets are $40 each.

—Solar Eclipse Party at Titusville Iron Works Tap House, 315 S. Franklin St., noon to 5 p.m., with live music and a food truck.

—Party on the Beach at Frog Pond Restaurant at Canadohta Lake, 35765 Circuit Drive, Union City, 1 to 5 p.m., with food, music and souvenirs available.

—Solar Eclipse Party at the Lake at Rising River Brewing, 115 S. First St., Conneaut Lake, noon to 5 p.m.

—Solar Eclipse Celebration at Conneaut Cellars Winery and Distillery, 12005 Conneaut Lake Road, Conneaut Lake, 1 to 5 p.m., featuring moon pies, space candy, lunar shadow cocktails and wine by the glass.

—Eclipse Party at Riverside Brewing Co., 1 Fountain St. Cambridge Springs, 1 to 7 p.m., with music and post-eclipse buffet with two drinks and souvenirs. Tickets are $66 for adults, $49 for under-21 adults, and $20 for children under 12.

—Eclipse Party Picnic at Venango Valley Inn, 21217 Church St., Venango, starting at noon, at $25 per person with food, music, outdoor games and more. Call (814) 398-4330 Option 1 if attending.

Keith Gushard can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at kgushard@meadvilletribune.com.