We all heard so much about the total eclipse this year, and for good reason. While not the only eclipse we would see in 2024, it was a major event, with totality (defined as being ‘the whole of something’) predicted to last twice as long as it had in 2017. And it was the longest totality on land for more than a decade, so there were plans made everywhere to observe and, yes, celebrate.

Russellville, Ark., was definitely the place to be. By the day before — Sunday, April 7 — visitors from 48 states and 12 countries had already arrived, with many more expected the next day. And the planning that went into it all started nearly two years prior.

Mayor Fred Teague is proud of the careful work his community produced. “We’ve been planning for 15 months. We anticipated at most 100,000 people in our area, and we wanted to figure out what that would look like. We don’t have all the final information, but we estimate between 40,000 and 60,000 people were here. Now, 60,000 wasn’t all entirely in our town; this was in multiple locations. Parks, shopping centers, church parking lots … people were parking and walking everywhere, setting chairs out, RVs and campers — people were grilling hot dogs in the Walgreens parking lot. It was a party that lasted for days!”

Teague recalled cornhole boards were set up, and children received little Frisbees. Of course, live music filled the air. The eclipse took center stage, of course, with science presentations, tethered hot-air balloon rides, telescope viewings — all kinds of family-friendly activities, all free.

Teague said, “We shut down the area for food vendors and trucks. This was a three-day event. And all 50 states, as well as 40 countries, could look at the map at central locations, and mark their presence with pins. It was mind-blowing!”

With so many components, it’s not surprising it took 15 months to plan.

He said, “We had a comprehensive group; we worked with traffic officials, fire and emergency services, and we considered everything from cyber-generated threats or AI threats to lost animals. Because in 2017, AI and cyber generated were not that big a thing, but now we are dealing with social media. What about an AI-generated shooter somewhere in the crowds? Could that happen? It didn’t, but we had to think about that. You have to think of security. You have to plan for everything. You bring in that many more people than the usual population, and there is the possibility of cardiac incidents and car accidents, and we wanted to plan for those, too.

“Now, I can tell you by the time we finished all the planning, we had a book, a 279-page emergency action plan. The Department of Public Works had to stage all the road closures and so on, and in some areas, it was not so bad. We planned traffic routes for after the event, directing in certain ways to minimize jams. And even so, IS-40 was backed up — a two-and-a-half-hour traffic jam that backed up for miles. We added extra landing zones for emergencies, such as if we needed helicopters. We planned how to manipulate, manually, the stoplights, which was done in tandem with the Department of Transportation. We had traffic routes in place, and we were flying drones; we could see what was happening all over the place. And we watched traffic cams, seeing how everything went as it was happening. Our guys did a great job.”

The planning was essential since NASA chose to broadcast from Russellville. Teague said it was amazing that NASA chose the town; they could have selected any place in the state. This heightened the experience for everyone on every level. Even after the event, people could still go to a special website, eclipserussellville.com — filled with every imaginable detail and resource they could need — and see how much care and work the city and all those working together contributed to the experience for everyone.

Most people will never see more than one total eclipse. The next one in the U.S. won’t happen until 2044.

When asked about the experience through the eyes of his own family, Teague said, “My wife and daughter were here a few days prior. We had anticipated being on top of the fire station to watch everything, but I had to tell my wife I couldn’t be anywhere but in the middle of it all. Right before totality, I was waiting to go live in an interview, and you could see it going darker, then a little bit darker, like in increments. They were amazed, though. It was captivating! With all the anticipation, for sure you think you’re ready, but when you actually experience it, well, it’s mind-blowing for sure! Leaves you speechless. And we were lucky with the weather, too. Even NASA was saying it was an incredible eclipse. They were blown away by it, too. It was such a neat experience — the skies so perfect.”

More than 100 schools in Arkansas closed for the event — how better to study science than to witness such an event? It also meant that teachers and other staff could experience everything, as well. More than 13,000 libraries across the country distributed 5 million pairs of free eclipse glasses, which were essential for safe viewing.

And, Teague said, “We had a mass wedding! Almost 400 couples got married in the park, taking their vows as the moon blotted out the sun.”

Additionally of the experience, Teague said, “There are temperature drops when the sun is covered, and if you’re in the country with animals, the crickets start to chirp and the roosters go into roost. Bats came out because they thought it was nighttime.” Teague’s enthusiasm and energy are still fresh and vivid, even months later. When asked if there was anything he would have done differently, or wished he had thought to do, he laughed and said, “Well, it might sound silly, but I wish we’d thought to put out water bowls for the dogs.”

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