Solar eclipse fever will transform this quiet Ky. town on Aug. 21
HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. — As many as 200,000 tourists, scientists and eclipse junkies are expected to swamp this quiet town of 33,000 to witness the full totality of the eclipse for a spectacularly dark 2 minutes and 41.2 seconds on Aug. 21
And many of them are arriving early for camping and a music festival. Roads will be clogged, schools will be closed.
Hopkinsville Mayor Carter Hendricks said the town is ready for its moment in the sun, so to speak, although he's quick to point out that no one really knows what that means in such extraordinary circumstances.
"We're encouraging our residents to really embrace this opportunity," Hendricks said. "We know that it's going to create a little more hassle over that weekend, but when it's all said and done it's going to be worth it because it's giving us a chance to showcase ... all of the region for a worldwide audience."
For some perspective, Hopkinsville's biggest annual tourism event in years past was the Little River Days Festival, which drew 15,000 at its peak.
But 100,000 or more tourists, many of them spread across the city's modest 31 square miles? That, said Hendricks, is unknown territory.
"We're all being told to get our groceries, gas, and everything else before it starts, to treat it like a snowstorm," said Nancy Stalls. "I'm looking forward to it for the notoriety but the crowds of people, if they come, will be overwhelming."
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Hopkinsville will spend $500,000 to ensure the comfort and safety of its temporary residents, Hendricks said, with most of the money going to pay police officers, firefighters, and for the rental of portable restrooms and showers.
The economic impact for the region has been estimated at $30 million and groceries, restaurants, liquor stores and gas stations have been duly warned to stock up, and then stock up some more.
Ferrell's Snappy Service has been making Western Kentucky-style hamburgers on Main Street since 1934. Most of the orders are carry-out as Ferrell's only seats eight, or roughly 0.01% of its potential customers come the eclipse.
A refrigerated truck will be used for extra supplies, but waits for delicacies such as Ferrell's double cheeseburger may be as long as three hours on eclipse weekend, said Scott Harris, the restaurant's director of operations
"How they gonna get all those people here?" wondered Marilyn Chambers, who has worked the Ferrell's grill for 15 years.
"I'm ready to leave, I don't like crowds," said Kerri Thomas, who will instead be slinging apple fritters at Whistle Stop Donuts. "It's exciting, though. The most exciting thing that happens around here is if somebody gets shot."
"We're excited about it but we're not ready for it," said Stephanie Flores, a Rite Aid manager.
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Most of Hopkinsville shares that combination of anticipation and disbelief. It's simply difficult to imagine that many people when the entirety of Christian County contains fewer than 74,000 residents.
While many viewing areas are on parcels of land outside of downtown proper, downtown Hopkinsville will be the focus Friday through Sunday with its Summer Salute festival, and Hoptown proper is small enough to easily cover on foot.
Foot traffic may be the only traffic come eclipse weekend as gridlock is expected to be the norm, especially on Aug. 21.
At the Hopkinsville Brewing Company, owner Kate Russell is expecting to do booming walk-up business, at least to a point.
"I fully anticipate I'll run out of beer," she said.
The town was alerted a decade ago to the potential impact of the eclipse, which is the first total eclipse in 99 years to travel the width of North America.
Astronomers determined that Hopkinsville would be dark for 2 minutes and 41.2 seconds, one of the longer durations, and that nearby Orchardale Shepherd Farm would offer the spot where the moon will achieve maximum coverage.
That combination is catnip for scientists, eclipse aficionados and the merely curious.
Preparation began in earnest five years ago, Hendricks said, after an eclipse expert addressed a forum at Hopkinsville Community College. He showed photos where tens of thousands of people had gathered even in remote locations.
"That's where for the first time I really began to understand the magnitude of what we were talking about," Hendricks said. "I think we were all looking at it with a healthy degree of skepticism but when he shared those photos ... it really struck me that this was going to be something significant."
The question is how significant? Over the last few years, parts of downtown Hopkinsville have been buzzing with the addition of several new businesses – a boutique, the brewery, an art gallery – and that surge has been attributed to the eclipse.
The goal, Hendricks said, is to maintain celestial momentum.
"There's no doubt that the eclipse has captured the imagination of the residents of this region and that's allowed us to then capitalize off that and encourage people to dream bigger dreams and expect more out of our own community," Hendricks said.
"So our commitment once we get past Aug. 21 is not to slow down."
