Mark your calendar and get ready to see the total solar eclipse in Jackson!
The Cash-Book Journal, Uptown Jackson Revitalization Organization, Jackson Community Outreach Board and the Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce are working together to host a series of eclipse watch parties for April 8, 2024.
Watch parties will be held at the Jackson Civic Center, Brookside Park and on High Street in Uptown Jackson. All watch parties will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will feature live music, food trucks and more! Visitors at all three events will be able to enter into a grand prize drawing.
Jackson will be along the direct path of totality for the total solar eclipse, with four minutes and 9.6 seconds of totality visible in the city – more than double the duration during the 2017 eclipse.
A partial eclipse will begin at 12:41 p.m., with the total eclipse beginning at 1:58 p.m. in Jackson. During the total solar eclipse, the sky will darken and the temperature will lower. The moon will completely block the Sun’s disk during the total eclipse, only allowing the Sun’s outer atmosphere called the corona visible.
“The Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce is extremely excited for this event,” Chamber President Brian Gerau said. “Our chamber is dedicated to promoting tours and events like this, and we look forward to working with our other community partners to showcase this event and all the great things happening in Jackson, Missouri.”
“Jackson is in a pristine location for the eclipse, and we hope to bring national or even global attention to the city,” Community Outreach Board President Marco Otten said. “We hope by providing entertainment throughout Jackson, we will draw in more visitors and be able to keep people in town.”
“This will be a very special day for Jackson, and Uptown Jackson is ready for it,” UJRO Executive Director Janna Clifton said. “Jackson being in the path of totality is an incredible opportunity to showcase our community to hundreds, if not thousands, of eclipse travelers.”
“The eclipse will be a remarkable event for Jackson, and we are excited to be a part of this historic moment in the city’s history,” CBJ Publisher Gina Raffety said. “The Cash-Book Journal is thankful to our community partners who will help make this event a success.”
Between 43,000 and 173,000 people are expected to visit southeast Missouri for the eclipse. After this eclipse, it will be more than 300 years until another total solar eclipse is visible in this area.
For more information about the event, please contact jacksonmoeclipse@gmail.com.
