Cornwall, Ontario – Thousands witnessed a celestial spectacle as a total solar eclipse darkened the skies on April 8, 2024. Cornwall, situated in the path of totality, experienced complete darkness for approximately two and a half minutes starting around 3:24 pm. Lamoureux Park, along with other locations like Big Ben Ski Hill, hosted watch parties, drawing crowds comparable to summer festivals.
The demand for safety glasses skyrocketed, with Lori Gibeau (Recreation Manager) at the Tourism Booth near Lamoureux Park stating, “We were sold out this morning by 10:30 am. We had just over a thousand pairs here today. Previously, over two weeks, we sold close to 7000 pairs with pre-sales at the Benson Centre and Aquatic Centre.”
Local businesses also felt the eclipse’s impact. Bill Halman, co-owner of Happy Popcorn in downtown Cornwall and DBIA Chair, noted, “We saw an increase in sales today at Happy Popcorn. We were talking to folks not only from Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, and Eastern Ontario, but we also talked to people from other provinces like Alberta, and one family, I’m not sure where they were from, but Japanese was their first language.”
