Solar Eclipse: Newfoundland’s Burgeo Gears Up for a Party

Some residents of the isolated town of Burgeo, which is located on the east coast of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, are eagerly anticipating Monday’s unusual solar eclipse and reliving the island’s discovery by Captain James Cook.

While conducting astronomical observations in Newfoundland in 1766, British explorer Captain Cook saw a solar eclipse on August 5 and gave the location the name Eclipse Island.

While celebrating the celestial event and beginning the reconstruction of a historic beacon on Eclipse Island, the people living in the fishing town near the now-vacant island will come together on Monday. The eclipse’s totality will last for approximately two minutes.

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Burgeo townhall manager Michael Ward told Reuters, “I will be ecstatic if we get 30 to 40 people to show up here just for the eclipse.” About 1,100 people live in Burgeo, which is located more than nine hours’ drive from St. John’s, the provincial capital of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada.

The 8-foot (2.4-meter) tall beacon was first constructed by locals in the 1950s and 1960s. Sandbanks Provincial Park and the National Marine Conservation Area will pay for the restoration, which will be powered by solar energy.

“More than that would put businesses under too much pressure,” he continued.

Millions of eclipse enthusiasts will be joining Burgeo residents along a narrow 115-mile (185-kilometer) zone that cuts through Mexico, into Texas, and through 14 other U.S. states, as well as Quebec and four more Canadian provinces.

There’s a carnival vibe to the solar eclipse, which is the first in Canada since 1979, and many people have been planning trips there for months. A state of emergency has been proclaimed by the local government of Niagara, where a record number of over a million people are anticipated to congregate along the stunning falls, a well-liked tourist destination.

Giving Eclipse Island, Burgeo, its true meaning, a community-focused event at the Government Wharf will bring people together to celebrate indigenous culture and heritage, sing songs, restore the beacon, and take part in drumming and traditional smudging ceremonies.

“We want participation from all of the locals… It promises to be an amazing show,” Ward remarked.

To commemorate the event, local restaurant owner Arch Durnford, who was a teenager when he saw the last solar eclipse, is preparing a special dish for the menu.

Despite anticipated difficulties with the weather and accommodating tourists, he is excited to celebrate the day with his community as a town resident and business owner.
Durnford exclaimed, “It’s interesting that we’re going to see this once in our lifetime.”

 

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