Eclipse Info Sessions Held at the Ricks Centre February 8th

Greenfield– Next week, there will be three Eclipse Info sessions held at the H. J. Ricks Centre for the Arts, located at 122 W. Main St for anyone who is planning or interested in finding out more info about the Solar Eclipse. If you have been thinking about hosting a public eclipse event at your church, your facility, your business, or your organization, you are encouraged to attend. If you are interested in hosting a public viewing site in your parking lot, your farm field, or on your property, you are highly encouraged to attend. If you want to have an eclipse party, performance, parade, speaker, or any sort of public event at your attraction or in your community during ​**any time of the weekend leading up to the eclipse or during the eclipse itself** – – then these sessions are for you. They will be on Thursday, February 8, 2024 at 9:30am, 2:30pm and 6:30pm. These sessions are free and open to the public. Information about county eclipse planning will be shared as well as how your event or site can get officially registered as an official eclipse partner event or viewing site. Please RSVP at info@visitinhancock.org with your name, the preference of your session time, and how many are attending.

On April 8, 2024, Hancock County will experience a total solar eclipse. Why is this significant? Total solar eclipses do not happen very often in any given area. The next time a solar eclipse happens in North America, it will be in North Dakota and Montana in 2044. The next one to come to Indiana will be in 2153. So, the chances of being able to see the next North American eclipse are probably slim. Given that fact, and the fact that unlike the 2017 Eclipse in Kentucky – this eclipse is going to be almost twice as long with 4 minutes of totality, Hancock County can expect a lot of people wanting to see this event. Indiana lies within a day’s drive of 80% of the US population – so there is an expectation for large crowds of out-of-town guests on this date. You need to be prepared.

What does this mean for Hancock County? We can expect some visitors in our towns – as all of Hancock County’s communities are within the path of totality – – with the southeastern corner of Hancock County being within the 4-minute path. So, we can expect visitors – – lots and lots of visitors. The prediction is for Hancock County to see anywhere from 30,000 to 100,000+ in visitors. This will have an impact on our restaurants, hotels, retail locations and attractions. Most importantly, it is an opportunity to entertain, feed, and host all of these people, and show them some true Hoosier Hospitality.

If you are planning ANY public event or hosting ANY public viewing site for the eclipse, you MUST register to be an Eclipse Partner. You can do that by going to the partner tab on the official Hancock County Eclipse page at www.eclipseinhancock.org. This is so that emergency services, the highway department and other county agencies can best be alerted to where large crowds are expected to gather for this event. It is also so that your event and location can be promoted through tourism to all of our many expected guests. Any questions that you might have about the solar eclipse or how to become an Eclipse Partner will be answered at the Eclipse Information sessions on February 8th.

Hancock County Tourism and Visitor Center is located at 119 W. North St., Greenfield, IN. It is a Destination Marketing Organization with a mission to bring regional, national, and international business and leisure visitors to Hancock County, Indiana for the economic benefit of the county and our tourism partners. For more information, please contact the Hancock County Tourism and Visitor Center office at 317-477-8687 or visit our website at www.visitinhancock.org