Hill Country Eclipse Round Table 7.25.2023

Hello Hill Country Colleagues,

You are invited to participate in a Hill Country Eclipse Round Table Tuesday, July 25, from 12:00 pm-1:30 pm CDT on Zoom to discuss ongoing preparations for the annular solar eclipse and total solar eclipse, which may draw hundreds of thousands of visitors to our region in October 2023 and April 2024.

During the last total solar eclipse event in the U.S., back in 2017, many rural communities in its path were overwhelmed by the crowds and the challenges they created for local infrastructure, emergency services, lodging and restaurants, and supermarkets. However, the communities that fared the best were those that started preparing years in advance

In 2023 and 2024, the annular and total solar eclipses will pass through the middle of the Hill Country, affecting all our communities. This round table is an opportunity for us to share our plans, learn from one another, and benefit from lessons learned by others.

July's Meeting

We are delighted to welcome Trish Erzfeld to our Eclipse Round Table meeting as our guest presenter this quarter. Trish is the Tourism Director for Perry County Heritage Tourism in Perry County, Missouri. Perry County and the City of Perryville, the county seat, were on the path of totality for the 2017 total solar eclipse and are on the path of totality for next April’s eclipse. In 2017 Trish served on the St. Louis Eclipse Task Force and learned how to plan an event around an eclipse and tend to the incoming visitors. As chair of the Missouri Eclipse Task Force for the 2024 eclipse, she convenes monthly meetings and is a support resource for community planning.

Trish has been a past presenter at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) Eclipse Planning Workshops. Most recently, she spoke last month in Albuquerque on engaging rural communities and will be expanding on that presentation for our July meeting.

HCA's Eclipse Portal
The Hill Country Alliance Eclipse Portal version 2.0 is live with a new look and new features. The new version of the portal has all the information and resources you were used to before and now includes a standalone partners tab with linked community websites and an events tab where you can post all of your community's public eclipse-related meetings and events.

Meeting Registration
Please register by clicking here to receive Zoom details for the round table.