Total solar eclipse 2024 in Kingston a 'mesmerizing' experience (2024)

Solar eclipse fever arrived in Kingston, and it was quite a sight to behold.

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Thousands of people came to the city, ready to take in an event they may never witness again, and they were not disappointed.

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The eclipse began at 2:09 p.m. and ended at 4:34 p.m. The total eclipse, when the moon fully obstructed the sun, took place from 3:22 to 3:25 p.m. While it could have been seen anywhere with a view of the southwestern sky, viewing events were hosted across the city.

The atmosphere was calm in Lake Ontario Park prior to totality. One woman could be heard saying in awe, “This really is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

As totality set in, and darkness fell quickly, the sounds of awe filled the parks and event locations. Then came the cheers as the “diamond ring effect,” caused by the sun’s corona, took place. The city’s streetlights came on, the temperature dropped, and even around residential neighbourhoods, residents, many school-age and home for the day, could be heard talking excitedly.

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As the moon shifted, the sun’s light came blasting past it, quickly lighting up the sky. More cheers in appreciation could be heard and someone in Lake Ontario Park played Soundgarden’s song Black Hole Sun.

The Sohail family were together at Confederation Park. They took in the 2017 partial solar eclipse but had never seen a total eclipse.

The family was blown away by what they expeirenced. Nashnia Sohail was pleased it happened in their hometown, while Naureen Sohail thought it was “mesmerizing” and a “wonderful” memory to last a lifetime.

“It shows you how small this world is, you know?” Ashmaan Sohail said. “It’s like this one quote by Carl Sagan, ‘Across the sea of space, the stars are other suns.’ We’re just a small dot.”

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While it was apparent the city didn’t see the 500,000 visitors that had been predicted, the most significant events were at Grass Creek Park and Fort Henry. Grass Creek Park’s started at 1 p.m. and ran to 5 p.m. Called Total Eclipse in the Park, the event featured live entertainment, food trucks and educational programming. Queen’s University’s Tindall Field was also full of spectators.

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Aside from the road closures that were put in place as a precaution by the City of Kingston, traffic moved smoothly around the city except for on Highway 2 when leaving the Grass Creek Park event.

About five ambassadors from Queen’s University were at each of the city’s other viewing areas ready to answer any eclipse-related questions. There were 25 ambassadors on Queen’s campus, which had closed University Avenue. The viewing areas were scattered across the city, but many viewers made their way down to the waterfront instead.

It appears the multiple road closures in the downtown area and near Kingston General Hospital didn’t stop the crowds from making their way to the waterfront. Lake Ontario Park, Breakwater Park and Confederation Park were full of people starting at about 1 to 1:30 p.m.

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Queen’s students Sammi Cho and Amber Huang chose to avoid the crowds and go to Confederation Park instead. They wanted to take in the view of sunset and sunrise downtown on the water.

“It’s really beautiful,” Cho said after taking in the spectacle.

The students had not had time to learn too much about the eclipse but ran into the school’s ambassadors and grabbed a pair of eclipse glasses. They had never seen a solar eclipse before.

“I thought it was really beautiful; I didn’t expect such a nice day today,” Cho said.

The women agreed it lived up to their expectations.

“Even more,” Huang said. “When it was totally covered, it was beautiful, and I didn’t expect it to be so white around the edges.”

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While some clouds hovered overhead entering the afternoon, the 13 C temperatures allowed for comfortable viewing.

Leading up to the event, Queen’s distributed 120,000 certified eclipse glasses, free of cost, to ensure members of the community could safely experience the total solar eclipse. Many were handed out by the Kingston Frontenac Public Library, which ultimately ran out on Thursday.

They were a key piece of gear for enthusiast Kim Martel on Monday.

The 79-year-old local veteran had her chair set up, ready to go at the Invista Centre. The last time she saw a total eclipse was when she was 13 years old. This time she was ready with her solar eclipse glasses provided by Queen’s University, and she wore a speciality solar eclipse T-shirt with “04.08.24” on the chest.

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Excitement grew notably as the moon started to make its way across the sun at about 2:10 p.m., and spectators appeared diligent about keeping their eclipse glasses on.

Those in the parks set up large blankets and foldable camping chairs. Many came equipped with tripods with cameras fixed to them, pointing upwards in anticipation.

Most who gathered in the parks came in groups with snacks, drinks and activities, such as spikeball, to pass the time.

Jonathan Corbett, Sarah Sadavoy and Kiana Damavandi were three of the ambassadors from Queen’s University. Dubbed Team Bayridge, the trio was on hand at the school to answer any questions about the eclipse and to hand out glasses to those who needed them.

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They wore bright, pink vests to stand out and were also on hand to ensure the event went as smoothly as possible.

Dean Roberts of Oshawa arrived at Frontenac Secondary School’s official viewing area nice and early with sons Alex, 12, and Josh, 8. He admitted he was probably more excited than his sons for the celestial event, but the boys appeared delighted while chatting with the Whig-Standard.

Looking around the nearly empty parking lot just after noon, Dean couldn’t help but ask: “Where is everyone?”

“I thought there was supposed to be lots of people here,” Dean said with a laugh after being told to expect half a million people. “Apparently, there isn’t!

“We were going to go the Niagara route as it is also in the centre of totality, but there’s supposed to be over a million people there, and the (Queen Elizabeth Way) is going to be wrecked, so we decided to go the opposite direction hoping it would be better. So far, no traffic and no people!”

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The Roberts’ vehicle may have been the only one in the parking lot at the time, but it meant they had a perfect parking spot behind the school near a picnic table. Dean and the boys prepped for the day with their solar eclipse glasses and a book all about the event, as well as a car full of snacks, sandwiches and juice boxes.

Dean, who works in IT, just returned home from a cruise on Sunday but took an extra day off just so he could share this day with Alex and Josh.

“I’ve never seen one in totality,” Dean said. “In 2017, I saw the one that was partial, that was pretty cool. But I want to see one that is full covered because everybody just says it is amazing and life changing.”

scrosier@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/StephattheWhig

—With files from Elliot Ferguson, Peter Hendra, and Julia McKay

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