Four municipalities in Jefferson County are planning festivals to celebrate the solar eclipse on Aug. 21. For more detailed information or for recent updates, visit each city’s homepage on the internet or on Facebook.
ARNOLD
All activities take place at the Arnold City Park, 2400 Bradley Beach Road, off Jeffco Boulevard.
Saturday, Aug. 19
■ 8 a.m. to noon – The Arnold Farmers Market will feature out-of-this-world fresh food and produce, along with music, free fun activities for kids, photo opportunities and crafts.
■ 8 a.m. to dark – Petting zoo and pony rides.
■ 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. – A “Back to the Future” car show.
■ 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. – Telescope viewing.
■ 10 a.m. – Fun run 5K around the lake. Dress as your favorite heavenly body (Sun, moon, stars, planets, etc.) or super hero. Prizes will be awarded for best costume for kids 12 and under and for adults. Medals for all age groups, male and female.
■ 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. – Mad About Science Fun booths with fun take-aways and more.
■ Noon – Food booths and food trucks open.
■ Noon to 8 p.m. – Free inflatables for kids, including rock-climbing wall with water slide and more.
■ 8 p.m. – Free movie, “E.T. the Extra Terrestrial,” shown.
Sunday, Aug. 20
■ Noon – Food booths and food trucks open.
■ Noon to 6 p.m. – Mad About Science booths.
■ Noon to 8 p.m. – Petting zoo and pony rides.
■ Noon to 8 p.m. – Telescope viewing.
■ Noon – Bluegrass Festival, starting with Sadie Hawkins Day String Band; Whitewater Bluegrass Band at 3:15 and the Eric Parent Bluegrass Band at 5:45 p.m.
■ 2 p.m. – Moon Pie eating contest, sponsored by Arnold Walmart. First prize wins $100, second place $75 and third wins $50. Registration begins at 1 p.m. at the Pecan Pavilion.
■ 2 p.m. – Moon Walk dance-off contest, sponsored by SSM Health. Must have 30-seconds-or-longer routine to music. No age limits. Prizes are $100 Visa gift cards for male and female winners.
Monday, Aug. 21
■ 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. – Food booths and food trucks open.
■ 1-3 p.m. – Mad About Science booths.
■ 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. – Eclipse viewing.
■ Totality comes at 1:17 p.m. and lasts 2 minutes, 9 seconds.
Website: www.arnoldmo.org.
Facebook: Solar Eclipse Arnold Mo 2017.
FESTUS
All activities take place at West City Park, 2261 Sunshine Drive. Parking will be in the baseball complex parking lot on the south side of the road. Eclipse activities are sponsored by the Festus Tourism Commission in cooperation with the Festus Public Library.
Friday, Aug. 18
■ 5 p.m. – Craft and food vendors open.
■ 7-11 p.m. – Retro Boogie Band performs on the West City Park Stage. The band will play a wide variety of music, from oldies to current pop music.
Saturday, Aug. 19
■ 11 a.m. – Craft and food vendors open.
■ 11 a.m. – Animals R Us petting zoo opens. Petting and visiting the animals is free; vending machines will offer animal food for purchase.
■ 11 a.m. until too dark to see – Ryan Meyer of The Wood Den will create a large eclipse-themed carving.
■ 2 p.m. – The Ficken-Harneds Band will perform acoustic rock-era music on the West City Park Stage.
■ 4:30-6:30 p.m. – A scavenger hunt will have teams running throughout Festus and Crystal City, with a prize ceremony at 6:30 p.m. on the West City Park stage.
■ 7 p.m. – Fastlane, a five-member ’80s “hair band” from Hillsboro, will perform a 30th-anniversary concert on the West City Park stage.
Sunday, Aug. 20
■ 1-5 p.m. – The city will offer sun-themed crafts and activities for children to learn about the eclipse. Library staff will be on hand to demonstrate safe sun viewing with library telescopes in addition to a Sunspotter telescope.
Monday, Aug. 21
■ 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. – Educators from the St. Louis Science Center will be on hand to lead activities and answer questions, as well as to announce the stages of the eclipse as it develops. Educators will help visitors follow safe viewing practices, including using the Sunspotter telescopes for safe solar viewing. The St. Louis Science Center plans to broadcast the eclipse in Festus back to viewing parties at the center in St. Louis, where the eclipse will only be partial.
HERCULANEUM
Unless otherwise noted, all weekend events take place at the Herculaneum City Park, 776 Joachim Ave. Monday events take place on the Herculaneum High School campus, 1 Blackcat Drive.
Friday, Aug. 18
■ At least 10 geocaches will be placed inside the city limits of Herculaneum.
■ 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. – A mobile dome planetarium will be set up in the Herculaneum High School Theater lobby. The event is open to the public and admission is free. The 16-by-16-foot, 10-foot-high mobile HD theater will show the half-hour program: “Earth’s Wild Ride,” continuously. For more information, call 636-475-4447, 314-852-4964 or 573-429-8957.
Saturday, Aug. 19
■ All-day events include a video game trailer; a water slide; cliff jump and other inflatables; a petting zoo; pony rides; and food and concession vendors.
■ 8 a.m. – A 5K and one-mile fun run. Registration is $30 for 5K and $20 for mile run. Ribbons awarded for all participants; prizes to top male and female finisher in each of five age categories.
■ 11 a.m. – Solar eclipse parade. Lineup is at 10 a.m. at Senn-Thomas Middle School.
■ Noon to 3 p.m. – Car show, sponsored by McCain’s Towing & Autobody. Entry is free; registration is required to be eligible for prizes.
■ Noon to 4 p.m. – live music by Midwest Express.
■ 4 p.m. – Babaloo Music and Fun.
■ 6 p.m. – Reptile experience.
■ 6-10 p.m. – Live music by Robin Guidicy and Small Shack.
■ 9 p.m. – Movie, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” at the Herculaneum High School practice field.
■ 9 p.m. – Moonlight bike ride.
Sunday, Aug. 20
■ All-day events include a video game trailer; a water slide; cliff jump and other inflatables; a petting zoo; pony rides; and food and concession vendors.
■ Noon to 2 p.m. – Live music.
■ 2 p.m. – Talent show. Cash prize to winner in each age category.
■ 4-6 p.m. – Tekno Bubble Bus.
■ 6 p.m. – Reptile experience.
■ 6-10 p.m. – Live music by Robin Guidicy and Small Shack.
■ 9:30 p.m. – Fireworks display.
Monday, Aug. 21
■ All day – The city of Herculaneum will sell commemorative envelopes for $3. Each includes one of the new U.S. Postal Service solar eclipse stamp, and can be canceled with the special Herculaneum total eclipse station postmark on Aug. 21 only.
■ 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. – Food and concession vendors will be on hand.
■ 10 a.m. – Eclipse proclamation.
■ 9-11 a.m. – The Twin City Optimist Club will hold an Art in the Park on Eclipse Day event at Kade’s Playground in Herculaneum for those age 8 and up to create artwork. Permission or waivers must be signed for children under 18. The price is $15 for a painted canvas and $20 if including an Eclipse apron. Additional snacks and drinks will be available for purchase, including Blue Eclipse cool-aid cocktails. Proceeds go to the city of Herculaneum for its Bay of Naples Splash Pad project at the playground. For more information, call Katie Huck at 314-520-6340.
■ 3 p.m. – Commemorative marker dedication.
■ 3:30 p.m. – Closing of time capsule.
■ TBA – Eclipse presentation by NASA subject matter expert Janel Thomas, followed by a question-and-answer session. Thomas, a Herculaneum native, earned a bachelor’s degree from St. Louis University and a master’s degree from the University of Maryland. She works at NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center as a readiness coordinator for a geostationary weather satellite.
She and other scientists collect and interpret the raw data from the satellite to produce high-resolution pictures of the sun, the moon and the earth that can be used in weather mapping and prediction.
“I am really looking forward to seeing the data it gets on the eclipse,” she said.
Herculaneum is one of only three officially NASA-sanctioned viewing sites in Missouri.
More information about eclipse events as well as merchandise are available at www.herculaneumsolareclipse.com or on Facebook at “Total Solar Eclipse 2017 – Herculaneum, Missouri.”
KIMMSWICK
The shops and restaurants in Kimmswick are typically closed on Mondays, but Aug. 21 will be something special.
■ A day-long Solar Eclipse Experience in Kimmswick (SEEK) is being sponsored by Midwest Bank Centre, BTK Construction, the city of Kimmswick and the Kimmswick Merchant’s Association. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the downtown area. All stores and restaurants will be open and a number of special activities are planned.
“Open on a Monday – it’s historic,” said Betteanne Smith, owner of Mississippi Mud Gallery and Gifts and a member of the SEEK organizing team. “It’s never happened that I can remember. And it probably won’t for another 500 years.”
Smith said merchants originally were less than enthused about the prospect of giving up their one day off.
“But now, as it gets closer and the excitement is growing, we are all glad we’re on board with it,” she said. “This is going to be one of those ‘Where were YOU?’ kinds of things.”
■ First stop for visitors should be the SEEK booth at the Apple Butter Pavilion, where visitors are encouraged to sign the guest book that is to be displayed at the Historical Society Museum on Third Street.
■ The Kimmswick Merchants will have plenty of photo ops available while visitors do a “seek-and-find” scavenger hunt throughout the day. Those who complete the challenge will have their names placed in a basket and a random drawing will award the winner a gift basket with lots of goodies.
■ There will be trivia contests throughout the day to test visitors’ knowledge of astronomy, the solar system and more.
■ JC Corcoran, a DJ with radio station KBDZ, will be doing a live remote broadcast throughout the day, playing tunes based around the eclipse theme.
■ Eclipse memorabilia such as T-shirts, posters, solar eclipse glasses, balloons and hand fans will be available for purchase.
■ Parking will be available for $5 per spot at Windsor Elementary, Windsor Intermediate Center, Windsor Middle School and Windsor High School. No transportation will be provided to and from Kimmswick.
■ For the actual eclipse viewing, the Windsor high school stadium and practice fields will be open to the public. Concessions will be offered by the Windsor Booster Club, and eclipse glasses will be available for purchase, with proceeds going to the high school’s Operation Graduation 2018.
There is no tobacco (e-cigarettes included) and no alcohol allowed on campus. Also, there are no pets and no bicycles/strollers allowed on the track or turf.
Those who wish to set up telescopes or other viewing equipment in the parking lots may do so by paying $5 each for as many spots as required.
No overnight parking will be allowed and there is no electricity or other amenities.
There is no RV parking of any kind allowed, and violators will be towed at the owners’ expense. There will be access to restroom facilities at the football field during eclipse viewing.
