Tag: eclipse

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Total Eclipse Wows the Mid-South

Chris McCoy, Colin Britton, and Laura Jean Hocking watch the eclipse at the Atlas Obscura’s Ecliptic Festival in Hot Springs, Arkansas. (Photo courtesy Colin Britton)

Did you see it? The April 8th total eclipse of the sun wowed millions of people from Mexico to Maine. Memphis Flyer reporter Toby Sells was there on the Overton Park Greensward as Memphians took in 97 percent totality. Don’t these people have jobs?

Chris McCoy was watching the cloud forecast until the last minute to try to find the clearest skies. He and his companion made an eclipse-day decision to go to the Atlas Obscura’s Ecliptic Festival in Hot Springs, Arkansas, which Flyer music writer Alex Greene hyped in his eclipse cover story. It turned into an experience so magical not even the West Memphis Mergepocalyse could spoil it.

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At Large Opinion

The Big E

No rapture. No chicken-wing stampede. What was all the hoopla for? (Photo: Bruce VanWyngarden)

You’re reading this, so I guess it’s safe to say you survived Monday’s great solar eclipse. What an extravaganza! I am hard-pressed to remember any news event that generated so much hype, so much blathering punditry, so many hours of television coverage, so much social media content as did the Big E.

There were countless maps (interactive and static) of the eclipse’s path, helpful hints on how to watch it, where to go for the best vistas, where to buy viewing glasses, how to photograph it, where to sleep, where to eat, even how to make a pinhole device from a shoebox. It was the most ballyhooed three-and-a-half minutes since Donald Trump had sex with Stormy Daniels.

The media breathlessly reported about how lodging and food services and gas stations in the path of the darkness all across the country would be overcrowded and overbooked. Scary, scary! Governor Sarah “Colonel” Sanders of Arkansas even declared a three-day state of emergency for her state (three days!), and it had nothing to do with the outfit she was wearing.

And, of course, the eclipse came with a heaping dollop of wasabi-level crazy sauce from the MAGA crowd. Georgia congresswoman and professional troll Marjorie Taylor Greene, who once claimed that Jewish space lasers caused wildfires in California, added a side of supernatural hysteria to her usual wacky brain-salad, posting on X that the earthquake in New Jersey and the then-forthcoming eclipse were messages from God (probably not the Jewish one): “God is sending America strong signs to tell us to repent,” she wrote. “Earthquakes and eclipses and many more things to come. I pray that our country listens.”

Scientists helpfully pointed out that the eclipse was predicted hundreds of years ago, so it probably wasn’t caused by a fabulous gay wedding in Atlanta. Scientists also noted that “earthquakes occur naturally and happen (on average) more than 30 times a day across the world.”

But wait, there’s more nuttery to be had. What major event in the United States would be complete without the paranoid vocal stylings of InfoWars’ Alex Jones, who announced that Monday’s shadowy spectacle was merely a “dress rehearsal” for martial law in the U.S. How? I don’t know. It’s Alex Jones, people. He doesn’t make sense. He makes noise. And lots of money off of morons.

Speaking of which … Let us not forget about the religious weirdos who saw the eclipse as the coming of the Rapture, wherein all true Christians would be whooshed up to Heaven, leaving us heathens to stumble around in the dark and party with Satan, I guess. Some of this silliness was apparently spawned by the fact that there was going to be totality over the town of Rapture, Indiana. Right. It was also dark over Buffalo but nobody was predicting a chicken-wing stampede.

And I do find some irony in the fact that evangelicals have warned us about the coming of the Antichrist for hundreds of years, and then when he finally appears, they rush out to buy a $70 Bible from him. Just sayin’. And speaking of that guy … I’m shocked that the former president didn’t notice that the eclipse just waltzed over the Mexican border into Texas in broad daylight without a bit of interference from Snarky Joe, or whatever Trump’s calling him now. What a scandal!

Honestly, none of this should be a surprise. Eclipses, earthquakes, and other natural phenomena have always sparked religious and conspiratorial theories. And there have always been people who seek to turn such events to their advantage for money or power. The difference now is that those humans are aided by our “LOOK OVER HERE!” media — social and otherwise.

Finally, I have to say, as one who took in our 98-percent Memphis eclipse from my back deck: That thing was way-the-hell overrated. It got a little gloomy for five minutes, but birds kept singing, traffic kept driving, nobody got raptured, and nobody went to Hell (that I’m aware of). Maybe, just maybe, we’ll learn something this time. Maybe we’ll stop and take a beat, possibly even pause and think about how this thing was over-hyped by media sources that use emotion, fear, and sensationalism to gain our eyeballs, no matter the cost to their credibility. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll finally begin to see the light.

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News News Blog News Feature

Bartlett Company Will Protect About 150M Eyeballs on Monday

Credit: American Paper Optics via Facebook

Earthlings will cast their eyes towards the heavens Monday to witness the solar eclipse, and when they do, their eyeballs — about 150 million of them — will be protected with glasses made in Bartlett. 

American Paper Optics (APO) has been working for this moment for years. In the company’s 26-year history, it has produced around 3 billion pairs of 3D glasses. With those and other products (like the eclipse glasses), APO is the largest producer of 3D products in the world. Along the way, it has worked with some of the biggest brands in the country, including Disney, Marvel, Nintendo, Target, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. 

APO has produced around 75 million pairs of eclipse glasses for Monday’s event. Jason Lewin, the company’s Chief Marketing Officer, said the company learned a lot from the 2017 eclipse, for which it made about 45 million pairs of glasses. That event was a “trial by fire,” he said and the company used that event as a blueprint to prepare for Monday’s eclipse.   

Credit: American Paper Optics
Credit: American Paper Optics
Credit: American Paper Optics
Credit: American Paper Optics

“I saw that Indianapolis was in this path of totality,” Lewin said. “So, I reached out to them. I said, ‘You have this amazing racetrack there. What about having a watch party?’ They kind of laughed at me.”

That watch party is now expected to draw about 130,000 people to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The event will feature race cars decked out in eclipse wraps and officials (and astronauts) from the the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Tickets are $20 for adults.

Eclipse fever was rising. So, back in Bartlett, the company needed to build capacity. It powered its sales platform with Shopify to handle volume. It’s also leveraged its proximity to the FedEx hub for faster shipping, helping to fuel sales closer to the event.

The ramp-up also meant hiring more people. Lewin said the company had around 35 full time employees in 2017. That figure is now closer to 85, in order to crank out nearly 500,000 pairs of glasses each day. 

Eclipse-related gains abound for companies in and around the path of totality. The event will spur about $1.6 billion in direct consumer spending, according to The Perryman Group, a Texas-based economic analysis firm. 

If this eclipse feels like a bigger deal than the last one, it is. The Perryman Group said more than 30 million reside in the path of totality, from Eagle Pass, Texas, to Houlton, Maine. And that’s the secret sauce.

”From small towns to large population centers, the numbers of visitors are projected to be unusually large,” reads a brief from the company. “These travelers will spend money locally for accommodations, meals, gasoline, and retail items. The result will be a substantial economic stimulus.” 

For AOP, the eclipse has meant a higher profile. Company officials have been seen on major television networks on shows like Made In America with David Muir, CBS Saturday Morning, and more. AOP will also be featured in a 2025 documentary called “Totality.”

The company made friends along the way, too, like NASA and Bill Nye. Lewin said his favorite  partnership has been with St. Jude. The company donated half the sales of certain products to the hospital and had a patient design a special set of glasses for them.      

For Lewin, being a part of this event has a deeper meaning beyond any sales figures. “We’re kind of living in a time where things are a bit separated,” he said. “So, this is kind of one of those bipartisan moments where it’s like, all right, we get to do this thing all together, work for the same thing. It’s not two groups against each other. Everybody is kind of like kumbaya for the moment, where we get to see this one thing all together.”

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We Recommend We Recommend

On the Fly: Week of 4/5/24

Streeeeeetch at Delta Groove Yoga Festival this weekend. (Photo: Courtesy Delta Groove Yoga)

Memphis Tattoo Festival
Renasant Convention Center
Friday-Sunday, April 5-7
Some tattoos aren’t meant to be seen, but at the Memphis Tattoo Festival you’re gonna see them all, whether you like it or not. The three-day tattoo extravaganza will have live tattooing from over 200 of the world’s best artists, plus merchandise, tattoo contests, and art-making.  Many artists will book the festival in advance, but there will be opportunities each day to find artists that are taking walk up tattoos on a first come first serve basis. You must be 18+ to get tatted. Tickets are $55 for the weekend, and $25 for the day.
If you like tattoos, check out U of M’s Tattoos Today: A Body Art Expo on Monday, April 8, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. It’s going to be a showcase and competition celebrating tattoos as artistic expression. Free to attend!

Grind City Music Festival
Grind City Brewing Co.
Friday-Saturday, April 5-6
Are you a little bit country? A little bit rock-and-roll? Well, this two-day festival of Americana, alternative country, and rock-and-roll music is just for you. The lineup on Friday is: Young Mister (3 p.m.), Drayton Farley (4 p.m.), Daniel Danto’s Cosmic Country (5 p.m.), Muscadine Bloodline (7:30 p.m.), and Charley Crockett (9 p.m.). Saturday: Raneem Imam (2 p.m.), Lucky 7 Brass Band & Friends (2:30 p.m.), Blackillac (3:50 p.m.), Ole 60 (5 p.m.), Nikki Lane (6:15 p.m.), The Red Clay Strays (7:30 p.m.), and Whiskey Myers (9 p.m.) Doors open at 2 p.m. on Friday and 1 p.m. and Saturday. Single-day tickets are $69 (yeah, they are), and weekend passes are sold out, sucka. VIP passes are $249, though. Get your tix here. 

Central to the Arts Festival
University of Memphis
Saturday, April 6, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
For this artsy fest, University of Memphis campus along Central Avenue will be filled with live performances, film showings, installations, fashion shows, and interactive arts booths. Here’s a full schedule of all that’s going on. Oh, and it’s free to attend.

Delta Groove Yoga Festival
Overton Square
Saturday, April 6, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
It’s not that big of a stretch to say that this festival is for posers — yoga posers, of course. The day will feature lots of — you guessed it —  yoga, with live music. On the schedule are slow flow yoga with multi-instrumentalist Sean Murphy, kundalini yoga with guitar, yin yoga with cello, and yoga nidra with a sound bath. You can get a full-day pass for $33 or drop-in for a class for $11. Tickets and full schedule can be found here.

Bookstock
Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library
Saturday, April 6, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
This fest is one for the books. Literally. Bookstock is the largest annual local authors festival in Memphis. Expect 60+ local author exhibits, cultural performances, book giveaways, keynote speakers (this year’s are Avery Cunningham and Sidney Thompson), lots for the kids to do, and so much more. Find a full schedule of events here.

Love Food Hate Waste
Memphis Made Brewing Company
Saturday, April 6, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Project Green Fork presents this free, family-friendly event featuring live chef demos, food-saving tips, games, prizes, and complimentary specialty beer.

Total Eclipse of the Heart
Monday brings a friggin’ eclipse. An eclipse! Well, kinda. Here in Memphis We’re only getting a partial view, but still it’s a big deal. Big enough that everyone and their grandma has an event scheduled. Memphis will experience the eclipse at 98 percent totality at approximately 1:56 p.m. But don’t let it eclipse your workday. I’m sure that’s what the ol’ boss’ll be saying when everyone’s gone for a few hours to go look at the sky. (Oh, and have you checked out our cover story from last week on this very eclipse????) 

  • Eclipse Preview Weekend: MoSH is here to teach you the science-y stuff behind the eclipse with a cool eclipse simulation in the planetarium plus some cool activities like making an eclipse viewer from a cereal box. Museum of Science & History, Saturday-Sunday, April 6-7, during, like, opening hours obv
  • Total Eclipse of the Park (Partial Eclipse Edition): Watch the celestial spectacle from the Greensward with free eclipse viewing glasses. Lunch options from Feast and Graze will be available for purchase. Register here. Overton Park, Monday, April 8, 12:30-3 p.m.
  • Solar Eclipse Rooftop Viewing Party: Get an eclipse-themed drink, music, and exclusive views. Beck & Call, Monday, April 8, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m., $23.18
  • Solar Eclipse Drop-In Activity: Join Memphis Botanic Garden for an eclipse viewing on the lawn. Children can plant a moonflower or sunflower to take home. No registration is necessary. Eclipse glasses will be available for purchase. Free with garden admission. Memphis Botanic Garden, Monday, April 8, 1 p.m.
  • Solar Eclipse Preparty Moonpie & Beer Pairing: Three different flavors of moonpies paired with three beers and a pair of solar eclipse viewing glasses. Proceeds benefit The Dream Factory of Memphis. Meddlesome Brewing Company, Sunday, April 7, noon, $15
  • Solar Eclipse Viewing on the Mounds: Join a T.O. Fuller Park Ranger for a walk to the Chucalissa mounds to view the eclipse. Bring a lunch if you’d like and a blanket or chair and water. Solar eclipse glasses will be provided. Reserve your spot soon, there are only 10 spots available. T.O. Fuller State Park, Monday, April 8, 12:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m., $5
  • Pro Tip: You can get solar eclipse glasses for FREE at your local library branch. So far, they’re out of stock at Cordova, East Shelby Library, Frayser Library, and Raleigh Library. 

Resident Artists Open Studios
Crosstown Arts
Tuesday, April 9, 6-8 p.m.
Visit Crosstown Arts’ resident artists’ studios during the Open Studios night. Residency alumnus Nelson Gutierrez will present his installation A Journey into the Shadows spanning from the second-floor balcony to Crosstown Theater.⁠

MAS Kitten Shower
Memphis Animal Services
Thursday, April 11, 5:30-7 p.m.
Embrace your inner cat lady already and join MAS for the annual Kitten Shower to celebrate the start of kitten season with food, games, prizes, and fun. Consider making a donation. MAS is registered on Amazon. You can also buy many of these products locally and drop them off or have them delivered to MAS at 2350 Appling City Cove. 

There’s always something happening in Memphis. See a full calendar of events here.

Submit events here or by emailing calendar@memphisflyer.com.

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News

Lunar Eclipse to Occur Early Tuesday

If you’re itching to see an eclipse of the moon, you’re in luck. That is, if you’re willing to get up in the middle of the night.

The accompanying chart explains the time frame for the event. Suffice to say, you’ll either have to stay up late or get up early to see it.

You can go to this NASA website for more info.