Mon 4/8 @ 3:13PM
If you don’t know that there’s an eclipse Monday April 8, and that Cleveland is in the path of totality – total darkness for more than three minutes around 3:15pm – where’ve you been? It seems like every organization, park district, bar and business is having an eclipse watch party with special events and activities to sweeten the pot, since you could really just stay home and watch from your yard or the front of your building and avoid the traffic and crowds said to be coming in from across the region. But if you want to go out and watch with a crow, you don’t have to look far – there are probably hundreds of events. Here are some of the cooler ones we found. Some are free; some require tickets and offer special benefits, including awful meal.
Head down to Wade Oval and join what’s sure to be a mob for Total on the Oval from 10am-4:30pm where the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and other University Circle institutions will be providing family-friendly activities including live music, food trucks, an appearance by NASA astronaut Mike Foreman and more from 10am-2pm inside CMNH and outside after 2. Bring your chairs and blankets. Outside activities are free.
A watch party will also be taking place at the Baseball Heritage Museum at League Park in Hough. “Grab your eclipse glasses, settle into the historic bleachers and enjoy a home run of astronomical proportions while surrounded by the rich legacy of the game,” they tease. It’s free but please register here.
Area clubs are getting into the act too, with the BOP STOP hosting a watch party at 1:30 with jazz/rock/R&B fusion band JT’s Electrik Blackout playing a set as the eclipse is projected, before the action moves outside to the patio as the eclipse reaches totality. Get tickets here.
For those who want to celebrate the eclipse in style, the Music Box is hosting big bash with doors opening at noon and live music by The Sunrise Jones before and after the eclipse which you can watch from the boardwalk along the river outside the club. And while tickets are pricy, they include an all-you-can-eat buffet, an open bar with themed cocktails and free eclipse glasses. Get tickets here.
The Rock Hall is inviting people to view the eclipse on its plaza – ticket required – to a soundtrack of rock & roll. You can also purchase rock & roll-branded eclipse glasses in its store.
If you’re in the eastern suburbs, from 12:30-4pm Ursuline College is inviting people to bring a chair or blanket and watch on the college’s front lawn on Lander Road. They’ll have food available, a DJ, games, a tie-dye station and – the kids will definitely nag you to go to this one – face painting! And there’ll be free commemorative magnets while supplies last. Dogs on leashes are welcome too.
Edwins Too at Shaker Square will be holding an outdoor eclipse lunch from 2-4pm, with a three-course meal served – apparently outside on Shaker Square. Book a reservation here.
Farther afield, Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens in Akron is hosting an event from 1-5pm to watch the eclipse in its Great Meadow. There’ll be education activities and Molly’s will be open for shopping and food. It’s a ticketed event and advance reservations are required.
On Monday April 8, the Akron Art Museum will be (atypically) open from 11am-5pm for “The Sun, the Moon and the Art.” There’ll be live music, pop-up activities and the Pneuhaus Compound Camera set up in the Bud and Susie Rogers Garden – an immersive dome with 109 pinhole cameras projecting the surrounding environment. Refreshments, including eclipse-themed drinks, will be available for purchase. They’re expecting high demand so reserve your spot here.
Yet another Akron event takes place at Jilly’s Music Room from 1-6pm. Mr. Jeff and Umojah Nation will be providing live music, there’ll be children’s programming, outdoor food stations and a kid-friendly menu, as well as eclipse-themed cocktails.
The Geauga County Park District and the Great Geauga County Fair are inviting folks to hang out at the sprawling fairground with lots of activities and free eclipse glasses while supplies last. There’ll be food trucks or you can bring a picnic; crash on the bleacher seats or bring a folding camp chair. Parking lots open at 10:30am. It’s free.
And if you’re out west, say, around Huron, stop out at Farmer Jones Market with your blanket or lawn chairs from noon-4pm and breathe in the freshness of the spring fields. There’ll be food trucks and wines, eclipse activity kits and face painting for the kids, and the NASA webcast of the eclipse to watch as you shop at the market which of course you will do – the lure of its distinctive array of fresh produce and special artisan food products will be too strong to resist. No reservation is needed.