by On April 8, 2024, a range of cities from Texas through Ohio and up to Maine will be directly in the path to experience a total solar eclipse. But instead of one day in the historic minutes and the dark sky, one festival will be held for many days in Central Texas.
What is organized by calling “heavenly creation,” the Texas Eclipse Festival at Reveille Peak Ranch in Burnet will be a total experience where you will not only view the total solar eclipse in the path of totality but also gain access to a series of events featuring live music, impactful speakers, and exhibits unlike any other that you saw. before.
“It has been compared to Burning Man and Coachella, but also to aspects of SXSW and the TED conference, as well as the amazing collaborators we work with from around the world who have produced similar events as well as Oregon’s Eclipse Festival ,” said Ari Eisenstat, Space Program Director for the Texas Eclipse Fest. “What’s unique about this festival is the combination of music, art, technology and space.”
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Let’s dig a little deeper into what else makes this unique, because it’s surprising that a little bit of everything for every age can fit the experience in so many different ways. Initially, this festival was a team effort including collaborators from 12 different festivals around the world.
There will be seven different music stages as well as seven speaker stages, a children’s area, lots of dancing, yoga classes, an outdoor spa, educational workshops, new age technology and art exhibitions and a long list of events that are part of the space. program. In fact, you can enjoy being whisked away into the sky by the ‘Sounds of Space’ with Starfish Shot Test Game and also learn what it’s like to be in space from those who have been there.
“I’m working on music as a way to casually inspire people to take an interest in science and technology. Maybe finding out that a musician went to space opens a thread of inquiry that leads to new discoveries,” Chris Boshuizen, Blue also said the origin commercial astronaut known as the music artist “Dr. Chrispy.” “We have a great line-up of speakers and I’m excited to share news from science and space exploration with a huge audience.”
Do you remember the books we read as children where you could choose where you wanted the story to go? This will be similar to how you get to build your own festival program. Although this one, there are many more options and twists and turns you can go along with during the trip.
“Definitely choose your own adventure experience,” said Eisenstat. “So you have to be intentional about where you want to be and what you want to see. Unfortunately it’s going to be impossible to see everything, but really everyone has something to see.”
The Basics
As many options as there are for what to do, you can also choose how much of the festival you want to be a part of and if you want to camp, “glamp,” or stay in a hotel for the event. The nice thing is that the festival coordinators put together a place online to take care of everything you need to plan for this event.
Starting with admission, you have to participate buy festival tickets for at least two days. As with any festival, there is a general admission ticket or you can go in for VIP entry which includes extra perks such as private restrooms and food/beverage vendors and special viewing areas near the stages.
While there will be shuttles to/from multiple venues or parking passes if you’re local, there are additional options to make it more of a one stop shop when you can camp out or glamp in or go for a hotel package that includes your tickets as well. But let’s take a second to talk about camping even for those who despair at the idea of staying in a tent – there are so many different options available including staying in a tent, RV, car or for those like myself, several ways to glamp.
The Lineup
Back to the mention of how you can “choose your own adventure,” you can literally make your own list of things that are important to you to participate in or experience. Organized proven page with the lineup includes many featured sessions, demonstrations, and activities as well as bios for hundreds of hosts, speakers, performers divided into 17 categories: AI, art, consciousness, environment, experiential, health, immersive experience, mindfulness, movement , music, performance, science, space, technology web3, fitness, and yoga.
“I’m excited to discuss how our vast cosmos has been a source of deep inspiration for humanity throughout history,” said Roberto Carlino, a NASA Engineer who will be participating in the event. “In addition, I will talk about the importance of exciting space missions, like the ones I am actively involved in at NASA, including Astrobee and ACS3, and their role in reshaping the future of space exploration. “
The festival will begin on April 5 hosting a “Yuri’s Night” event celebrating Yuri Gagarin becoming the first person in space on April 12, 1961 and the launch of the first space shuttle twenty years later in 1981. Astronauts from both government and commercial missions including NASA, dearMoon, SpaceX, and Blue Origin. present and share their different perspectives of going to and being in the space.
“The festival is of particular interest to me, not only because it marks my first ever observation of the eclipse but also because of the exceptional community it attracts,” Yemi AD, a team member for the space mission, was delighted. dearMoon will speak at and attend the event. “I have this funny feeling that it will be like meeting my tribe – people who don’t just dream about the stars but actually reach for them.”
And that’s just the first night — the following days will include more discussions, presentations, music, art and other special features. There will be art on display as well as interactive for all ages to enjoy and experience.
“We’re also so excited to collaborate with Blackrock Observatory and the World Light Foundation on their dream scope project to bring people day and night observations through incredibly exciting telescopes, as well with different types of rocket launch virtual reality experiences,” Eisenstat. said. “One of our partners, Space Perspective, will be providing the sunglasses as well as some really cool virtual reality experiences about being on a capsule and seeing Earth from space.”
The Eclipse
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The last time the Texas Hill Country was in the path of totality was not in our lifetime, on May 26, 1397, and it won’t happen again until the expiration date of February 25, 2343. So for Texans who want to experience to experience this rare phenomenon, festival goers will only have a magical moment to put on their protective goggles and capture what could be a once-in-a-lifetime moment for many.
“I tell people that the difference between 99% and 100% is literally night and day. When it goes into that total, it’s really incredible,” said Eisenstat, recalling his experience from 2017. ” There’s no other natural experience like it to be able to. see the stars during the day, see this sunset ring across the sky. It’s really coming to that understanding of what these celestial objects do really and how we relate to them.”
