An estimated 1,500-plus people from near and far flocked to Town Field Monday afternoon to join others across North and Central America in experiencing the total solar eclipse.
“We’ve been waiting for this since we heard about it a year ago,” said Gina King of Concord. “I think it’s incredible.”
Her husband, Greg, said they were originally planning to drive north to get closer to the path of totality, but the recent birth of their grandchild changed those plans. Their in-laws, Gloria and Jesus Gonzalez of Spain, joined the Kings at Town Field.
Navy veteran Bill Magsam of Belmont gets some sun while looking at the eclipse. (Bruce Coulter/Belmont Voice) 
Paula Antipas left, and Carole Williams signed a banner commemorating the 2024 solar eclipse. (Bruce Coulter/Belmont Voice) 
A line formed early at Town Field for Belmont’s eclipse party. (Bruce Coulter/Belmont Voice) 
Families enjoyed the game activities donated by Lynn Findlay Real Estate in Belmont. (Bruce Coulter/Belmont Voice) 
From left to right, Bridget Hoarty, Janina Majeran and Deborah Borsuk, set up a table for the Belmont Public Library. (Bruce Coulter/Belmont Voice) 
As the peak of the eclipse drew closer, people started looking up for a seldom-seen view: a solar eclipse. (Bruce Coulter/Belmont Voice) 
Sajith and Callum Sajith Wimalaratne waited anxiously for the eclipse to reach its peak at Town Field on Monday, April 8. (Bruce Coulter/Belmont Voice) 
Volunteers at the Belmont eclipse party pass out eclipse glasses. (Bruce Coulter/Belmont Voice) 
Drone photos of Town Field during the eclipse party.
Births, eclipses– both miracles in their own right, Gina said.
“It really is amazing,” she said.
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and Earth, completely blocking the sun from view and casting a shadow onto our planet. Those in the path of totality see skies darken as the moon obscures the sun. The sun’s corona becomes visible as a ring of fire encircling the moon.
The April 8 eclipse traveled over Mexico, the United States, and Canada. All told it transversed 13 states from Texas to Maine, with northern New England offering prime totality and Vermont and New Hampshire getting the best views. In Belmont, the eclipse began at around 2:20 p.m., with its peak, or 93% totality, happening at around 3:30. For a brief period, noticeable darkness enveloped the area as the moon nearly eclipsed the sun from view.
The next visible eclipse in the contiguous United States will be Aug. 23, 2044. New England will not be in its path of totality, making for an element of rarity that drew crowds of people not just from Belmont, but the surrounding communities. Recreation Director Brandon Fitts said at least 1,500 people were at Town Field to witness the celestial event. He said 550 pairs of solar glasses were gone within an hour, with only one pair allowed per household.
“This is going to be the only one in my lifetime,” said Belmont resident Jill Tapper. “It’s also just a really nice community event after years of bad news.”
Her friend, Belmont resident Charlotte Millman, who fashioned two pieces of stock paper into a device for capturing the eclipse’s reflection, agreed. Even though she knew there were eclipse-related events at Fresh Pond in Cambridge, she wanted to enjoy the event with her community in Belmont.
“I thought it would be better if there were other people around,” Millman said. “It’s a good piece of news; it’s intergenerational. Every generation can find something interesting about this.”
And she wasn’t wrong — the event drew people of all ages. Izzy, Kelly Baker’s 6-year-old daughter, said it looked like the moon was taking “a bite” out of the sun. Gazing up at the sky with her solar glasses, Izzy said it wasn’t what she expected.
“I picked her up from school early so we could come here today,” Kelly said.
Another kid, Emmy McCrory, eagerly described the phenomenon as “beautiful.”
Thomas Varnish, a Ph.D. candidate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has an obvious interest in the eclipse—his area of study includes astrophysics—but the community element also interests him.
“Everyone is gathering for this astrophysics event,” he said.
Teddi Shapiro, also a Cambridge resident, echoed a similar sentiment.
“I have not seen this much of a solar eclipse before,” she said. “It felt like this might be the closest we’ll get, and I definitely wanted to experience it for myself. It feels like a community because everyone is experiencing [the eclipse] together.”
Fitts, who organized the event in collaboration with the Belmont Public Library —– which purchased the glasses for Monday’s event –— said while he’d seen the solar eclipse in Maine in 2017, it was “nothing like this.”
“There are so few opportunities to bring the community together,” he said, acknowledging the collaboration that made Monday’s gathering possible. “It really was a team effort.”
Deborah Borsuk, coordinator of children’s services at the library, oversaw a table of arts and crafts for children at the event. Some drew pictures of night skies, and others drew pictures of how they imagined the eclipse.
“We’re taking the opportunity to experience it together,” she said. “Hopefully, this will be a day they remember.”
