Every 18 months a total solar eclipse graces our sky, casting complete darkness over Earth.
When the next solar eclipse occurs on April 8, 2024, Texas will find itself directly in its path as it transits continental North America.
In Dallas, the eclipse will start at 12:23 p.m., reach its height at 1:42 p.m., and end at 3:02 p.m., according to NASA.
Yet for those looking for a once-in-a-lifetime experience in Texas, the 2024 Texas Eclipse Festival is set to take place at Reveille Peak Ranch in Burnet from April 5 to 9 in honor of this cosmic spectacle.
In an interview with Texas Standard, the festival’s co-founder Mitch Morales said that the event will see transformative festival culture paired with space and technology.
“There will be programming, music, art, and a lot of different activations and installations throughout the weekend,” Morales explained.
The festival was fashioned to be a holistic experience where guests can settle on-site, explore the venue, and relish the anticipation of the eclipse.
“If we could capture a cultural phenomenon like Woodstock, I think we’d be very happy,” Morales told Texas Standard.
Yet it also will have a distinctive Texas flair, made possible most of all through its location at a ranch southwest of Austin.
Reveille Peak Ranch boasts 1,300 acres of outdoor adventure, with activities like hiking, horseback riding, and mountain biking, plus a 20-acre lake for water sports.
“You’ll be able to experience I think a 200-to-300-foot elevation change depending on where you are,” Morales told Texas Standard.
He also expects the weather in April to be favorable to eclipse-watching, with clear skies and low rain chances predicted.
While the festival’s lineup includes some of Austin’s best food and music, it isn’t solely a local affair.
Organizers from 13 countries, including Australia, Japan, Europe, South Africa, and Central America, will contribute their unique experiential events, blending international flavors into this grand Texan celebration.
Morales said that this international character will “just increase that magic on site.”
He also noted that eclipses have a unique ability to inspire and unite people.
“I think it’s a very spiritual event for a lot of people and especially a lot of cultures from around the world. And we definitely want to be respectful of that,” he told Texas Standard.
Noting that Reveille Peak Ranch has been operating since the 1800s, he added that the festival provided “a really exciting opportunity to kind of blend that history with kind of the city of the future in Austin.”
Another solar eclipse will be visible in Texas this October, as previously reported in The Dallas Express. Although there is no guarantee that the weather conditions will be favorable for viewing the event, it will appear at 11:56 a.m. on October 14.
