Across Fort Worth, the sky darkened and the air cooled while the moon overtook the sun at around 1:41 p.m.
Crowds of young and old cheered, awestruck as they witnessed the once-in-a-lifetime event.Fort Worth Report journalists joined watch parties throughout the city to see how people celebrated ahead of the eclipse. Read on to learn more about their experiences.
Botanic Garden hosts travelers from across the U.S.
Thousands of people gathered in the Fort Worth Botanic Garden to turn their eyes skyward April 8. Fort Worth residents and out-of-staters mingled on the garden’s lawn, laid out on picnic blankets or traipsed about the area as they waited for totality.
Dominic and Dawn Chemello drove 18 hours from Prescott, Arizona, to see the eclipse. Dominic said it was a bit of a last-minute decision; the couple made up their minds Sunday morning. After the long drive, they got about three hours of sleep before heading out to the garden.
“Sometimes life gives you opportunities to be spontaneous,” Dawn Chemello said.
Both Dominic and Dawn are 81 years old; Dominic said this is likely the last eclipse they will see in their lifetime. For him, the long drive was more than worth it when totality hit.
“I got chills,” Dominic said. “Just chills up and down my spine.”
Enrica Zaidman, 64, saw her first eclipse in Missouri in 2017. The Eagan, Minnesota, resident started planning her trip to Fort Worth that same year.
“This is going to be my last one,” she said.
Zaidman and her husband got into town on Saturday and quickly got acquainted with the city.
“Yesterday, we went to the Stockyards. We’re trying to catch all the basketball games,” she said. “We’re going to see some museums, and we gotta go to the ballgame tomorrow night.”
She didn’t come empty-handed; Zaidman brought along a Sony a6000 camera with a 300-millimeter lens and an eclipse filter that she set up on a tripod facing the sky.
“Last time, we used a filter that I had to put on with a rubber band,” she said. “And I was fiddling with that the whole time. So, we’ll see. I’m not going to get quality eclipse photos, but they’re just our remembrances.”
While most eyes (and lenses) were turned to the sky Monday afternoon, blind and visually impaired people had the opportunity to experience the phenomenon auditorily. The Lighthouse for the Blind of Fort Worth used technology from Harvard University that created unique sounds for each portion of the eclipse, based on how much sunlight was visible.
Lea Rowe, head of client services for Lighthouse, said the technology ensures everyone in the community can participate.
“When it’s bright and sunny as it is right now, we have a high flute sound coming out of the device, and, as it starts to cast its shadow, it translates into more of a deep clarinet sound,” she said. “And as the sun is fully blocked, in complete darkness, it will turn into a clicking sound, kind of like crickets.”
In addition to the sound technology, Lighthouse also offered tactile illustrations of the eclipse phases, labeled in Braille, and tactile coloring pages for visually impaired children.
“Our biggest takeaway is that with minor accessibility accommodations, everyone can be included, and that’s what we’re really all about — making sure everyone is included,” Rowe said.
People weren’t the only organisms taking in the eclipse at the garden. Some researchers from the Fort Worth Botanic Garden watched as goats — which are in the garden to clear out invasive weeds — laid down in the darkness, while others kept an eye on the reaction of light-sensitive plants like calatheas and oxalis.
Ashley Bales, the herbarium collections manager for the garden, said the eclipse offered an easy way for people to get involved with science. Bales and her team set up a booth where they monitored changes to temperature and cloud cover as part of a community science project. They also recorded the sounds of the eclipse as part of NASA’s Eclipse Soundscapes project.
“I love the ease of being able to contribute to community science,” Bales said. “You don’t need any expensive equipment. You don’t have to know all the intricacies about the eclipse. You’re just contributing your observations.”
Eclipse-goers at Tandy Hills sought ‘grounding’ ahead of the totality
Tandy Hills Natural Area in east Fort Worth is known for its rolling hills and unobstructed views of downtown Fort Worth. On Monday, hundreds of visitors looked away from the view to the sky.
While a DJ played energizing dance tracks, an ever-growing group of eastside residents and nature lovers staked out areas to lounge on the prairie. It was the first event hosted by the nonprofit Boogie Brothers Inc. to benefit Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area, which helps maintain the trails.
“We really just wanted to raise awareness of a beautiful park, raise a little money for our friends at Tandy Hills and keep the park going,” said Erik Martin, co-founder of Boogie Brothers.
Jill Patterson, who attended the event with her husband on their anniversary, said the celestial event exceeded her expectations.
“My mom joked that my husband moved the sun and moon for our anniversary,” Patterson said. “It was so awesome. You read what it’s supposed to be like, and then it happens. It made me tear up.”
The event may have made eclipse chasers, or umbraphiles, of Patterson’s family, who are now considering a trip to Spain in two years to witness the next total eclipse.
“We have to take the kids!” Patterson said.
Several eclipse-viewers at Tandy Hills emphasized the spiritual impact of viewing the eclipse.
Over ambient music, Daisy Pardo, founder of collaborative dance team DaisysOneWorld, urged attendees to feel the “vibrations of the shadow over us.”
“Thank the celestial bodies for all they are giving us. Feel the ground below your feet and understand that we are all stars,” Pardo instructed the crowd.
Cindy Kostecki led a small group through a yoga class ahead of the total eclipse. She encouraged attendees to ground and center themselves amid a huge event like an eclipse.
“The spirit here is beautiful,” Kosteki said. “I wish we could come out to the park like this every week. It’s great to see everyone here on a Monday afternoon.”
The eclipse prompted a powerful emotional response from several eclipse viewers, including Shanette Mesa, who said she felt chills when the sky dipped into darkness.
“I’ve lost a lot of people who should have been here to witness this,” Mesa said.
Both Haley Varnadoe and Marina Luna said the eclipse was more amazing than they anticipated. Varnadoe described the sudden darkness as “creepy, in a fun way.”
Older adults feel the total eclipse in their hearts
Trinity Terrace resident Steve Mercer remembers witnessing his first partial solar eclipse in the mid-1960s.
In those days, Mercer said, it was more common for people to look at an eclipse through a pinhole projector, which is a device made of a cardboard box with a small pinhole on one side that allows sunlight to pass through and project an image onto the surface of the box.
“Nobody had glasses back then. We all just went outside with some index cards,” he said.
He continued using the pinhole projector for several other partial solar eclipses over the years, until April 8, which marked the first time Mercer looked up at the sky, with proper protection, to witness a total solar eclipse.
“This is the first total one I have had to witness, so it’s exciting,” said Mercer. “Plus, I didn’t have to go far.”
Mercer wasn’t the only one witnessing a total eclipse for the first time. Several other residents of Trinity Terrace gathered outside the senior living facility.
Willene Corder, who has lived at Trinity Terrace for seven months, said she has been looking forward to the eclipse as an opportunity to gather with neighbors.
“You don’t want to just sit in your room and do nothing. This is an excuse to go out and party,” she said.
The Trinity Terrace staff provided residents with SunChips and MoonPies to match the occasion, said Leon Rivera III, executive chef at Trinity Terrace.
“It’s a bit funny, because there’s no such thing as eclipse food, so we found some fun items that had cool names that we could use to keep it simple,” he said.
Moments before totality arrived, Trinity Terrace residents put on their solar eclipse glasses and looked up at the sky in unison.
“Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Bonnie Tyler blasted through the terrace speakers.The clock hit 1:41 p.m. and a thunder of claps and screams erupted throughout the terrace as the sky went dark. Not a single person lowered their heads for those next two minutes.
When a small crack of sun crept back from behind the moon, the residents let out one last collective cheer.
Mercer packed up his belongings and began making his way back inside his apartment. He felt grateful to be able to witness the “spectacular” moment.
Emily Wolf is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at emily.wolf@fortworthreport.org or @_wolfemily.
David Moreno is the health reporter for the Fort Worth Report. His position is supported by a grant from Texas Health Resources. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or @davidmreports on X.
Rachel Behrndt is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at rachel.behrndt@fortworthreport.org or via X.
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