Searcy eclipse impact meeting: Missouri town that embraced 2017 eclipse 'in the path of hospitality'

“They are one of the very few communities that get that experience,” Searcy Eclipse Coordinator Jenna Friday said of being in the both paths of totality . “Perryville turned 2 minutes and 40 seconds of totality into a four-day weekend of science-themed events for both residents and eclipse visitors alike. They hosted Solar Fest, a 5K Glow Run, a mobile planetarium, the Mud Festival and a Chalk Art Festival, among other activities.”

More than 31,000 pairs of eclipse glasses were sold or distributed through the tourism office, and four public viewing areas were created and promoted by Perryville for its eclipse day. There were more than 147 airplanes that touched down at Perryville Regional Airports and visitors from 38 states and 17 countries were represented in Perry County, Erzfeld said. Many of these visitors are reportedly planning to return this year to Perryville, which is about 80 miles south of St. Louis and has a population of 8,555. (Perry County has a population of 18,956.)

“I am so excited for both Searcy and Perryville,” Erzfeld said. “They’re both very lucky to be in the 2024 path of totality.”

She said she has been talking to communities as small as 3,000 and as big as 1.5 million since 2017, and “it’s always the same. It’s ‘how do we engage our communities?’”

Erzfeld said while a comparison was made at the public meeting to the Kentucky Derby, she was leaning toward more of the “Super Bowl realm.” She then asked the members of the crowd how they would position themselves, their organization or business “if someone told you that the Super Bowl was coming to Searcy?”

She said Perry County in 2017 documented more than 17,800 visitors who came to the community. “So we did double our population. We were estimating to double, if not triple, our population ... It wasn’t so much about how many people, it was astounding where they were coming from. When people from Hawaii, Portugal, the Bahamas and New York ... they typically do not come to Perryville, Mo., for their vacation.”

She said as far as planning activities, communities should do what their community members enjoy: “washer tournaments or rodeos, monster truck shows, then do what your community loves to do.”

According to Erzfeld, those coming in for the eclipse want an authentic experience. “We want them to remember their memories from Searcy. We want them to remember the beautiful scenery, the quaint shops.

“The eclipse is like a steroid shot for economic development.”

She said a real estate company sponsored her town’s mobile planetarium. The Optimist Club organized the 5K Glow Walk and put the money it raised back into helping kids in the community. Downtown “was flooded with people,” Erzfeld said.

A science-themed Chalk Festival was sponsored by an art organization that not only brought attention to that group but also showcased art in the town. At a Mud Festival, “we taught people of all ages how to keep the planet clean, while they had fun getting dirty,” she said. Some of the messages were as simple as picking up trash. Organizations manned stands of all kinds during the festival.

An insurance agency was able to apply for a grant to obtain two telescopes for the library along with some science books. “Now we can promote space and science even after the eclipse,” Erzfeld said, adding that the telescopes continue to be checked out for viewing and the insurance company “slapped on their logo and information” so every time one is checked out there’s a reminder of who donated them.

“The post office had stamps to promote the postmark to promote our community,” she said. “We had a local florist who had eclipse-themed flowers.” She added that some of the flowers were called “Night Sky.”

Restaurants had special dishes named after the eclipse. She told the crowd they did not have to create anything new, to just give menu items a special name.

The gas stations “are our front lines to our visitors, welcome centers.” She encouraged gas stations to have enough gasoline to service everyone on eclipse weekend and have extra drinks and snacks. Maps with information about the eclipse public viewing spots should be readily available.

She said even if a business is closed during eclipse time, maybe it could make its parking lot available for a public viewing site or call it a “great night sky viewing opportunity as well.”

“It was the first time in our airport history that we had to know exactly how many planes we could park,” Erzfeld said. “Our airport runway is 7,003 feet long so it is the longest runway between St. Louis and Memphis. We do not have a tower. Our airport was considered a flyover airport before 2017. We really wanted to promote our airport as a place you could get fuel. We wanted you to know about the amenities we had here, the services that we had here.

“It wasn’t an instant economic impact but a gradual and lasting one as our airport right now is as active as it has ever been in its history.”

The city also commemorated the 2017 eclipse with a sun bell that was placed on the courthouse lawn and plan to put a plaque on the bell to commemorate the 2024 eclipse. A giant pair of eclipse glasses also are on display at the Perry Park Center’s main park. “They do work and after the eclipse, they are going to become a permanent part of our sculpture exhibit that we have here in Perryville,” she said.

Erzfeld said visitors to Perryville made their satisfaction known to the city for its hospitality in 2017. They loved the “small-town atmosphere,” she said, with a chief executive officer from Chicago even commenting on “being in the path of hospitality while in totality.”