Thousands flock to Sikeston for ‘Total Eclipse of the Park’

SIKESTON — An estimated 5,000 people gathered Monday, April 8 at the Sikeston Recreation Complex to view the Total Solar Eclipse.

People from various states and countries traveled to Sikeston to witness the eclipse during the Sikeston Convention and Visitors Bureau’s “Total Eclipse of the Park.” They gathered at the complex for picnics, telescope viewings, food trucks, fishing, mini golf and other activities.

A family from Memphis, Tennessee, visited Sikeston during the eclipse and said they chose to travel to Sikeston for the path of totality because of Lambert’s Cafe. 

“We love Lambert’s, and it’s the closest place to travel for us,” said Judy Kovach. “And at our age, we might not see the next one so we thought we might as well travel to Sikeston.”  

Ellis Barrett of Tennessee expressed his excitement to visit the popular restaurant as well. 

“We got to Lambert’s this morning an hour before they opened so we could get lunch,” Barrett said.

Kovach and Barrett both said they were excited to watch the eclipse as retirees and planned to return home after the event. 

Jim and Tammy Sullivan of Asheville, North Carolina, said they saw the eclipse in 2017 and wanted to travel to see the 2024 eclipse. 

“We saw the eclipse in 2017 and we just thought it was spectacular,” Jim Sullivan said. “We drove just a short distance that time for totality and it was an awesome experience so we wanted to do that again.”

According to Sullivan, he and his wife were just watching the weather and had planned to go to San Antonio, Texas, but the forecast turned out to be not so good, so they decided to come to Sikeston.

“It was about an eight-hour drive to here and we had already taken off work so we just decide to travel to Missouri,”  Sullivan said. 

Jack Wright and his son, Teddy Wright, of Rochester, Minnesota, were traveling to Missouri to see family in St. Louis when they decided to stop in Sikeston for the eclipse.

Teddy Wright said he had a great time playing mini golf at in the complex. 

“None of us have ever seen an eclipse before, so we are all pretty excited,” Wright said. 

One man from Illinois had a couple of telescopes set up to view the total solar eclipse.

“This telescope here will let you look at the sun just very dimmed down, just like the eclipse glasses but except for a telescope,” he said. “My other telescope is for looking at a specific type of hydrogen light. So when the gas gets excited, it will glow in different frequencies.”

The man said he was supposed to go to Dallas, Texas, but he chose Sikeston because the weather seemed ideal for the eclipse.

The Illinois resident said he has always been interested in science, and attending the eclipse in Kentucky in 2017 piqued his interest. 

 “In 2017, at that time, I only had one telescope because I always liked looking at the stars,” he said. “After that, I decided that this was going to be my hobby. So after seeing that eclipse, I knew I had to see the next one.”

Kathy Medley, director of Sikeston Convention & Visitors Bureau, said she was satisfied with the turnout for the “Total Eclipse of the Park” watch party.

“It was such a fun and well-ran event,” Medley said on Tuesday. “We welcomed visitors from all over the United States and many other countries including Germany, United Kingdom, Belgium, Canada, and other parts of the world.

Medley continued: “The feedback from visitors has been amazing. They were impressed with the event and the community. We are still getting calls and visitors are stopping by today to order another t-shirt or get more information on the city.”