Where are you going for the eclipse? The options are sky-high

On Monday, a rare celestial event will grace the sky as the moon passes in front of the sun.

And in some parts of New Brunswick, the blockage will be total.

During a total solar eclipse, only about one per cent of Earth's surface experiences totality — when the sun is completely obscured by the moon. On average, a given spot on Earth will experience this event about once every 375 years.

This time around, some of the places on the eclipse's path of totality include Miramichi, Woodstock, Fredericton and Florenceville-Bristol. 

Other areas of the province will experience a partial solar eclipse, including Moncton and Saint John, which fall just outside the path of totality.

For many, this will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so it is no surprise that some people will travel to be a part of the event. 

RCMP would not give an interview on the topic of traffic on the day of the eclipse, but did acknowledge that increased highway and road traffic is to be expected. The short emailed statement said police are "planning accordingly," but did not go into detail about those plans.

Read on for a look at some of the events happening around the province.

Balloons and astronauts: Carleton North

The amalgamated district of Carleton North, which includes Florenceville-Bristol, Bath, Centreville and some other local service districts, falls in the path of totality.

And the district is planning big.

Mayor Andrew Harvey said the region is expecting a huge number of people on the weekend and on Monday.

One of the biggest events will happen on Monday evening. Retired astronaut, and the first Canadian commander of the International Space Station, Col. Chris Hadfield, will speak at the Northern Carleton Civic Centre. 

Harvey said looking at the ticket sales for that event, there will be at least more than 1,000 people in the area, but he said it is hard to gauge how many people will actually turn up for the viewing of the eclipse.

He said the district has a large team of people to co-ordinate parking and traffic, and for those attending the evening event with Hadfield, overflow parking and a shuttle system has been set up.

"Our staff have been working with our fire departments and RCMP, and other public safety officials, and they've got a really good plan for traffic management," he said.

A command centre will also be set up at the local arena for public safety officials and town staff to monitor what is happening on the ground on the day of the eclipse.

Another event in the area likely to draw a crowd will be in Florenceville-Bristol. 

Retired medical physicist David Hunter and a group of volunteers will be launching a balloon-borne solar telescope, which will capture views of the Earth, the shadow of the moon, and the sun during the eclipse, from an altitude of about 30 kilometres — more than double the maximum altitude a commercial airplane can fly.

The 183-centimetre-tall payload is made up of multiple computers, each with a camera. The computers have different jobs, including radio communication and taking photos to send live to the ground.

The balloon will be launched from the grounds of the Amsterdam Inn & Suites in Florenceville-Bristol. Anyone is welcome to watch it happen, but there will be a security perimeter set up around the site.

Seven in-person viewing sites have been set up across the province, where a livestream of images from the balloon will be broadcast on a screen.

The images will be also be broadcast on the group's YouTube channel. 

Music, drone show: Full week of festivities in Miramichi

Miramichi also falls in the path of totality and for the municipality, an entire week of activities will come first.

Mayor Adam Lordon said he's excited to welcome people to the community in preparation for the eclipse.

"The whole town is just buzzing at this point with excitement and anticipation," he said. "It really is a once-in-a-lifetime event and we have the best seats in the house."

The eclipse festival began on Wednesday. Two of the biggest events, which Lordon recommends people reserve a spot for online, will occur on Saturday night and on Monday during the eclipse.

He said a drive-in theatre event will be set up at the airport, with room for 1,500 vehicles. On Saturday, 60 to 70 drones will perform a co-ordinated show with lights shortly after dusk.

On Monday, the gates will open at 1:30 p.m. and people can watch the eclipse from there.

Also on the weekend, an astronomy conference and trade show will take place along with a music festival. The Eclipse Cosmic Jamfest will happen in downtown Newcastle, with live music at five pubs in close proximity to each other. 

Lordon said along with those participating in the music festival, many businesses have come up with their own events and promotion.

"Miramichi is, without question, going to be the place to be and, you know, it's going to be an exciting cultural moment for us and a big economic development opportunity for the community and our local businesses, as well," he said.

Maintaining traffic flow: Woodstock's eclipse preparations 

In Woodstock, Tobi Pirie, the director of tourism and events and communication, said excitement is really starting to ramp up with more people coming to pick up their eclipse glasses.

But Pirie said she's been in "eclipse mode" for the past three months.

She said the community is planning to accommodate 10,000 extra people, but it's hard to tell how many will show.

She said the town is working closely with police, fire, border patrol, transportation and the emergency measures organization. 

The city wants to ensure traffic continues to flow, Pirie said, especially since Woodstock is easily accessed from the highway. But she doesn't think people coming into town will create the congestion.

"It's when the event is over. Everyone wants to get home quickly so that's going to be the issue," she said.

But she says, "we've planned and we planned well."

Woodstock's eclipse festival will run from Saturday to Monday, with three official viewing locations on the day of the event and craft markets and activities throughout the weekend.

Gratitude for Mother Earth: Fredericton's take on the eclipse

Fredericton will also be hosting a festival leading up to the total eclipse on Monday. 

EclipseFest Fredericton includes a planetarium show, a helicopter flypast and information sessions about night sky photography, astronomy and telescopes.

Several watch parties will also be hosted around the city, including one downtown on Carleton Street. 

Mary Ellen Hudson of Fredericton Capital Region Tourism, the co-chair of the three-day event, said the goal "is to position Fredericton as a place to visit, to experience the total eclipse along with lots of other family-friendly events on the weekend leading up to the eclipse on Monday afternoon."

On Sunday, beginning at 7 p.m., Evan Sacobie will be hosting a gratitude ceremony at the old burial ground off Woodstock Road.

Sacobie, who works at Apatawsuwikuwam, a recovery house on St. Mary's First Nation, said the ceremony will be an opportunity to learn from each other. 

It will involve watching the sunset and will include people sharing their thoughts and gratitude. Sacobie said he will be at the grounds about an hour earlier to get the fire ready and make the offering.

"All of our ceremonies talk about a connection to Mother Earth, and Mother Earth is a part of a bigger solar system," he said. "It's not just about honouring an eclipse. It's about honouring the responsibilities of the sun and the moon and the relationship they have to the Earth.

"Our ceremonies honour that every day. It just so happens in this particular case that they're going to meet and we're going to be able to witness that."

Dances, vendor fairs: Southern Victoria, Tobique Valley

Grand Falls, Plaster Rock and the Perth-Andover regions will also fall into the eclipse's path of totality. 

The district of Tobique Valley, which includes Plaster Rock, has a weekend of activities planned, ending with a guided tour of the eclipse at Roulston Lake.

The weekend will include a dance on Saturday night, a scavenger hunt on Sunday and a vendor fair on the day of the eclipse. 

In the village of Southern Victoria, which includes Perth-Andover, an eclipse dance, market and movie night will all lead up to the main event on Monday.

The River Valley Civic Centre will be the gathering place to watch the eclipse with food trucks and music on site as well.

Border hopping? Crossing into Houlton, Maine

Across the border from Woodstock, Houlton, Maine, will also experience totality. And the tiny town of just over 6,000 residents has been preparing — for seven years.

"Shortly after the 2017 eclipse, a local business person contacted me and said, 'Do you realize there's another one in seven years and it's going right through Houlton?'" said Nancy Ketch, the community development director and public information officer for the town.

She said a very rudimentary website was put up after that conversation, but the hardcore planning began three years ago.

Planning early allowed the town to get an early source for eclipse glasses, commission an artist for an eclipse poster and even take care of the not-so-fun stuff in a timely manner.

"We had our porta-potties ordered a year ago," she said.

Ketch said there will be activities all weekend because a lot of people are coming in advance of the event to stay with family and friends, with 10,000 to 15,000 people expected.

But that's a conservative estimate, since she said the number of people coming on Monday is a bit of a "wild card."

Ketch said the town is in close communication with first responders, the hospital and even local churches.

She said if the town gets the number of people it is expecting, there aren't enough restaurants to accommodate them, so a lot of churches will be preparing food, serving as warming stations and offering parking. 

Safety tips from Riverview amateur astronomer

Some New Brunswick communities will fall just outside the path of totality. According to Moncton's website, the city will experience 99.89 per cent totality.

But Moncton will still join in on the fun, hosting its own festival, EclipSol, at Bore Park. It will include free eclipse glasses, while supplies last, live music, food trucks and other festivities.

Riverview's Dan McLaughlin from the New Brunswick chapter of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada has been giving safety presentations at Resurgo Place in the lead-up to the eclipse.

McLaughlin said there are few things to keep in mind for people wanting to view it. He said for those who will experience totality, it is important they keep their eclipse glasses on until after something called Baily's beads.

This, he said, is the sunlight peeking through valleys in the moon. Once that bright light disappears and just the white corona — or outermost part of the sun's atmosphere — is seen, then glasses can be safely removed.

At the end of totality, the Baily's beads will appear again, and people will want to put their glasses back on.

"You have to be very cautious," he said.

For those only getting a partial eclipse, he said there is no safe time during the event to remove eclipse glasses.

As for McLaughlin, he'll be heading to the coast, somewhere between Caissie Cape and Richibucto, because he wants to be in a wide-open area.

He also encourages people to put their phones down, despite the urge to capture the event in a photo.

"I spoke to an eclipse chaser from Indiana … he's experienced 15 total solar eclipses and, without exception, he said every one of them is an emotional experience," said McLaughlin.

"Humans aren't accustomed to a dark sky in the middle of the day, with this little ring of light in the centre of this dark sky and then a clear horizon all around. So it's something you want to experience and not focus on your phone. 

"And you'll be disappointed with the images you get from your phone anyway."

CBC wants to know what you're doing for the eclipse. Will you be watching from your home? Or will you be travelling to another location? Tell us about your eclipse plans in an email to [email protected]

Tune into CBC Radio 1 and the CBC New Brunswick website to see and hear full eclipse coverage all day long.