Ah, yes.
The ol’ University of Toledo/Bowling Green State University football rivalry, also known as the Battle of I-75.
If ever there was a need for a springtime competition called “Longest Time Available to Experience Totality Inside of a Mid-American Conference Football Stadium,” this would be it.
And, sorry, Rocket fans.
BGSU wins.
Both MAC universities are opening up football stadiums for viewing parties April 8, two of the largest places where people will be invited to gather and witness the first total solar eclipse coming through Ohio in 208 years.
There is no admission charge to get into either stadium.
Both UT and BGSU are planning to provide party-like atmospheres on a nice spring day, if the weather cooperates, with music, food trucks, and much of the same vibe people get attending college football games and tailgate parties in the fall.
Both are hoping, if there isn’t too much cloud cover, to livestream images from their respective planetariums onto the high-tech jumbo screens inside of their stadiums.
Both have the same goal of using this high-profile event to whet more appetites for science in general and encourage people of all ages to learn more about astronomy in particular. Both will have telescopes and solar glasses.
Both will build up excitement with their visuals and loudspeakers as the crescendo nears. Both have NASA livestream images as Plan B if images from their respective planetariums can’t be livestreamed that day because of weather or technical difficulty,
The one key difference?
The amount of time in totality.
Hard as it is to believe, Bowling Green will have about twice as much time in totality, three minutes to Toledo’s 90 seconds, according to forecasts.
Totality refers to those precious few moments when the moon totally blocks the sun, or — in other words — the opportunity to experience the full effect of the total eclipse.
That may seem hard to believe, given how Toledo and Bowling Green are only about 20 miles apart.
But it illustrates how much totality can vary within the 122-mile eclipse path that is expected to cut across North America in a northeasterly direction from Mexico to eastern Canada path within minutes.
Less than 30 miles south of Bowling Green, Findlay will have nearly 45 more seconds of totality.
Fostoria and Sandusky are an even stronger bet to get 3:45 minutes of totality. The Lake Erie islands will likely get more than Bowling Green and Toledo, too, but not quite as much as Findlay, Fostoria, and Sandusky.
Cleveland’s western suburbs appear poised to get the most in Ohio, nearly four minutes.
Oddly enough, Sylvania is expected to get no time in totality.
Scott Molitor, UT interim provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, said he isn’t so much focused on the difference in precious seconds at each location as he is bringing people together for a good time and a chance to become more inspired.
“We could have up to 15,000 people in the Glass Bowl,” he said.
Mr. Molitor said the Glass Bowl is in a position to draw people well beyond the Toledo area into its viewing party.
Depending on the traffic, it could be a preferred destination for people from southeast Michigan and northeast Indiana, who will miss experiencing totality unless they drive someplace that has it.
“We’re really the first major stop down from Michigan and we don’t know what the traffic’s going to be like,” Mr. Molitor explained.
UT also will host eclipse activities inside Centennial Mall on campus, weather permitting, for those who don’t want or can’t get inside its football stadium, he said.
Both campuses will have a limited supply of viewing glasses on hand for visitors, although — of course — people should try to get them from other sources beforehand just in case.
“Our mission is to educate and produce a football-like atmosphere in the spring,” Mr. Molitor said.
Kate E. Dellenbusch, BGSU planetarium director, said similar things will be happening on that campus, including food trucks, music, and telescopes.
“We’re trying to encourage people to come early and stay late,” she said. “From a logistics standpoint, we’re trying to treat it like a football game.”
Gates open at noon at UT’s Glass Bowl and at 1 p.m. at BGSU’s Doyt Perry Stadium. The UT event is scheduled to until 4:30 p.m.
BGSU’s Firelands satellite campus near Huron, Ohio, is expected to have 52 more seconds in totality than its main campus in Bowling Green, a total of 3:52 minutes. That one of the longest in Ohio.
BGSU is hosting a watch party there, too. There’s no football stadium, but there will be movies, yard games, crafts, and performances by the Firelands Symphony Orchestra.
“Historically, eclipses have almost a religious or spiritual connotation. Bringing people together to witness this is pretty powerful,” Mr. Molitor said.
He added that the aura surrounding eclipses is “baked into our cultural DNA.”
“Our ancestors didn’t understand the science and physical reasons for these things,” Mr. Molitor said. “These things are literally biblical.”
Other places with viewing parties include:
■ Metroparks Toledo’s Glass City Metropark and the Beach Ridge Area of Metroparks Toledo’s Oak Openings Preserve Metropark, the latter of which includes the park district’s Cannaley Treehouse Village and Heavy Wheelhouse.
“Our main viewing party will be at Glass City because of its central location, parking and large number of people who live in the nearby neighborhoods,” Scott Carpenter, Metroparks Toledo spokesman, said.
The park district is using the event to encourage overnight stays inside its cabins, on raised tent platforms, and at traditional campsites. Check for availability.
It also is partnering with staff from Lourdes University’s Appold Planetarium on a casual viewing event in the Wildwood Preserve Metropark playground, starting at 1 p.m. Lawn chairs are encouraged at this small family-oriented gathering, meant to allow young children to pass time on playground equipment.
■ The Field of Dreams Drive-In Theater near Liberty Center, Ohio.
Admission is free. Gates open at 10 a.m. Though advertised as free only to the first 250 vehicles, the site is at full capacity with that many.
“We are working hard to turn our Eclipse Viewing Party into a really fun, family-friendly event,” Donna Saunders said. She and her husband, Rod Saunders, are co-owners of the family-owned site and live on the property.
Food will include items usually cooked on their outdoor grill when the drive-in is operating as a theater. There also will be vendors selling crafts focused on children, education, and ecology. There also are expected to be booths for face painting, balloon animals, jewelry, and other items or services, she said.
Solar eclipse glasses will be available for sale at the concession stand.
The couple also is hosting a viewing party at another drive-in it owns, the restored Van Del Drive-In near Middle Point, Ohio, in Van Wert County. Some 350 vehicles can get in there, Ms. Saunders said.
Though a bit of a drive for Toledo-area residents, Middle Point and the city of Van Wert are projected to have two of Ohio’s longest times in totality. They almost will be among the first Ohio communities having that experience this time.
■ The Imagination Station in downtown Toledo, inside its Festival Park starting at 10 a.m.
Food and beer trucks will be on site. And, of course, there will be plenty of games and hands-on science activities.
■ The Toledo Zoo. Eclipse-related activities begin at 10 a.m. Admission is free for Lucas County residents before noon. Proof of residency is required.
■ Hensville. Live music, food, eclipse-themed cocktails, yard games, demonstrations, Mud Hens-Walleye souvenir eclipse glasses. Starts at noon. Tickets $5 and up.
■ Cedar Point. Its event, called Total Eclipse of the Point, begins at noon. Tickets start at $99.
■ City of Oregon’s “Blackout on the Bay.” Oregon Rec Soccer Complex, starting at 2 p.m. Hot dogs and eclipse glasses provided by city. Call 419-698-7147 for details.
■ Toledo’s Promenade Park, Joe E. Brown Park, and Navarre Park, starting at 1 p.m. The city said on its website there will be a live DJ, games, food, and activities, along with free eclipse glasses while supplies last. Lawn chairs, blankets, and nonalcoholic drinks are allowed.
And, just in case you need to wolf down a cold one in preparation for the big day, the Imagination Station is hosting Total Brewclipse from 6 to 10 p.m. April 6. That pregame, beer-tasting event held two days prior to the eclipse will feature more that a dozen total eclipse beers that are part of the 419 Ale Trail. Tickets start at $35.
Earnest Brew Works is hosting its own event the day of the eclipse at its original South Toledo location, starting at 2 p.m. Quenched & Tempered is having one starting at noon. Other taverns, including Kickstand Saloon, are hosting events, too.
First Published March 30, 2024, 1:00 p.m.
