A total solar eclipse will be taking place on April 8, and the Greater Centralia Chamber of Commerce is making plans for how to market the community to visitors during the event. Centralia will be inside the zone of totality, which is the area in which the sun will appear to be completely obscured.
On Thursday morning, members of the Centralia chamber met with local business representatives and city officials to discuss preparations for the eclipse. Around a dozen people participated in person. Additionally, officials from Greenville’s chamber of commerce and library took part in the meeting via Zoom. Centralia Chamber Executive Director Marcus Holland says those organizations are helping their counterparts in Centralia promote eclipse-related tourism.
“In their area they’re not going to be in totality, so they are going to have a bunch of events, then send people our way on Monday, April 8. So our focus is to make sure that businesses are aware there is going to be an influx of people coming to our area, plus the restaurants that normally aren’t open on Monday, we’re really encouraging them to be open and be aware there are people coming. So the efforts are now just making sure that we know who’s going to be open, who’s going to be having activities and then communicating that to the visitors.”
Holland says the Centralia chamber is also working with the city’s police and fire departments and with ESDA to safely handle the anticipated surge of visitors.
During Thursday’s meeting, it was reported that the Centralia library has ordered at least 500 pairs of eclipse viewing glasses, and SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital has ordered around 1,500 pairs.
The Centralia chamber will continue to hold meetings in the weeks leading up to the eclipse to further solidify its marketing efforts.
