Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 23, 2017)
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • August 23, 2017 of Polk County LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer Artists decorated the street during Dallas’ eclipse celebration last weekend. JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer ’ eclipse celebration on Saturday afternoon. elcome, fun times n’t seen in a raise the bar tertainment shared with the area and ies. allas Empo- f where visi- ka, Pennsyl- akota, Utah, a, California, , of course, presented. n a map to s customers llas who are skeptical,” she said. “But they are here. They are being respectful of our city and streets.” Another bonus for her, and possibly other downtown businesses — they were buying things during their visit. “It’s given us a real boost,” she said. In Independence, Indy Goes Dark was well-attended throughout the weekend, but not so packed that people couldn’t have a good time, said Shawn Irvine, the city’s economic development director. “We felt like it went really, very well,” Irvine said. “There were nice, good, big crowds, but plenty of elbow room.” Monday morning, he estimated the crowd in town swelled to 5,000 to 7,000 people, and said that was just about ideal. Downtown businesses reported healthy crowds and sales all weekend, he added. “I went into the Three-Legged Dog and it was jammed, and he said it had been that way the whole weekend,” Irvine said. “It was really a boon to the downtown.” As for the reason all those people were here, Monday’s eclipse, Irvine said it blew away his expectations. “It was spectacular,” he said. “It’s like a sci-fi movie, a giant hole just opens up in the sky.” EMILY MENTZER/Itemizer-Observer Hira Tsuku, of Tokyo, prepares his camera to capture the solar eclipse. JEFF MENTZER/Itemizer-Observer outh’s amphitheater. ROGER HARNACK/for the Itemizer-Observer “Art Fool” artist Maurice Laflamme, age 30, of California, works on his piece at Riverview Park in Independence. 7A