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
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allas Empo-
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n a map to
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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.
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