On Apr. 8, 2024, the Great North American Eclipse will visit Mexico, the United States, and Canada.  The eclipse will last four minutes and 28 seconds, tracing a path of totality across 13 U.S. states, including Pennsylvania. The path will cross the northwestern part of the state, which includes Erie, Crawford, Warren, and Mercer counties.

The PennWest Edinboro campus falls within the path of totality. From 3:16 to 3:20 p.m., Edinboro will experience full totality as the moon passes between the sun and the earth, which will not occur again in this region until 2099.

In celebration of this momentous event, PennWest Edinboro will hold a series of festivities around Mallory Lake on Edinboro’s campus.  Food trucks and activities will be available for students, and free PennWest Edinboro branded eclipse safety glasses will be distributed to viewers.

PennWest California will sponsor a bus to the Edinboro campus for students who wish to attend the watch party.  Students must reserve a spot on the bus in advance, as the event is open to the first 56 students to register. The bus will pick up students at the Manderino Library at 9:00 a.m. and will depart from Edinboro at 3:45 p.m. While travel time between California and Edinboro is typically around 2 and a half hours, experts anticipate that the large influx of visitors will delay traffic significantly, meaning the trip could last upwards of four hours.

Students interested in traveling to Edinboro to witness this landmark occasion can reserve their spot on the bus while seats last at https://pennwest.campuslabs.com/engage/event/10024470.