A month from today, thousands of eclipse chasers will travel to Texas to dim the sun. And one city is making the most of this rare event.
Kerrville — population 25,000 — will take kids out of school to attend a festival in the city park, hear from speakers from NASA, and enjoy live music and children's programming.
Kelly Finkelstein, associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin's Department of Astronomy, said that a solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, thus blocking the view of the sun – either a little or a lot.
“A large portion of Texas is in the path of totality, so a total solar eclipse as it does in one specific place is rare,” Finkelstein said.
Kerrville was one of only three US cities chosen by NASA to broadcast the eclipse live.
The festival will be held on April 8 at Louise Hayes Park, and the city is expected to witness a total solar eclipse lasting 4:23 minutes.
A judge in Bell County issued a disaster declaration before the event, stating that it would take “extraordinary measures” to keep residents and visitors safe.
Officials expect Bell County's population of 400,000 to double, if not triple, in the days leading up to April 8, he said.
At a recent news conference, Police Chief Chris McCall said Kerrville wouldn't go that far, but was taking precautions.
“We will be placing a request through our area law enforcement partners who are outside the area of the event for a number of individuals,” McCall said. “Part of our problem is not only the event we have in our park, but also the traffic after the event.”
This will be the second solar eclipse in Texas in six months, as the “Ring of Fire” annular eclipse was seen last October 14.
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Wyoming artists of all stripes will have access to the tools needed to survive as a viable business through ArtsWORK, a new series aimed at boosting the state's creative economy.
Beth Finn, executive director of the Nilty Center for Excellence in Creativity and the Arts, said the program will include a series of professional development workshops.
The new online resource center will provide tools for building business plans and websites, strategies for finding funding, and public art commissions and residencies.
“Or if you're a writer, where do you start getting an agent, getting a publisher,” Finn said. “These are the types of resources that we will put into this center, so that they are evergreen and always there and available to people.”
This year's program was made possible by $1.1 million allocated by state lawmakers through the Wyoming Innovation Partnership, or WIP, designed to stimulate economic development.
In 2020, the arts and culture sector contributed $1 billion to Wyoming's economy, according to federal data, supporting more than ten thousand jobs.
To register for free, visit uwyo.edu/as/wip.html.
In addition to four one-day workshops starting March 9, Finn said there will be a “shark tank” type competition.
Artists can pitch their project proposal to a panel of judges, and ten finalists will receive up to $25,000 to help launch their project.
“The judges will look at the question: ‘What is this person’s plan of action?’” Finn said. “How do they fill a niche that isn't already filled. What makes their product unique, and what kind of audience is there for that product, service, performance, or whatever?”
The goal of ArtsWORK is to strengthen communities across the state by investing in their cultural lives, whether that's providing a space for children to attend dance or art classes, or launching a series of live music performances at a local bar, Finn said.
“When cultural opportunities are provided to communities, it increases community pride,” Finn said. “It increases people's engagement with their community and with their neighbors.”
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Medal of Honor recipients will be honored this Veterans Day weekend.
The Medal of Honor is the nation's highest award for bravery on the battlefield. On Sunday, the “Salute to Service” halftime show at the Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants football game will honor 16 recipients, including Seattle's Lt. Col. William Swenson.
“I will be out there on the field that day,” he said. “But what we will represent is the character of all Americans and the heroism that all Americans have during their daily lives.”
President Abraham Lincoln created the Medal of Honor 160 years ago. It is a highly selective award, with only about 3,500 people receiving it, of whom 65 are alive today. A Medal of Honor Museum is being built in Arlington, Texas, and Congress has approved a memorial to the award in Washington, D.C. New legislation in Congress this year would ensure the memorial would be located within 1,000 feet of the Lincoln Memorial.
The museum also announced its own leadership institute, known as the Griffin Institute, in honor of Ken Griffin, who gave the museum $30 million.
Chris Cassidy, president and CEO of the Museum Foundation, said the museum aims to highlight the many ways people serve the country, including first responders, police, nurses and teachers.
“Our nation’s future depends on people volunteering to serve in any capacity,” he said. “And that's what we aim to do is inspire people to serve through the programs at our institute and visiting our museum and walking along the National Mall and seeing all the inspiring things that are already there.”
The museum's Leadership Institute will play a crucial role, Swenson said.
“Ultimately, character is the most important thing about the Medal of Honor,” he said. “So the Griffin Institute will ensure that this character is seen in a broader space and we will change the lives of Americans with these stories.”
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The nonprofit Americans for the Arts just released a study on the economic impact of arts and culture on communities, including Indiana.
Among the 300 cities in 50 states and Puerto Rico surveyed are collective arts organizations within the Arts Council of Indianapolis, United Arts of Greater Fort Wayne and the City of Carmel.
Mia Michaelsen, executive director of the Indiana Arts Commission, said the economic impact of the arts in their communities is undeniable.
“They outperform cities of similar size by a significant amount,” Michaelsen emphasized. “I believe the arts and creative sector provides a great path for conscious effort and investment related to driving economic growth in the state.”
In Indianapolis alone, the 2022 study found the economic impact of the arts was about $524 million. Michaelsen expects the creative economy to grow over the next 20 to 30 years, and prominent countries looking to economic growth are paying attention.
The report also tracked the additional dollars people spend for a day or evening at a cultural event, and its impact on local businesses. Restaurant meals, paying for picketers, and use of a ride-sharing service or shopping averaged about $40 per person, per event, not including an event ticket.
Michaelsen argued that local businesses with a rich and vibrant creative community can only benefit economically.
“The multiplier effect from arts and culture vendors is much broader than even people who come to the city for sporting events, for example,” Michaelsen noted. “Arts and culture visitors spend more per person than any other type of visitor in the community.”
Nationally, the report showed that arts and culture generated nearly $152 billion in economic activity last year, arts organizations spent nearly $74 billion, and supported nearly 3 million jobs.
For the first time, the survey included events presented, produced, or hosted by African, Latino, Asian, Arab, and Native American organizations.
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