KENT – “Here Comes the Sun” could be heard over the speakers at 45 on Main just as the partial eclipse reached its high point at 3:26 p.m. April 8.
Shop owner and manager Gary Kidd offered up the parking lot in front of his business as a gathering spot in town. A crowd of 50 took him up on the offer of an impromptu eclipse watching party for several hours beginning at 2 p.m. He also offered up free snacks and drinks specials.
“I had 250 calls this morning for eclipse glasses,” he said, adding that doesn’t even count all the calls he had over the weekend. He obtained supplies of glasses and sold them for $2 each and kept trying to restock during the past week. By 10 a.m. Monday he was sold out. Just before the event, Kidd managed to track down the last 10 pairs from an Amazon delivery van and he offered them up for $10 each and donated $100 proceeds to the Kent Food Bank.
The clouds kept drifting between watchers and the sun, making the view a little fuzzy when peering through the eclipse glasses. When the sun was shining brightly it was a crisp view of the crescent sun partially blocked by the moon.
Attendees enjoyed chatting with those gathered in the chairs placed in the parking lot in front of the shop. They would pull the glasses off and then put them back on for a peek at the eclipse status. It never got totally dark but it did get darker than normal.
“I heard the birds stop singing,” Kidd said about the peak moment.
Kidd was pleased by the turnout and to be able to offer somewhere in town for people to gather and socialize.
