Tourism expert Kimberly J. Williams will speak about the 2024 North American eclipse and its potential impact on the Arkansas River Valley during an appearance at Arkansas Tech University on Thursday, Nov. 17.
Williams will speak beginning at 1 p.m. in Doc Bryan Student Services Center Lecture Hall, 1605 Coliseum Drive in Russellville. Admission will be free and open to the public. The event is sponsored by the ATU Department of Emergency Management.
There will be a total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. According to Astronomy magazine, Russellville, Ark., will be one of the top 10 places in North America to view the eclipse.
The American Astronomical Society states on a web page dedicated to the 2024 event (https://eclipse.aas.org/eclipse-america-2024) that a total solar eclipse is “one of the most awesome sights in all of nature.”
Williams is director of Arkansas’s Great River Road/All-American Road, a travel writer for the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism and project manager for the department’s 2024 eclipse preparations. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in communications from Arkansas State University.
Based upon data from total solar eclipses that passed over Wyoming and South Carolina in recent years, Williams anticipates 1.5 million visitors or more could visit Arkansas for the 2024 event.
