NYSTIA Board Chair - Corey Fram, GeneSEEtheEclipse team members: Matt Mitchell - Corporate Communications, Colleen Onuffer - Travel Alliance Partnership, Glenn Clark - Crafting A Brand, Kelly Rapone and Lauren Humphrey, Genesee County Chambe of Commerce. Also pictured, Ross Levi – I Love New York, Bridget Cerrone – Advance Media New York. Submitted photo.
Press Release:
The Genesee County Chamber of Commerce is thrilled to announce that the GeneSEEtheEclipse program has received an Excellence Award from the New York State Tourism Industry Association. The Tourism Excellence Awards ceremony was held in Saratoga Springs on September 12.
The Tourism Excellence Awards celebrate the most creative and successful campaigns, publications, individuals, and projects from across the state.
“For fourteen months leading up to April 8, our Chamber team was engaged within our community, informing and inspiring residents, community leaders, and area businesses that a significant once-in-a-lifetime event was going to occur. Our community fully rallied around our beloved “Genny The Cow” and the full GeneSEEtheEclipse initiative. Over eighty eclipse-related special events and promotions were created by hundreds of community members representing civic groups, organizations, and area businesses. We thank our community and share this honor with all of you,” said Brian Cousins, Chamber President.
“Although the day was unfortunately overcast, it was still a truly spectacular experience. Visitors from around the world traveled here and watched alongside our residents, and did experience the eerie temperature drop and see the sky become dark, mid-day for 3 minutes and 42 seconds,” said Kelly Rapone, Tourism Marketing Director. “We would like to thank all of our community members who joined in to commemorate this historic event for our residents,” she said.
Chamber President Brian Cousins presents a display check to Jonell Chudyk, Mockingbird Farm Sanctuary; Marcy Colantonio, Volunteers for Animals; Maryanne Arena, Mary Land Haven for Horses; Pamela Harmon, Cherry Hill Sanctuary. Photo by Howard Owens.
Proceeds from the sale of a children's book developed by the Chamber of Commerce -- “Genny Sees the Eclipse” -- will help feed rescue animals and even enable a couple of sanctuaries to give a couple of horses a safe place to retire.
On Tuesday, Brian Cousins, president of the Chamber, presented $28,653.56 to Jonell Chudyk, Mockingbird Farm Sanctuary; Marcy Colantonio, Volunteers for Animals; Maryanne Arena, Mary Land Haven for Horses; Pamela Harmon, Cherry Hill Sanctuary.
Each organization is receiving $7,163.39.
"This is truly life-changing," said Chudyk. "I know for us from Mockingbird Farm Sanctuary, that amount, that total amount, will pay for the amount of hay that we need through winter. So thank you so much."
Harmon said the $7,000 would help Cherry Hill rescue more horses, and Arena, at Mary Land, said her rescue for retired racehorses would be able to add two horses to its stable.
"It may sound like, 'Oh, two horses,' but that means two lives saved," Arena said.
The book was produced to educate children about the April 8 total eclipse of the sun in Genesee County. The chamber received orders from 28 states -- including Hawaii -- and 165 cities. Forbes named it one of the best five books for people to buy to learn more about the eclipse.
It was written by Colleen Onuffer and illustrated by Andy Reddout.
"We talked to the agriculture community, and we talked with the scientific community to make sure the book was true to life," Cousins said. "Then we thought about how we could commemorate this book to our community, and we thought of you and your selfless devotion to these animals. If you take a look at the book, you will see each one of the animals that you take care of day in and day out are represented in that book."
Jonell Chudyk, Mockingbird Farm Sanctuary, expressing her gratitude for the donation to her organization. Photo by Howard Owens.
Cover of Genny Sees the Eclipse Photo by Howard Owens.
Illustrator Andy Reddout also designed a barn quilt, shown on this model barn, and also on a barn on Route 19 in Le Roy. Photo by Howard Owens.
Submitted photo of members of the Oakfield Betterment Committee and the Oakfield Fire Department in front of their new co-branded event tent.
Press Release:
At the recent Solar Eclipse event “Total Eclipse of the Park”, the Oakfield Betterment Committee presented the Oakfield Fire Department with a co-branded pop-up event tent.
The volunteers of the Oakfield Fire Department not only sacrifice their time and efforts to protect our town, but they are also integral members of our community.
Their members volunteer with many of our annual events and maintain a constant, on-site presence throughout our signature Labor Daze music and food festival.
Oakfield is truly a better place because of the dedicated men and women of the OFD and we are glad to bless them with an event tent for their fundraising, training, and to keep them shaded while on standby on Labor Day weekend.
During the period of totality, Genesee County was in a night-like darkness, including in Elba, where community members gathered at Elba Central School to experience the event together. Photo by Howard Owens.
There seemed to be mixed reactions to Monday’s big event as those few minutes passed — depending on where you were — around 3:20 p.m. debuting this area’s total solar eclipse under gray cloud cover.
Social media posts varied from exclamations of having witnessed the best thing ever and feeling awed by the eerie cloak of darkness that descended and lifted as if someone dimmed the light switch and ever so gently rolled it back up.
Still others heaved with palpable sighs of disappointment after all of these past weeks and months of education, promotion and preparation for what was to come due to those nasty clouds that arrived and settled in for a stay.
John King of Gettysburg, Pa., in Batavia. Photo by Howard Owens
Locals that ventured out to one of the many gathering spots in Genesee County, or others that drove in from out of state, such as John King, seemed to glean some good out of the day no matter how mired it was in foul weather.
King, all packed up with his recording equipment, came from Gettysburg, Pa. because Batavia “was the closest to me that was in the path,” he said.
He traveled to Tennessee for the partial eclipse in 2017 and, even though he considers himself “a complete amateur,” is prepared with a mount for his telescope and cameras to track the sun, he said.
Despite the clouds, he wasn’t disappointed and, in fact, had come to expect them from experience.
“I went to the 2017 eclipse in Tennessee, and it was a perfect, beautiful day with not a cloud in the sky. And we went to the Watts Bar Nuclear Facility, which is on the Tennessee River. It released a cloud into the sky out of the smokestack that completely blocked my view, even though there was not a cloud anywhere in the sky. I did not get to see the eclipse there either,” King said. “So at least this time, when I came here, I expected that the clouds were going to be like this, and I probably wouldn't get any pictures. But this is my second one that I've brought nothing back.”
Did you think about going somewhere else when you heard what the weather would be like here? “I looked from Indianapolis to here, and they all said about 90 percent cloud cover,”he said. “We’d already reserved the rooms. I said, what the heck, it's still an event, it still turns dark, you still get to see it. And it only happens, you know, every five, six years.”
He was “amazed” at how little traffic he encountered on his way here compared to Tennessee in 2017.
“Every road around there for 60 miles, every shoulder was covered with cars that had pulled over and parked, and it took me 16 hours instead of eight hours to get home because the traffic was so bad,” he said. “And we cruised up here in normal time, five hours.
“I think the weather, people just said it's just not worth it to travel that distance, and it's gonna be cloud-covered. I was committed, though, just for the heck of it. I'm coming,” he said, sharing that his wife’s daughter stayed put and had a much different view. “My wife, she FaceTimed her daughter who's in Columbia, Maryland, and they have scattered clouds, so they saw it perfectly.”
On the other hand, Tom Jones of Brigantine, New Jersey, drove quite a few hours to get here, he said. He paused when asked if it was worth it.
“Seeing nighttime in the middle of the afternoon was a freak. I’ve never seen that. That was an experience,” he said. “And I brought everything in preparation: my Corona beer, my bottle of champagne, my cereal box viewers. I even brought the little index card thing. Let down.”
He was figuring out when the next total was, as he had heard it was in Spain in a few years, though his parking lot compadres thought it was in Iceland in a different year. Here you go, Tom Jones: the next total solar eclipse is slated for Aug. 12, 2026, with a path of totality limited to Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Russia and a small area of Portugal.
Over in the village of Elba, Clerk Jerah Augello manned a booth at Elba Central School as part of eclipse activities. She enjoyed watching the eclipse in action despite the gray matter obscuring it.
“This is amazing, even though we didn't get to see the full eclipse because of the clouds. The fact that we're on top of the football field with a big crowd of the community, and it's dark, and it really got dark very quickly,” she said. “And then, within a matter of minutes, it was bright again. And then we did get to see a sliver. It was really amazing. I really wish we could have seen the whole thing but what we did get to experience was pretty cool itself.”
That seemed to be the consensus, including for Molly Anderson, who noted that “we’ve got people from all over the country, from Virginia and Georgia and New Jersey.”
“I think this is awesome that everybody came together up here. And, you know, we're up here on the football field and got to see the little sliver there at the end. But it's nice,” Anderson said. “It was great that the community put this together. And you know, we're all out here, and it’s something to remember forever: darkness in the middle of the afternoon.”
Photo by Howard Owens.
School, village and community members worked together to provide the day, which included musical entertainment by the Front Porch Pickers, homemade onion soup, fried dough, a lemonade stand and the Sports Boosters firing up the grill, to name a few of the offerings.
“We had a great turnout today. I believe that this was because there was something for everyone to enjoy at our school and throughout the village. So many of the Elba community members came out, but there were many from the surrounding area, too,” School Superintendent Gretchen Rosales said. “We even had some out-of-state guests; they had no connection to Elba but really wanted to experience the eclipse, so they picked the Elba community as their place to enjoy the moment.
“Although we didn't get to see too much due to the cloud cover, the darkness was impressive. The best part was being in a crowd with children and adults alike who were in awe of the experience.,” she said. “I am thankful that our community turned out for the event and so pleased that guests decided to join us in our Elba home for this fun. It was an honor to host everyone today for this once-in-a-lifetime event.”
Elba Elementary School student John Anderson, 10, thought it was “cool.”
“Just because it got so dark. All of a sudden, just in the afternoon, when it’s not nighttime,” he said. “I think it was fun. I got to play football with my friends.”
Being part of an eclipse is “just one of those moments that you’re never gonna forget,” Jessica Beck, a graduate student from Philadelphia, said. She saw the partial in 2017 after she and her family made a last-minute dash to Nashville to go see it as the clouds started coming in with the totality’s path.
“But we found a spot that was clear. You know, you can you can say what happens, like, the crickets started chirping, the birds went quiet. You saw a rainbow all around the horizon; the stars came out. But just the goosebumps, like I'm feeling right now just recounting this, I felt total goosebumps, just totally in awe of the fact that we're on this little speck of a planet and it just happened to line up right with its own moon,” she said at DeWitt Recreation Area. “And we're witnessing the heavenly bodies moving into position. It's just so cool. It's hard to put into words, but it pulls you back.
“I’m kind of banking on the fact that it's definitely going to be like sudden nightfall; we're gonna have sudden night for about three and a half minutes here in Batavia, and the wildlife, I’ve been hearing the Red-winged blackbirds chirping since we got here to the park, and they're gonna stop that,” she said. “So we are gonna hear the wildlife kind of going crazy. It is going to be total darkness. And I think it's still going to be an experience even though you're not getting the full view of the sky that you would have otherwise.”
And why did you choose Batavia? So Philadelphia's closest to this area in terms of where the region of totality is. I had some familiarity with the region as my mom is a U or R alum, and my sister is a U of R alum, so I spent some time in upstate New York and kind of wanted to see Niagara again,”she said. “So I knew there would be stuff to do in and around here, even if we had cloud cover on the actual day, so we've actually been here since Friday just been enjoying what the Finger Lakes region has to offer.”
After the total eclipse, there was a brief period where a sliver of the sun from behind the moon could be seen through the haze of the clouds. Photo by Howard Owens.
Photo by Howard Owens.
Photo by Howard Owens.
Photo by Howard Owens.
Elba's own, The Front Porch Pickers, provided musical entertainment prior to the total eclipse. Photo by Howard Owens.
Photo by Howard Owens.
Jesse Hawley at DeWitt Recreation Area in Batavia. Photo by Howard Owens.
Group of eclipse viewers in Corfu. Photo by Kara Richenberg.
During the eclipse events in Corfu, there was something sweet happening at Sweet Dream Maple Farm on Reynolds Road. Owners Al and Amy Stein had the farm open today for maple samplings, lunch, tours of the farm, and their shop was open for business.
When Al heard that the Darien Lake Hotel was going to be open for the eclipse weekend, he wanted to include their farm with all of the local happenings.
"It's something for the visitors to do," Al said. "I opened everything as an extension of Maple Weekend."
Nick and Tina were up here on a family trip from Danbury, Conn., with their three kids, Ben, Nicola, and Samantha. They heard of the events happening in Corfu from their Airbnb host, Amy Stein, and decided to keep their eclipse viewings local.
Another stop was in the village of Corfu for their eclipse viewing party at Pembroke Intermediate School, which was free for all to attend. Many locals gathered for games of corn hole, miniature golf, trivia, and a cookout fundraiser for the church food pantry.
Jim and Sara Hall of Corfu were excited to spend time with their kids today.
"I took the day off of work," Jim Hall said. "It looks like it's going to be a dark one."
He laughed.
"The three-day event was a great success," said Tom Sargent, the village of Corfu mayor. "It was well attended for a small community."
He recapped that Corfu had the parade and dance on Saturday, which at one point had 45 people on the dance floor learning to square dance. The craft festival and movie night on Sunday also had great turnouts.
"The weather definitely affected the turnout today," Sargent said.
Even though it was a cloudy day for everyone in Genesee County, Corfu was able to catch a couple of glimpses between clouds before the total eclipse.
There was widespread agreement that it was an exciting event even though the actual total eclipse wasn't visible.
Al Stein next to the evaporator at his farm. Photo by Kara Richenberg.
Abby Richenberg, of Corfu, admiring a 1-month-old calf named Ace. Photo by Kara Richenberg.
Photo of Ben, Nick, Tina, Nicola, and Samantha, from Danbury, Conn. Photo by Kara Richenberg.
Testing out the eclipse glasses. Photo by Kara Richenberg.
Overlooking Sweet Dream Maple Farm. Photo by Kara Richenberg.
Village of Corfu Mayor Tom Sargent with police officers B. Dolac, R. Lewis, and D. Drozdiel. Photo by Kara Richenberg.
Liam Neth, of Corfu, making the shot in miniature golf. Photo by Kara Richenberg.
Jim and Sara Hall, of Corfu, playing corn hole. Photo by Kara Richenberg.
A quick glimpse of a "sliver" of the eclipse. Photo by Kara Richenberg.
Sun coming back up on the other side. Photo by Kara Richenberg.
The village and school district of Elba collaborated to host an eclipse event Monday. Here are some of the visitors and participants, and activities that took place on school grounds.
These photos, above of the total solar eclipse when the sun was fully shadowed by the moon and, below, after the few minutes were over and darkness evaporated into daylight again on Monday, were submitted by Red Dyson from Park Avenue in Batavia.
Other residents submitted their versions of the total solar eclipse as well.
Photo submitted by Aubrey Towner.
Photo submitted by Lisa Ace.
Photo submittedy by Barbara Eddy.
City of Batavia facing north, submitted by Norma Harrison.
Animal lovers took in the eclipse Monday at Mockingbird Farm Animal Sanctuary in Byron.
Jonell and Joe Chudyk, and Jon Tedd founded the livestock rescue farm. They care for more than 40 rescue animals and birds.
The event on Monday drew visitors from New York City, New Jersey, Binghamton and Ithaca.
Ben Strothmann (aka Honey LaBronx, The Vegan Drag Queen) from Manhattan, who has performed at fundraisers for Mockingbird Farms, made the trip, saying it was "kismet" when he saw that a charity he supports was in the path of totality and was hosting a special eclipse event.
While awaiting the eclipse, visitors could pet livestock, play lawn games, get tarot card readings, and read about eclipses.
The event was coordinated with the Wounded Warrior Project.
If you were in Genesee County on Monday were teed off that you didn't get to actually see the total eclipse that passed over the region, at Terry Hills, they were really teed off.
In the midst of the darkest minute, golfers hit glow-in-the-dark balls of the first tee, apparently just to say they played golf during a total eclipse of the sun.
Terry Hills Golf Course hosted an eclipse party, including a special menu with food items such as Total Eclipse Burger, Blackout Caesar Salad, and Supernova Nachoes.
Golfers also received a commemorative "I Saw the Eclipse at Terry Hills April 8th 2024" golf ball.
Danielle Rotondo said about 150 golfers hit the links on Monday, with about sixty playing during the eclipse. The three people teeing off from the first tee during the totality were Mary Brown, Casey Brown, and Rotondo.
"It was a great day, an amazing experience playing and teeing off during totality," Rotondo said. "My aunt, Mary Brown, had the idea to use the glow golf balls, which make for an epic tee shot! We had people come from all over New York State to experience it at our facility."
Photos and video submitted by Danielle Rotondo
Members of the Ladies Golf League at Terry Hills.
Danielle Rotondo and her grandmother, 97-year-old Connie Babcock.
A partial eclipse excited viewers from 2:41 to 2:44 p.m. at the Richmond Memorial Library in Batavia. Photo by Steve Ognibene
The sun and moon may have hid behind clouds during the total solar eclipse that passed over Western New York -- with Batavia dead-center in the eclipse path -- on Monday afternoon, but even a glimpse of the partial eclipse from 2:41 to 2:44 p.m. thrill some visitors to the Richmond Memorial Library.
The total eclipse started at 3:19 p.m. and lasted for four minutes. It, however, was shrouded by clouds.
Photo by Steve Ognibene
Photo by Steve Ognibene
Photo by Steve Ognibene
Photo by Steve Ognibene
A Library supporter is wearing Eclipse leggings and hoodie. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Kids using a pinhole viewer to see the partial eclipse at 2:43 p.m. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Some adults play pickleball in the library parking lot while waiting for the Eclipse. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Denise Auker and her family from Lancaster, Pa., traveled to Genesee County to view Eclipse Photo by Steve Ognibene
Even with a forecast of clouds, the dim prospects of actually seeing a fairly rare total solar eclipse were enough to draw a few visitors to Genesee County and the Genesee County Fairgrounds to see what they could see.
There were a couple of dozen groups of people at the fairgrounds on Monday to see the eclipse.
Denise Auker, of Lancaster, Pa., and her family of six picked Batavia because it seemed affordable and the five-hour drive was reasonable.
"The Genesee County Chamber of Commerce's website was very helpful and had a lot of information," Auker said. "We were at the maple farm this morning. They (the chamber) recommended that, and then they had this location on (the site). They had several locations to choose from, but we picked this one."
For Mike from Northern Virginia and his friend Aram, Genesee County seemed like it might be a place with fewer crowds, easier to get to and leave after the event.
"We also wanted to go somewhere where there were we knew there were places to see the eclipse," Mike said. "We didn't want to get stuck in the middle of a place with just roads and no cleaning, no place to park and see it. We figured this was a good place to end up."
Left to Right is Aram from NYC, his friend Mike from Virgina picked him up on the way to WNY to view the Eclipse. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Jenna from Batavia with Mr. Scribbles doing an activity Photo by Steve Ognibene
Some kids from Harrisburg, Pa., enjoying the bounce house inside the main building at the fair. Photo by Steve Ognibene
A petting zoo was on hand for many to enjoy. Photo by Steve Ognibene
A couple from Philadelphia Pa., ready to view the Eclipse. Photo by Steve Ognibene
A layer of clouds between Western New York and the sun didn't dampen the party mood at Batavia Downs, which hosted an Eclipse Party on Monday afternoon featuring the band Nerds Gone Wild.
The hotel was sold out and more than 400 people attended the event, said Marketing Director Ryan Hasenauer.
"The assembled crowd headed to the track and cheered as they watched totality approach, and then cheered once again when it became light again, Hasenauer said. "We thank everyone who came out to enjoy the festivities at Batavia Downs."
Hasenauer said the eclipse capped off a successful weekend for Batavia Downs, which also featured a well-attended Experience Psychic Fair.
Families enjoy themselves during Monday's eclipse activities in Oakfield, sponsored by the Oakfield Betterment Committee. Photo submitted by Jamie Lindsley
Oakfield was one of several communities to host activities for families during Monday's total solar eclipse. The village had several vendor booths, children's games, a small petting zoo, food, and of course, plenty of space for viewing when the big moment arrived.
A Batavia couple was selling solar glasses Monday figuring, “hey, why not?” Since both of them had heard that other places had sold out. The duo had set up on Ellicott Street in Batavia. They weren't too hopeful, they said, considering there were some raindrops and continuing cloud cover to literally dampen the event a bit. But it was worth a try.
Jesse Hawley of Pennsylvania sets up to record the total solar eclipse Monday at DeWitt Recreation Area in Batavia. Photo by Howard Owens
Jesse Hawley, a student from Pennsylvania studying at Alfred State College, was setting up his video equipment at DeWitt Recreation Area on Cedar Street Monday afternoon in preparation for — you guessed it — the total solar eclipse.
He chose to record the eclipse in Genesee County by tracking where the moon would be: dead center, he said.
And so I saw Rochester and Buffalo and stuff like that. And I figured that there would be high population density places. And then I found Batavia,” Hawley said to The Batavian. “I thought, I’m sure we can, you know, have a picnic and like not have to squeeze in. So I thought it'd be an ideal spot to come here. And it looked like a really nice park. So I mean, even if it's cloudy, it's nice to have a good picnic.
“It seems like there's some young kids and another family that we're spending time with. And so I think they're having fun, you know, turning the football and playing on the playground and stuff like that. So it's working out for everyone, I think.”
Hawley used to study physics and astronomy, he said. That’s when he obtained a lot of equipment including a telescope and solar binoculars, which he kept even though he’s now into art and design.
“And a lot of my work is inspired by natural phenomenon, like plasma. I do a lot of neon work. And so biophysics, like my studies of that, continue, but now they're in my artwork, and I do a lot of sculpture and sound and video and a lot of stuff,” he said. “So, yeah, but you know, I have these tools and there's a crazy event happening and so I brought it all out and set it up and I have lots of friends who can help with the setup and yeah, so I think that'll be a lot of fun once it starts happening.”
Have you ever seen an eclipse before?
“In I think 2017 in Erie there was a partial eclipse and that's when I was studying physics. So yeah, I was yes, helping facilitate a viewing of that. But I’ve never ever seen a complete eclipse. So I hope we get some break in the clouds to really see, and hopefully see the corona of the sun. That'd be amazing,” he said.
So what are you anticipating?
“If it keeps up then clouds, and it'll just get darker than usual, which I think that'll still be like a very novel event to happen, it will become quite dark in the middle of the day,” he said.. “But it would be really nice if the clouds were not there and we really could see the outline of the sun.”
