Downtown Dalton Development Authority and The Carpentry hotel to host free solar eclipse watch party

Published 6:00 am Thursday, April 4, 2024

Candace Eaton, the executive director of the Downtown Dalton Development Authority (DDDA), knows solar eclipses don’t come around very often.

“Because of that, I thought it would be a great opportunity to have a fun event that would get people together by offering a place downtown,” Eaton said.

That’s why the DDDA partnered with the new downtown “boutique” hotel known as The Carpentry to host a solar eclipse watch party on Monday.

The party will be at the hotel at 204 W. Cuyler St. from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. when Dalton residents and others will be able to witness a partial solar eclipse when the moon passes between the sun and the Earth, darkening the sky.

“It will just be something fun for people to have a place to come watch,” Eaton said. “We’ve got solar eclipse glasses and we’ll be there giving them out.”

The watch party will be free for spectators, and people will be stationed in the hotel lobby as they hand out viewing glasses.

“We know some people may not be able to come at 1:30, so they can really come whenever they want,” Eaton said. “But we do have a limited supply of glasses.”

Eaton said downtown’s Burr Performing Arts Park was the original venue in mind for the watch party, but “they were doing grass work and getting it ready for spring and summer.”

“So, we figured partnering with The Carpentry would be great because they’ve got some great areas to watch from,” she said.

That includes the hotel’s Twist rooftop bar and lounge.

“Obviously, we’ll have the rooftop available for the adults,” said Kasey Carpenter, owner of The Carpentry. “And then we have a nice grassy area for kids if they’re not in school. People can bring their lawn chairs and sit out.”

Carpenter said the watch party will give spectators an opportunity to try a drink at the rooftop bar or visit restaurants close by in downtown Dalton.

“It should be a good time,” he said.

Eaton said she hopes the party will offer lasting memories for viewers.

“When people may say ‘Where were you during the eclipse?’ they can say ‘Oh, we were downtown at the new Carpentry hotel,’” she said. “It’s just something they can take with them while having fun and being together.”