Eclipse ‘was like a music festival, except it was a sun festival’ at McGill

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The atmosphere was pretty magic on the lawn of McGill University Monday afternoon as totality approached, even for those of us not necessarily sold on all the eclipse hype.

Lee-la Baum and Tom Shemer, the singer and lead guitarist respectively from Montreal rock band The Damn Truth and a longtime couple, were there with their 10-year-old son Ben. Baum, who knows a thing or two about playing big concerts, said the experience was not unlike an electrifying rock show.

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“The crowd yelling at the moment of darkness was really exciting,” said Baum, right after the totality. “It was unity. It was like a music festival, except it was a sun festival. Whoever is here, we’re all here for the same thing. We’re all on the same wavelength. It’s very cool. And, hey, the sun’s coming back!”

By 2 p.m., there were thousands of people packed on the McGill campus downtown waiting for the big show, with people eating and drinking on picnic blankets, trying out their eclipse glasses, posting photos and videos on their phones and generally having a grand time.

There really was an electric atmosphere as the big moment came closer, with cheers ringing out each time the sky became a bit darker, and afterward people were clearly moved by the experience.

“It was so beautiful, but it was so fast,” Fahysa Ilboudo said. “I wish it could have lasted longer. I tried to catch it on camera, but it’s not the same quality, the same experience. I was expecting some kind of image, but it was better than I could have imagined. It was so beautiful.

“It happens once in a lifetime, so I’m so happy I had the chance (to see) this eclipse. I felt like we were all enjoying the moment together even though we don’t know each other. But I could feel the excitement of everyone around me and feel the joy. I just met two people here that I didn’t even know and we just enjoyed ourselves. They actually had an extra pair of glasses and they just gave it to me.”

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Teresa Trippenbach was also mighty impressed.

“Frankly, I didn’t know what to expect, but it was much more … it was above my expectations because the rings that I saw were like three-coloured rings,” Trippenbach said.

It was special, she said, because we were “realizing we’re on the planet and other planets are around us and we depend on light.”

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Prior to the eclipse, Michael Smith, who lives in Los Angeles, already had his camera set up with a small telescope, ready to capture the moment.

Smith and his wife and two young children were planning on going to Austin, Tex. for the eclipse, but when the weather forecast there started to look bad they changed their plans and came to Montreal. Astral photography is Smith’s hobby. He had set up the camera and telescope on the main lower field of the McGill University campus. The camera had a solar filter, but he was set to take that off for the totality.

“I’m also here to try to enjoy the moment as well,” Smith said. “It’s a special moment in time and place. Everything is lined up astronomically. The sun, the Earth and the moon are all lined up and we’re here in the shadow of the moon. It’s a special event. It’s been happening for centuries. It has significance for people living on the planet in the past and the future. It’s like going to the Super Bowl is a special event for some people. For me this is a lifetime special event.”

bkelly@postmedia.com

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