HOULTON, Maine — The Governor’s Council on Tourism has recognized the Houlton community’s well-orchestrated 2024 Total Solar Eclipse celebration initiative that attracted thousands of people from around the world to the town just over a year ago, on April 8, 2024.
The Southern Aroostook Development Corp. Attraction Committee made up of Houlton business and community leaders will be honored next week at the state’s tourism conference in Bangor with the Governor’s Rising Star award for its progressive planning and marketing vision, said Carolann Ouellette, director of the Maine Office of Tourism.
“The SADC Attraction Committee quickly recognized the opportunities presented by the 2024 Total Eclipse and took decisive action, as one of its first projects, to develop a plan to attract visitors to the greater Houlton area,” she said. “Thousands of people came and experienced a truly remarkable visit.”
This rural town of about 6,000 was one of several in Maine to attract eclipse hopefuls — many first-time visitors — to the state for the eclipse. Early on, naysayers wondered how towns with only a handful of small restaurants and few lodging establishments would accommodate an influx of visitors slated to quadruple populations for eclipse weekend.
Still, Houlton planners were not swayed. Instead they relied on Mainers’ unique way of making things work.
They asked other towns that had lived through eclipse madness about preparations. They brainstormed long lists of what visitors would need. They got to work searching for hundreds of portable toilets, lined up food trucks and worked with area churches for meals and snacks.
Townspeople got creative, opening up spare spaces to AirBnB and Hipcamp offerings.
The Houlton Ambassadors welcoming committee was formed and proved invaluable in helping with traffic, parking and making visitors feel comfortable in their town.
In the process, planners secured local business sponsors and grants to help with costs and offerings. They attracted national media and NASA scientists, as well as two New York City-based filmmakers who came to town to shoot a documentary, “A Place in the Sun,” that highlighted how this small town worked together to make it happen.
“The Attraction Committee is beyond excited to be recognized by the Governor and the tourism industry for its work in organizing the 2024 Total Eclipse celebration,” said Jane Torres, executive director of the Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce. “As one of the entities involved in planning, it was a pleasure to work so closely with the Town of Houlton, SADC, WHOU and other members of the community. “
Initially, the attraction committee was created about three years before the eclipse to find innovative ways to attract people to the Houlton community, said Torres.
That’s when they started talking about eclipse possibilities because the town was in the path of totality and it was the last stop before crossing into Canada.
The well-planned event ended up drawing more than 20,000 people from other parts of Maine and outside the state, as well as from foreign destinations such as the United Kingdom, Japan, Italy and the Dominican Republic. A slew of last minute eclipse chasers, originally slated to visit Texas and other notoriously sunny locations, headed to Houlton when the weather turned in Aroostook County’s favor.
It was a team effort from start to finish. Local businesses, volunteers, community partners, and regional leaders all came together to shine a light on what makes Southern Aroostook so special, said Johanna Johnston, executive director of the Southern Aroostook Development Corp.
“We’re incredibly honored to receive the Governor’s Rising Star Award on behalf of the SADC Attraction Committee,” she said “This recognition is truly a reflection of the passion, creativity, and collaboration that went into making the Maine Eclipse such a memorable and impactful experience for our region. We’re proud to share this moment with everyone who played a part.”
