‘There’s a bit of magicalness to it’ | Kerrville gears up for solar eclipse as more than 100,000 people expected to pack the city

SAN ANTONIO — The magic of witnessing a total solar eclipse is a rare. But for Kerrville Mayor Judy Eychner, this won’t be her first time looking up at such celestial beauty.

“There’s a bit of magicalness to it,” Eychner said. “The one in 2017 went over my little hometown in Nebraska and we went back to see it. And it’s so neat.”

More than 100,000 people could flood Kerrville to watch the historic total solar eclipse on Apr. 8 and city officials are getting prepared.

Kerrville sits in the path of complete totality for the eclipse, which is expected to last 4 minutes and 24 seconds beginning at 1:32 p.m.

Louise Hays Park will be the prime place for free festivities, featuring representatives from NASA, live music and children’s programming.

“Just excited to show off our town. How amazing that it’s going to happen here. We get experience it as citizens but then we get to share it with the world,” said Julie Davis, president and CEO of the Kerrville Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Davis noted it’s possible there could be between 100,000-150,000 people visiting Kerrville. When it comes to lodging, she said about 300 rooms remain. She said people from around the world and across the country plan to enjoy the eclipse in the Hill Country city.

The Kerrville Police Department alongside several other law enforcement agencies are also prepared for the influx of visitors. A traffic plan is in the works to divert traffic.

“When you’re coming, make sure you have your patience with you,” Kerrville Police Chief Chris McCall said. “Our roadways here in Kerrville are not really built for 2 to 3 times our population. About a week prior to the event you’ll start seeing traffic increase with increases each day as the event grows closer. We’ve built a traffic plan around trying to move people away from this location at Louise Hays Park back out to Interstate-10.”

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