Cleveland City Council on Monday unanimously approved a proposal for an event next year that has not occurred in the city since founder Moses Cleaveland’s time. A resolution sponsored by Council Member Kris Harsh cleared the way for the city to celebrate its day in the “Path of Totality,” which is not an Avengers movie but a reference to the 2024 eclipse.

The resolution declared that April 8, 2024, will be known across The Land as Total Solar Eclipse Day. 

Most years only the Browns are capable of bringing darkness upon Northeast Ohio in the middle of the day. But on April 8, the moon will provide that service, with no public funding required. 

Eclipses happen every year, but a total eclipse can only be seen within a 100-mile band, the path of totality. On April 8, the path will cover Greater Cleveland for the first time since 1806 and the last time until 2444, a few years ahead of the first expected Hyperloop trip between Cleveland and Chicago. 

“Weather permitting, people along the path of totality will see the Sun’s corona, or outer atmosphere, which is usually obscured by the bright face of the Sun,” according to NASA. 

(No offense to the excited astronomers, but “weather permitting” is the key part of that sentence. April 8 is also the day the Guardians are scheduled to play their home opener, an early spring event that sometimes angers the lake gods enough to send snow.)

Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Great Lakes Science Center and Cleveland MetroParks are already planning events before and on eclipse day. Destination Cleveland has more here, including a link to buy souvenir glasses and a well intentioned but wildly unscientific joke about stars “literally aligning” over Cleveland. 

At press time there was no word on whether Republicans in the Ohio legislature may try to block Cleveland from hosting the eclipse.