The city of Ennis will be in the dark April 8 as a total solar eclipse spanning from Mexico to Maine casts its shadows on the northeast Texas city for the longest amount of time.

The sky over Ennis will be in the moon’s shadow for four minutes and 23 seconds.

The city of 21,000 is expecting between 50,000 and 206,000 visitors from Friday, April 5 until Monday, April 8.

Historic Downtown Ennis is hosting a watch party.

There will be food trucks, activities for children and live music, including special guest Le Freak disco band after the eclipse.

Ennis is a prime location for good weather and less cloud coverage. Bystanders will get to view the eclipse to its fullest potential.

Safety during the dark

“I feel like we are going above and beyond as a city to prepare for this,” said Ashley Colunga, the marketing and communications director for the City of Ennis.

“Nothing can really prepare us for what is coming, but we feel really good about how people are here to enjoy this once in a lifetime experience and not here to cause issues,” Colunga said.

The fire department, police department, hospital, school district and city have a plan to maintain maximum safety for visitors and residents.

Plans call for additional security, stationing to maintain traffic flow, extra communication and potentially a helicopter on standby.

Ennis public schools will be closed for the day.

Students will receive brochures about the eclipse and approved solar viewing glasses.

Colunga said the city is really excited about the publicity it will receive in the next few months.

She said she hopes “the eclipse will bring people to fall in love with Ennis.”

Take a look at the map to see other places in Ennis where people can watch the total eclipse.