Popcorn Days

By Linda Tancs

In Ridgway, Illinois, the annual Popcorn Days celebration takes place during the second weekend in September. Part of the Gallatin County Fair, it’s a celebration of the Blevins Popcorn Co. plant that packaged Pops-Rite popcorn. In its heyday, Ridgway was identified as “Popcorn Capital of the World.” The highlight of the festivities is the parade on Saturday. You’ll also find live entertainment, vendors, amusement rides, games and, of course, free popcorn.

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Billed as the Great North American Eclipse, a total solar eclipse will cross North America on April 8, 2024, passing over Mexico, the United States and Canada. The path of the eclipse begins in Mexico, entering the United States in Texas, and traveling through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. The eclipse will enter Canada in Southern Ontario, and continue through Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton. This will be the last time any solar eclipse will be visible within the United States until 2045. 

Be prepared! So long as supplies last, you can purchase eclipse glasses and other accessories, like a phone app and photo filter, from American Paper Optics, a NASA-approved manufacturer. The link in the preceding sentence is an affiliate link, which means that if you click on the link and purchase merchandise from the page, then I may receive a small commission.