Not everyone can say they’ve experienced a total solar eclipse twice in their hometown. Not everyone has been behind the scenes of an event as large as the X Marks the Spot event in Paducah. As the Marketing Intern at The Paducah Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB), I got to check both off of my bucket list. 

The Paducah CVB is Paducah’s Destination Marketing Organization (DMO). As a DMO, the CVB team works tirelessly to make sure Paducah stays on the map through marketing, group travel options, conventions and more. 

As an intern with the CVB since June of 2022, I’ve learned more than I ever could have imagined. One thing has stuck out most to me: Paducah is rich with caring, hospitable people. As I walked and talked my way through the event and spoke to people from all over the world, this was confirmed with warm smiles and genuine thank yous. 

X Marks the Spot was hosted by The Rock Shop, Paducah Main Street, and Beautiful Paducah in historic downtown Paducah. The CVB’s role was to help promote the event and get as many people to our town as possible.

“We put out our first press release for this event exactly one year ago,” Liz Hammonds, the CVB’s Director of Marketing and Communications, said. 

Information at this time was scarce. As an office, we really weren’t sure what to expect. What we did know was there would be events, activities and viewing parties for the community and visitors to see. 

With this information, Hammonds knew her goal. 

“The eclipse lasts for about two minutes, but if you come to Paducah, you can spend the rest of your time experiencing things that you wouldn’t normally experience anywhere else,” Hammonds said. 

Whether it’s a fear of missing out or a genuine interest in celestial events, the CVB and the event’s teams knew this eclipse would bring people in. 

“We had a huge natural phenomenon on our side, so people were going to come into our region no matter what,” Hammonds said. “Our task was to get them to choose Paducah. We took the natural phenomenon and layered our own amenities on top of it.”

Lynda Peters, Director of Sales, knew gathering information was a crucial part of preparing. 

“As people began to call, I knew that we were going to get more and more questions,” Peters said. “Locally, especially working with our downtown merchants, I made sure to give them all of the information I had picked up.”

As sales director, Peters works to bring in conventions, sporting events, and more to help the economical growth of Paducah. With an event of this parameter, she knew finding as much information as possible for people who had never been to Paducah, or even the region, was imperative. 

Amina Watkins, Group Travel Sales Manager, also made sure communication on the merchants’ events and plans were clear before the opening. Paducah Main Street gave our office the opportunity to set up a table in front of our building. Watkins’ goal was to make sure visitors knew exactly where to go if and when they had questions. 

“We helped [visitors] find places they were going to eat outside of the vendors that were here, things they could do while they were in town because some people had to stay multiple days,” Watkins said. “It was good to have that pre-information going into today, and I saw it as a good opportunity to get out from behind the doors of the CVB.” 

Most who called were greeted by April Roper, Visitor Services Manager. Starting a month ago, Roper has been thrown into the deep end. 2024 is a year of two major events in April: X Marks the Spot and AQS QuiltWeek. There was no shortage of phone calls on eclipse day. The moment I stepped into the doors, Roper, Hammonds and Watkins were already occupied as I ran to answer another call.

“Being right on what I feel like were the front lines: answering the calls, seeing the people walk in and watching people really enjoy Paducah has been a really great thing to be a part of,” Roper said. 

This was Roper’s first chance to see the community come together in a way that requires droves of people to successfully roll out the event. I watched as she greeted everyone who came into the CVB with open arms, even if her social battery was completely drained by the end.

“Super busy, but really awesome,” Roper said. “Just being able to meet people from all over was awesome.”

We each took breaks between the table outside and the office. Fowler Black, Director of Operations, spent much of the day manning the table, providing visitors with answers to their questions, maps to guide them and a feeling of invitation to Paducah.

As the event drew near, we locked the office doors and spread out around the event to find our own viewing spots.

Our office’s eclipse debrief brought lots of joy and relief as the event was smooth and visitors from everywhere were so appreciative of the city’s efforts.

“Being a spectator for the eclipse downtown was just truly phenomenal because people from all over the world were cheering for the moon, which was just spectacular as someone who’s representing our city,” Hammonds said. 

Peters, who also wasn’t sure how the day would continue, was delighted.

“Oh my goodness,” Peters said. “It’s definitely been a 10.”

She based her expectations on Paducah’s annual events. 

“We’ve done the festivals that are here – summer festivals, Barbecue on the River, QuiltWeek is every year, we do all of those,” Peters said. “But this was so entirely different from all of those. These were all visitors that came to our city to watch this and to see them fall in love with Paducah was just an amazing thing to me.”

Watkins was glowing as she gave her final review of the day and showed appreciation for the hardworking people behind the production of the event. 

“It was fantastic,” Watkins said. “I have to give credit to Paducah Main Street and Beautiful Paducah and Susan from The Rock Shop. They did an incredible job putting on an event like this that hasn’t been done before; just an eclipse event that was going to happen for a minute and thirty seconds. They did a fabulous job.”

The feeling around downtown Paducah as the sky got darker felt like being at a concert as the lights dim right before the artist comes out. We cheered with each other as the moon made its way closer to covering the sun. It felt so human to see everyone looking up at the sky with special glasses to protect our eyes. I’ll cherish the opportunity to surround myself with moon cheerers and think fondly of April 8, 2024.