EAST AURORA, N.Y. (WIVB) — If you’re searching for a place to go to watch the solar eclipse in April, you might want to put East Aurora on the list. A local business and state park are preparing to greet visitors for the once-in-a-lifetime event.

There’s a lot of history within the walls of the Roycroft Inn, and innkeeper Daniel Garvey hopes to showcase this one-of-a-kind place on April 8, when thousands of people will make their way to Western New York for the solar eclipse.

“This is going to be a chance to shine and really show the world what we have to offer here,” he said.

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Garvey says the rooms at the historic, arts and crafts style inn are almost all booked, and they’ll be hosting a free viewing party outside.

“When you do come here, you see that it’s all handmade,” Garvey said. “Everything is done with your head, heart and hand here at the Roycroft Inn. And for people to be able to come and add to that, this lifetime experience, it’s going to be an experience and a journey that they’ll never, ever forget.”

Less than two miles from the Roycroft Inn, you can find yourself at Knox Farm State Park. They’re expecting about 3,000 people to be here on April 8 and are offering their own unique opportunity to watch the solar eclipse.

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Kathleen York, executive director of Friends of Knox Farm State Park, has been planning for the solar eclipse for more than a year.

“It’s going to be, hopefully, an extremely memorable event,” York said. “Can you watch the eclipse from your backyard? Absolutely. I think watching it with 2,500 people, 3,000 people is going to be a really special occasion.”

The watch party will include live music, family activities and have representatives from NASA. Tickets for the event are going fast.

“We had 2,500 tickets for sale a month ago. We’re down to about 750,” York said. “Don’t wait.”

York says they’ll make the most out of this day no matter the weather.

“Clouds or no clouds, we’ll still have an eclipse,” York said. “We will still have over 30 activities here … We’re doing everything we can to make sure it’s a good event regardless of Buffalo weather.”

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Sarah Minkewicz is an Emmy-nominated reporter and Buffalo native who has been a part of the News 4 team since 2019. Follow Sarah on Twitter @SarahMinkewicz and click here to see more of her work.

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