The total solar eclipse is coming up soon, when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, completely blocking the face of the Sun and causing the sky to darken.

This rare celestial event takes place on Monday, April 8th, 2024 and will be visible from Montreal! If you plan on watching there is one thing you need – eclipse glasses. Viewing without them can cause eye damage but there’s a way to get total solar eclipse glasses for free in Montreal.

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Where to get free eclipse glasses

According to the City of Montreal, “Beginning March 18, get ready for the solar eclipse on April 8 by picking up one of the 57,500 pairs of eclipse glasses available in 45 municipal libraries across Montreal.”

The City continued, saying the glasses are offered free of charge in partnership with the Planetarium and the Université de Montréal to allow everyone to enjoy the eclipse in complete safety.

There are 45 different library branches in Montreal, all of them giving out free glasses. A list of all the branches can be found here.

The City of Montreal says those who want glasses will need to reach out to the branch for instructions on picking them up as of March 18th.

Once you have picked which branch you’d like to get your eclipse glasses from, just follow that branch’s instructions to contact.

Eclipse celebration 

 

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A post shared by Espace pour la vie (@espacepourlavie)

Looking for something fun to do in celebration of the total solar eclipse?

The Société du Parc Jean-Drapeau and Espace pour la vie are putting on a free celebration of the total solar eclipse with festivities, music, and live artists.

The event begins at 11:00 AM with 150,000 pairs of glasses also being distributed for free!

The last total solar eclipse seen in Montréal was in 1932 with the next one scheduled for 2205, so you don’t want to miss this.

Now that you know how to score some free eclipse glasses and where to watch it, you’re ready to safely enjoy the total solar eclipse, Montreal!

Total solar eclipse 

When: Monday, April 8th, 2024 starting at 2:14 PM
Where: Montreal, QC

Taylor Lucas

Regional Editor – Taylor is a Toronto-based journalist with a passion for story-telling. Whether chasing a story, writing, or editing she brings a creative spin to the media world and has a blast doing it. Taylor brings years of journalism experience in sports, local/national news, and entertainment. In her spare time, you can typically find Taylor trying out a new restaurant or cocktail bar, cooking, golfing or binge-watching true crime documentaries.

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