Those who live or travel to Casper for the total eclipse of the sun and the events leading to Aug. 21 will watch it on a stage covered by national if not international media, the director of the Wyoming Eclipse Festival said Thursday.

"I have arranged for Time Magazine for accommodations for three or four days building up to it, as well as to stay the day of," Anna Wilcox said.

"NBC has confirmed, and is getting last minute details taking care of where their satellite trucks will park so they can go live during 'The Today Show,'" Wilcox added.

NASA is live-streaming the event with the help of the San Francisco Exploratorium, she said.

"IMAX just confirmed that they will be filming portions of their 'Einstein' film here in Casper -- both drone, helicopter as well as some great shots from up on the mountain," Wilcox said.

They call it "'a highly accessible eclipse.'"

And 15 media from neighboring states have called her office about the event and whatever accommodations may be left, she said.

Monday, The New York Times declared Casper as one of the places to observe the cross-country Great American Eclipse, Wilcox said, adding she recently spoke to reporters from the Los Angeles Times, Time Magazine and the BBC.

Most media aren't interested in the 2 minutes 26 seconds of total darkness itself as much as they are watching those who are watching the 2 minutes 26 seconds of total darkness, she said.

When media do cover eclipses, they often follow those who spend thousands of dollars and travel half-way around the world, she said.

Tom Morton, Townsquare Media
Tom Morton, Townsquare Media
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Not this time.

They call it "'a highly accessible eclipse,'" Wilcox said. "So for them, this is the Great American Eclipse, and what makes this the Great American Eclipse is that thousands and thousands and thousands of people will be able to see this for the first time and possibly the only time."

Media representatives tell her they are looking for the reactions from the first-timers, the people who drove 12 hours for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, or those who brought their families knowing that this is the only time they would be able to view it together.

Of course, there's the magic moment that starts at 10:22 a.m. Monday, Aug. 21, when people here see the moon touching the sun's edge leading to totality at 11:42:42 a.m.

"It's your Average Joe (who) gets to experience this, and we want to experience watching this Average Joe experience this with his eyes and not behind thousands of dollars worth of equipment -- just him and his family sharing the experience," Wilcox said.

Media representatives also want to witness how Casper is different with its culture and stories than other cities along the path of totality from Oregon to South Carolina.

"They want to capture that as well," Wilcox said. It's pretty cool."

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