DailyMaill.com attended a solar eclipse 'blackout party' in Dallas where ... trends now
The Weeknd's ‘Blinded by the Light’ played in the background as Dallas' 77F degree weather suddenly cooled and darkened.
Then, everything went black.
The giggles and chatter of young children who had traveled with family, some from thousands of miles away, fell silent.
As the moon masked the sun, it appeared like a black ball surrounding by white fire - something astronomers have called a 'diamond ring.'
Despite being transfixed by its beauty, I took my solar eclipse-proof glasses for a moment and looked around.
Little girls stood on the green grass with their mouths dropped open in awe, parents were hugging their little ones and couples were embracing each other as they all looked to the Heavens.
The solar eclipse reached totality in Dallas, Texas at 1:40 p.m. CDT leaving viewers in awe as the sky went dark
Families gathered to watch the solar eclipse and three young girls' jaws dropped when the moon eclipsed the sun. Only minutes before they expressed their concern that the cloud coverage would block their view of the eclipse
Couples stood side-by-side to watch the beginning of the eclipse as excitement broke out and people started clapping when the DJ announced there was only 10 minutes until it reached totality
The eclipse lasted roughly four minutes, but the wait was difficult for some who were eager to witness the once-in-a-lifetime event
Millions of people ventured to the 'path of totality,' where the moon completely blocked the sun, starting in Mexico and moving through Texas where it traveled up to New England and finished in Canada.
I had planned to go to a Dallas street party that was predicted to have thousands of people bustling around the area.
But when I panicked when I arrived 40 minutes before the event to find a ghost town.
Many of the events had been abruptly cancel over fears of storms rolling in the state.
I quickly found an open-air venue, The Hub, finding it had a much smaller crowd but a more personal 'black out party' happening.
While the hundreds of people in Dallas came from all walks of life, they had all gathered together to watch the event unfold.
California resident Luanne Tesoriero was so proud she was still able to travel considering she is 80 years old.
Ava Herrera (pictured) said she was excited to watch this 'once-in-a-lifetime' event, acknowledging that it won't happen in Dallas for another 300 years. She said it's 'really important to watch unique events like the solar eclipse because 'we have to live our lives to the fullest'
Roughly three million people gathered throughout the path of totality in Texas, including 400,000 travelers
She was inspired to make the journey to Dallas when her son spotted an eclipse from the top of a mountain while on a hike some decades ago.
Her son pointed out the edge of the shadow to her decades ago and watched as animals became very still, telling Tesoriero it was an incredibly powerful
