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Akron Municipal Court Judge David Hamilton and the Cascade Locks Park Association are joining forces to discover an “out-of-this-world” couple who wishes to get married on the day of the solar eclipse.

Judge David Hamilton will be officiating the wedding of one lucky couple at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, April 8, 2024 at The Mustill Store in Akron. This will kick-off their Solar Eclipse Party which is slated to run from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m.

The Cascade Locks Park Association Team will distribute free eclipse glasses (first come, first served) and host additional activities to celebrate this celestial spectacle.

An essay contest will be held to determine the winning couple.

Couples can enter the contest by filling out a form found here. 

The form contains spaces asking for:

• The names of both individuals wishing to get married on April 8 along with their contact information.
• An essay with no more than 248 words (248 is the number of Earth years it takes for Pluto to take one trip around the Sun) explaining why you and your soon-to-be-spouse want to be married on Monday, April 8, 2024 in Akron.

The deadline to submit an entry is Tuesday, March 5, 2024. The winning couple will be notified on or before Friday, March 15, 2024.

Complete contest rules, including how the winning couple will be selected, can be found below or by visiting https://akronmunicipalcourt.org/programs/out-of-this-world-couple-contest/.

Contest Rules
Essays must be written in English and a panel will choose the winning couple based on the uniqueness of their story, creativity and enthusiasm for astronomy.

The deadline to submit an entry is Tuesday, March 5, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. ET. The winning couple will be notified on or before Friday, March 15, 2024 at 4:00 p.m. ET.

The couple will need to obtain an Ohio marriage license, at their own cost, on or before April 5, 2024 and sign a media release form provided by the Cascade Locks Park Association and the Akron Municipal Court.

All contest entries will become property of the Cascade Locks Park Association and the Akron Municipal Court.

The Cascade Locks Park Association and the Akron Municipal Court are under no obligation to use any submission or return the submission(s) to the participants.

If the couple who is chosen first declines to participate, another couple will be chosen.

No monetary allowances for lodging, transportation and/or food will be granted to the couple or their guests. The sole prize is the opportunity to be married at the April 8 event by an Akron Municipal Court Judge.

The couple must be able to be present at The Mustill Store Museum, located at 57 West North Street, in Akron, Ohio on Monday, April 8, 2024 from at least Noon until 2:00 p.m. ET.

This contest is open to all legal residents of the United States. There is no entry fee for this contest.

Information about the Solar Eclipse (courtesy of the Akron/Summit Convention & Visitors Bureau)
A solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth. During this time, the sky will become very dark and the temperature may even drop 10-15 degrees! The corona, the sun's atmosphere, will be the only thing visible from the sun during those four minutes. This event may also cause nocturnal animals to wake up thinking it is nighttime and non-nocturnal animals to think it's time to wind down.

Summit County and the Greater Akron area will be in the "path of totality." The path of totality is a 115-mile wide path that will start in North America in Mexico, and continue all the way through Maine. If you are not in the path of totality, then you will only see a partial eclipse and not a total eclipse. Totality only lasts for around four minutes from start to finish.

The eclipse event takes place on April 8, 2024 and begins at 1:59 p.m., as a partial eclipse, and will last through 4:29 p.m. The total solar eclipse (totality) will be visible everywhere in Summit County from 3:13 p.m.-3:17 p.m.

The Akron Municipal Court Judges will officiate wedding ceremonies throughout the year both at the courthouse and in various locations throughout its jurisdiction. Off-site wedding opportunities for February and March 2024 were announced last month.

Out-Of-This-World Couple Contest

Judge David Hamilton