Always exceptional: Meat Cove plays host to total solar eclipse

April 9, 2024

It was quite the day in Nova Scotia’s most northerly settlement on Monday, April 8, 2024. Hundreds of people made the pilgrimage up to Meat Cove, Inverness County, one of only 2 communities in the province in the path of totality of what has been dubbed the Great American Eclipse.

Folks lucky enough to be in the shadow caused by the moon passing in front of the sun – from Mazatlán in the Mexican state of Sinaloa to Bonavista, Newfoundland – experienced the breathtaking sight of the sun’s corona during the total solar eclipse.

Meat Cove residents and Parks Canada were sure to show the visitors some famous Cape Breton hospitality. An open house was on the go at the Community Centre, with beverages and home-cooked treats served to young and old.

Vehicles were lined up two-three deep from the campground, which sits at the end of the one road through the community, back to the village centre. Some even drove down onto the beach itself.

Pristine weather and the spectacular landscape of snowcovered, craggy mountains, waterfalls and deep blue sea made for an exceptional viewing location. As local resident Derek MacLellan said, the day went well and everyone “totality” enjoyed themselves.