ROCHESTER, N.Y. — It’s the countdown before the total solar eclipse arrives in the Rochester area.

The skies will go completely dark around 3:20 p.m. on Monday as the moon passes between the sun and the Earth. The last time Rochester was in the eclipse’s path of totality was 99 years ago and the next time will be 120 years from now.

The Rochester Museum and Science Center is celebrating the eclipse with a day full of activities, continuing a festival that started over the weekend. The local band The Isotopes will play at RMSC starting at 11:45 a.m. Then, NASA astronaut will speak at 1:15 p.m. After that, it’s the countdown to totality. After totality, there will be performance from rising country music star Dylan Marlowe.

News10NBC TODAY spoke live with Don Jeffries, president and CEO of Visit Rochester, about the visitors and the economic boom that the eclipse is expected to bring to the region. He said the region is welcoming an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 people.

“Last night, I saw a lot of out-of-town license plates and we’re looking forward to big crowd,” he said.

There will also be a viewing party at Parcel 5 in downtown called “Party in the Dark”. There will be streams of concerts at Parcel 5’s jumbo outdoor projector and fire pits to gather around. It runs from noon to 4 p.m. Blankets and chairs are welcome.

There will also be food trucks, wine, and local craft beer including a special Totality Black Lager from
Rohrbach Brewing Co. After the eclipse, there will be an after party at La Bola inside Mercantile on Main. The party runs from 4 to 7 p.m.

News10NBC is Rochester’s Eclipse Headquarters. You can see our complete eclipse coverage here and a list of more eclipse viewing parties here. The skies will start to darken in the Rochester area around 2:07 p.m. Totality will begin at 3:20 p.m. and will last for 3 minutes and 38 seconds in the city.