More than 1,000 amateur astronomers gathered on the lawn in front of Barrington Town Hall on Monday afternoon, Aug. 21, to view an eclipse of the sun.

The scene was more like a festival with crafts, refreshments and a lively community spirit, and was easily one of the largest local gatherings for the historical eclipse.

Volunteers from the Astronomical Society of Southern New England (ASSNE) set up giant telescopes and provided 100 astronomical filter glasses as well as viewing stations with 15 stationary solar viewing masks for attendees.

People started gathering after around noon and by 1 p.m., a line to get a free pair filter glasses snaked all the way down the hill and onto the sidewalk along County Road. An additional 200 pairs of viewing glasses were provided by Barrington Public Library. (NASA had given libraries across the country the viewing glasses.)

Many people came with their homemade viewing glasses made from cracker and cereal boxes.

Barrington resident Noelle Robinson, 14, made one from a Honey Nut Cheerios box.

“My dad sent me a link on how to make it. It works really well,” she said.

The eclipse began at 1:28 p.m. with its maximum (65 percent) at 2:47 when the large crowd shouted out together in awe.

The eclipse ended at about 4 p.m. and during the sunny afternoon, children played ball and enjoyed crafts organized by the library staff. They made eclipse cookies — sugar and chocolate wafers connected with yellow frosting — created eclipse lapel buttons and other related sun and moon crafts. Shaw’s Supermarket donated cookies, water and, appropriately, Eclipse gum.

ASSNE volunteer George Huftalen set up his personal and powerful telescope, giving spectators a chance to see the phenomenon up close and personal.

“This is a big day. When I was a young astronomer there was an eclipse but I don’t remember much. In 1978, I was in D.C. and didn’t get to see that one. I’m very happy to be a part of this event today,” he said.

Krystal Higgins brought her young daughters and a few friends to the event and said she was impressed with the turnout.

“This is great. The kids were able to look into the telescope and see the eclipse safely,” she said.

Other attendees had fashioned their own make-shift viewing apparatus.

Barrington mom Susan Giordano, like many safety-conscious mothers, went online for instructions after realizing that on-line ordering of safety glasses was unlikely due to sold out status on many sites.

“I made these from welding glass. I called about 15 places to see if they had the glass. I finally found what I needed at a welding supply company in Providence. The glasses were fashioned with cardboard and tape, but worked perfectly.

“My friend and I officially instilled the fear of blindness in our kids, so the glasses I made got plenty of use,” Mrs. Giordano said.