FARMINGTON — Monday night, Aug. 14, the sky over the courthouse blazed with color.

For decades people have come to Meetinghouse Park across from the courthouse on Monday nights to enjoy an evening of music and family fun but this week something special was added.

As the light began to wane and darkness set in, a glance through the back of the gazebo showed the start of a spectacular show. For the next 10 minutes or so, the sky showed a hint of reddish-orange that grew both in intensity and size.

Willa Johnson, a Spruce Mountain Middle School student from Livermore has been playing snare drum with the Western Maine Foothills Band this summer. She was one of the first ones to notice the colorful sky. At the conclusion of the next song she grabbed her phone and made her way across the gazebo and out into the park to grab a couple of photos.

Willa was able to capture the sky’s changing panorama a couple more times before the colors faded. After the concert ended, she shared her photos with The Franklin Journal.

Michael Burke of Wilton plays trombone with the band. He turned around to grab a few photos too.

Later Monday night and Tuesday morning, several Facebook posts noted other locations in the area where the brilliant sunset was recorded and shared.