Maybe you already celebrated by going to the Summer Soulstice Music Festival this weekend, but the calendar summer solstice is Wednesday, June 21 at precisely 9:57 a.m. Central Time.
The Summer Solstice – sometimes called Litha or Midsummer – is the day with the longest period of sunlight. To get nerdy about it, it’s the moment when one of earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the sun.
(Remember: It’s Earth’s tilt – not our distance from the sun – that causes winter and summer. This means in the Northern Hemisphere our planet is closest to the sun in January, and farthest from the sun in July.)
But simply saying it’s “the longest day of the year” is absolutely accurate. So let's celebrate it. Here are 5 local events to welcome the light:
Tuesday, June 20
Song Circle: Summer Solstice at Urban Ecology Center
Riverside Park, 1500 E. Park Pl.
5:30 to 7:15 p.m.
Join in a free community song circle around a fire in Riverside Park. “Broaden your connection to urban nature and each other.”
Wednesday, June 21
Summer Solstice Wand Making Celebration & Sound Bath
High Vibes, 2400 S. Logan Ave.
6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Make a magic wand or bask in a sound bath or both. Ticket prices vary, go here for more information.
Summer Solstice Sun Salutations
Mend Massage Therapy & Yoga, 245 Regency Ct. #100, Brookfield
5 to 7 p.m.
Join in a "108 Sun Salutations Challenge" or flow at your own pace. $25. Go here to sign up.
Musica Universalis: The Music of the Spheres
Horwitz-Deremer Planetarium
Rezner Nature Center, S14 W28167 Madison St., Waukesha
Enjoy the Gutekunst Flute Choir perform music inspired by celestial spheres while watching an evening star show. $10. Tickets right here.
Follow your inner sun
Take a walk in your neighborhood. Visit a nearby river or lake. Appreciate your garden. Treat yourself to a new plant. Go on a hike. Raise a glass of something sparkling to the start of summer.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
