Tuesday, June 21st, marks the official beginning of summer, and the longest day of the year, with the sun rising at 5:25 AM and not setting until 8:30 PM, making that 15 hours and 5 minutes of glorious summer sunshine.
The summer solstice has been an occasion for celebrations and festivals in many different places for many different cultures throughout history. Perhaps one of the most famous places to celebrate the solstice is at Stonehenge; on the summer solstice, the sun rise perfectly aligns with the Alter stone in the center and the so-called Heel stone, evoking a sense of spirituality and mystery. Even today, thousands of people flock to that site on the solstice to see that perfect alignment of light on the stone.
Tuesday morning, the sun rises at 5:25 AM, and if you’re up for rolling out of bed at that hour, you can get a chance to see the earliest sunrise of the year. You’ll want to get an early start anyway and head over to Times Square, which is celebrating the summer solstice with Mind over Madness yoga, starting at 7:30 AM at 48th street and Broadway . Anybody and everybody is invited to being their mats down to welcome the solstice and try to experience some Zen in one of the world’s loudest and most crowded places. However, if you aren’t up for prying open your eyes for the novelty of the sunrise, then feel free to head to Times Square later in the day, because the yoga-fest lasts until 7:30 PM.
Or, you can check out the New York City music scene. It’s the official start of summer, and programs like Make Music New York and Summerstage are putting on great, FREE, shows for your enjoyment. On June 21st, hip-hop artist Talib Kweli is putting on a free show in Red Hook Park, Brooklyn. Make Music New York and the New York City Parks department are also setting up shows on June 21st, with artists Ben L’Oncle Soul and Catherine Ringer performing, plus a screening of the documentary “Gainsbourg and His Girls,”.
Finally, watching the late sunset might be a lot more fun if it’s accompanied by great food and great beer – and one of the best places to find all these things is Eataly, on 5th avenue, where a rooftop beer garden offers delicious food, drink and a breathtaking view of the skyline, making it the perfect place to stay for the sunset – and afterwards, because the kitchen doesn’t close until midnight. One it hits midnight, however, the longest day of the year is over, and the days are only going to get shorter and shorter, until it’s time to start making plans for the winter solstice.
For more information, visit:
http://www.nycgovparks.org/events/2011/