What is summer solstice? Here's how to celebrate around Columbus

Lily Carey
·3 min read

Ohioans will celebrate the summer solstice on June 21 — the longest day of the year and the first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere.

The date marks the sun’s longest and northernmost path in the sky. In Columbus, the sun will rise at 6:03 a.m. and set at 9:04 p.m., bathing Ohioans in just over 15 hours of sunlight.

Yet in many cultures around the world, the summer solstice is also a day of celebration. Different spiritual and cultural groups have held a variety of festivals and rituals throughout history to welcome the summer season.

Looking to ring in the official start to the warmer months? Here are ways to celebrate the summer solstice this Wednesday, in Columbus and beyond.

Serpent Mound: An Ohio tradition

One of Ohio’s biggest summer solstice celebrations will take place at Serpent Mound in Adams County, just under a two-hour drive from Columbus.

Serpent Mound is the world’s largest surviving effigy mound — a mound in the shape of an animal typically built by ancient Indigenous peoples. Historians estimate that the mound was built around 320 B.C.E. by the Adena, a pre-Columbian Indigenous civilization that existed in modern-day Ohio.

The site was built in alignment with the sun and moon patterns, making it a unique place to celebrate the summer solstice. From Friday, June 23 to Sunday, June 25, the Friends of Serpent Mound will host a weekend-long summer solstice festival.

The festival will feature a range of presenters on the site’s historical and natural significance, as well as several musical performers. It’s also free and open to the public, and no registration is required.

More: When does summer start in Ohio? There's more than one answer

Celebrating summer solstice around Columbus

Staying local for the summer solstice? These events around the Columbus metropolitan area will keep Ohioans busy for all 15 hours of sunlight.

  • Coast Wine House, located at 75 S. High St. in Dublin, will host a summer solstice event to welcome summer with “the drink of the season” — the Aperol Spritz. The event will offer $5 Aperol Spritzes, a special drink menu and Aperol branded merch from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. on June 21 and 22.

  • Underground Wire, an event series for environmentally-minded Central Ohioans, will host a celebration and environmental networking event from 5:30 p.m. until sunset at the Worthington Library, located at 752 High St. in Columbus. All are welcome at this free event, and RSVPs are encouraged.

  • For those looking to rise with the sun, Modo Yoga is holding a Sun Salutations yoga class at 5:45 a.m. at the Pierce Field Tennis Courts in Grandview Heights, 1080 W. 1st Ave. Registration is set at $30 per person.

  • Gathering at the Farm, located just under 40 minutes outside Columbus in Mechanicsburg, will host a "community picnic and sound bath" to celebrate the solstice from 5 to 11 p.m. The event will include pop-up workshops, guided meditations, sunset yoga, field games and more. The registration fee is $33, and the Gathering Farm is located at 4690 Mechanicsburg-Sanford Road.

lcarey@dispatch.com

@LilyLCarey

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: What is summer solstice and when is it celebrated?