Nope, we don't have a Stonehenge 'round Southern California, or even a Manhattanhenge, but we do have interesting ways to mark the day of the year with the most daylight.
That's Friday, June 21, but then you knew that. You've seen it coming for months, as the sunlight stretched into 7 p.m., then 8 p.m., and the inclination to wear daisies in your hair and dance into the night deepened. (Or was that just us?)
A few spots around SoCal, and one in Santa Barbara, will welcome this terrestrial to-do with wine, tunes, and some people on stilts. Of course! Bring out the stilt walkers, it is Summer Solstice at...
Santa Barbara Summer Solstice: The grand celebration and huge parade up the coast puts this American Riviera hullabaloo square among the country's largest solstice observances. If you want to see costumes, stilt walkers, colorful things that float, and more costumes, be on State Street on Saturday, June 22.
Hammer Museum Courtyard Party: It starts late-ish on June 21 -- 8:30, which will still be light, kind of, given that it is the solstice -- and a KCRW DJ will show. Fun stuff? The galleries are staying open late. Wander through and think deep thoughts about time, humanity, creativity, and the sun. Or hit the cash bar and talk to friends. Your choice.
Friday Wine Tasting: There's a fine vino confab up at Barnsdall Art Park each summer Friday night, but the organizers are calling the June 21 the Summer Solstice tasting. That works, especially since you get a really, really good view of the sun going down from atop the Hollyhock House hill
Two Bunch Palms: The desert resort has a solstice special on over the weekend. One highlight of the solstice-y days? A labyrinth christening. Oh, Two Bunch Palms, you do amaze. If only we could spy one of your magical roadrunners inside the labyrinth, we think our solstice would be complete.
