Plenty to celebrate on longest day of the year

TYLER DAWSON

It’s going to be a long day on Saturday. Literally.

June 21 — the summer solstice — will deliver about 17 hours of sunlight in Edmonton, from 5:04 a.m. until sunset at 10:07 p.m.

Around the city, there are plenty of ways to get out and celebrate the longest day of the year. As well, Heather Zwicker, an English professor at the University of Alberta, is hoping Edmontonians will again take to social media under the hashtag #YEGLongDay to document how they spend their day in the sun.

“We think that there is a real beauty in the everyday and we want to encourage people to share what their experience is of that day because we think that the solstice is sort of special,” Zwicker said.

Here’s a selection of what’s going on in Edmonton:

Start your day with sunrise yoga, hosted by instructor Andrew Misle at Hawrelak Park near the Heritage Amphitheatre. It runs from 6:30 a.m. until 8 a.m.

The Society of Edmonton Atheists is hosting its annual Summer Solstice Party at site No. 1 in Coronation Park. The event is a potluck, so bring some food to share. It starts at 4 p.m. and lasts until everyone leaves.

Saturday is also National Aboriginal Day. An artisanal fair will be held starting at 1 p.m. on the legislature grounds. At 3 p.m., the grand entry will begin, followed by a free concert at the bandshell featuring 14 local artists.

Another event, organized in part by the Creating Hope Society, starts at 11 a.m. at Churchill Square. There will be drumming, dancing, arts and crafts and bannock burgers and hotdogs. Fort Edmonton Park is also hosting aboriginal awareness events on Saturday and Sunday.

The Edmonton Chamber Music Society’s Summer Solstice Festival runs Friday to Sunday. Tickets are available at Tix on the Square and The Gramophone.

In other music news, the Edmonton Jazz Festival kicks off Friday.