Join us to celebrate the passing of the seasons from Autumn to Winter. Come acknowledge the Winter Solstice by watching the sunrise with us and seeing the alignment in the Great Stone Circle at Kinstone! This will be a quiet, meditative event with a short opening rite and reading to help us welcome Winter and send Autumn on its way with blessings.
COST: admission to Kinstone ($5/person) (pay in advance online OR pay in cash at the event. No Registration Required
Date: Tuesday, December 21, 2021 Time: 7:00 am – 8:00am (Sunrise Gathering)
IMPORTANT: We will hold a short program outdoors near the Porch of the Education Center Building starting at 7am. Depending on snow levels and weather we will then decide if we go out to the circle or not. Weather and snow conditions permitting, we will proceed together to the center of the Great Stone Circle. Given fair weather and clear skies, we will watch the sun as it crests the ridge and beams through the Chair Stones to light up anyone standing in the middle of the circle. Note: Actual sunrise is at 7:38am and given the topography at Kinstone it will be closer to 7:50am when we may see the sun from the center of the circle.
Dress for the weather and wear appropriate footwear, boots, scarves, hats, extra layers and gloves! Expect it to be colder and windier than you think! Be prepared to walk some distance through snow and on uneven (perhaps icy – or muddy, slippery) paths to get to the circle!
Parking is limited – especially in winter. Please park in the small lot by the Education Center (Staff Parking area), park as closely to others as possible to make enough room for all. Note: we highly discourage parking along the road, however; if you absolutely must park along the road due to snow in our Staff and Visitor Parking areas, please make sure you put on your 4-way flashing lights while parked there for this short event.
This event is planned to be held outdoors ONLY. It will be cancelled in case of snow storm or bad weather. Please note that we will not see the alignment if it is cloudy or if the horizon is obstructed by morning mist, fog, rain, snow or clouds. If it is raining or snowing, or if the snow on the ground is too deep for walking through, we will CANCEL. Cancellations will be posted on THIS event page and on the corresponding Facebook event page at least 1 hour before the scheduled start time for this event.
[Interesting fact: The exact time of the astronomical 2021 Winter Solstice is Tuesday, December 21, 2021 at 9:59am CST.]
Photo credit: Kristine Beck
