Summer Solstice: Concerts, Hikes, Paddles Celebrate Anne Arundel's Longest Day

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — We’ve been enjoying summertime events in Anne Arundel County since before the start of meteorological summer on June 1, but the season officially gets underway Thursday, June 20, with the summer solstice.

These eight summer solstice events will celebrate on Thursday:

• Tides and Tunes Summer Concert Series: Annapolis Maritime Museum & Park, free but $10 donations welcomed
• Nature Storytime and Hike: Pasadena's Lake Waterford Park, free
• Full Moon Paddle: Annapolis, $30 to $105 depending on equipment desired
• Sunset Cruise on the Chesapeake: Annapolis Maritime Museum & Park, $75, 21 and older
• SoCo Farmer's Market: Deale, free
• S@YL Kickoff Carnival - Games, Crafts, Music: Annapolis' Michael E. Busch Annapolis Library, free
• Spirits & Spirits: Walking Tour & Cruise: Annapolis, $40
• Maryland State House Tour: Annapolis, $18 for adults and $9 for children

If you can't swing a solstice celebration on Thursday, here are 12 summery weekend events in Anne Arundel County:

• Music on the Lawn: Friday, Shady Side's Captain Avery Museum, $5 for members, $10 for non-members and free for kids under 13
• Field Work Fridays - Volunteering At Park: Friday, Lothian's Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary, free, ages 8 and up
• Special Paddles - Ladies Night Paddle, Sunrise Paddle, Yoga Paddle, Quiet Waters Eco Tour Paddle: Friday and Saturday, Annapolis, cost varies based on equipment
• Wildberry Field Market: Saturday, Crownsville, free
• Women on the Water Kayak: Saturday, Lothian's Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary, $45, 21 and older
• Anne Arundel County Farmers Market: Saturday and Sunday, Annapolis, free
• Sunrise Yoga: Saturday and Sunday, Annapolis, free or $10
• TrySail: Two-Hour Introduction to Sailing: Saturday and Sunday, Annapolis Sailing School, $99 per person or $165 for two people
• Concert at Downs Park - Summer Knights: Sunday, Pasadena's Downs Park, free with park admission
• Cars and Coffee: Sunday, Annapolis Town Center, free
• Summer Concerts at City Dock: Sunday, Annapolis City Dock, free
• Toastique Yoga on The Green: Sunday, Annapolis Town Center, free

The sun travels its longest path through the sky on the day of the summer solstice, which occurs the exact moment it reaches its highest and northernmost points in the sky.

In Anne Arundel County, that’s at 1:07 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

It's the longest day of the year in terms of daylight.

On Thursday, the sun will rise at 5:40 a.m. and set at 8:34 p.m. That will give Anne Arundel County 14 hours, 54 minutes and 19 seconds of daylight.

You can read more about the science of the summer solstice on The Old Farmer’s Almanac website.

The summer solstice offers a short window to see electric blue noctilucent clouds, the highest in Earth's atmosphere, which float about 50 miles above our planet's surface near the edge of space, which starts at an altitude of 62 miles.

This year, the solstice coincides with the full strawberry moon on June 21. It doesn’t happen often that the solstice falls within a day of the full moon — only about once every 19 to 20 years, according to Space.com.

As you’re filling out your summer calendar, block out a few dates for the summer meteor showers. The Delta Aquariids, Alpha Capricornids and the always-anticipated Perseids all start in July.

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• 2024 Guide To Meteor Showers And Other Celestial Events

And, who knows, you may get a chance to see the aurora borealis, or northern lights, as the sun’s 11-year magnetic cycle goes into overdrive as it approaches what’s known as “solar maximum.” During this time, the sun’s magnetic field completely flips between the north and south poles. As the magnetic fields become tangled about midway through the cycle, the number of sunspots, where geomagnetic storms originate, is expected to ramp up.

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• ‘Internet Apocalypse’ Could Accompany Vivid Aurora