Celebrate Summer Solstice In Rumson With Waterspirit Event

RUMSON, NJ — Summer events are already in full swing in Monmouth County, but here's another reason to celebrate the season: The June solstice, regarded as the official start to summer, arrives Wednesday.

Waterspirit in Rumson offers a live - and livestreamed - summer solstice event in the Rumson area. Here are the details:

Through music, movement and ritual, Waterspirit in Rumson will mark the summer solstice on Wednesday, June 21, at 7 p.m. at the Waterspirit headquarters at 4 E. River Road in Rumson.

The celebration will also be livestreamed on Waterspirit's YouTube channel.

The event honors "the earth, sun and water working in harmony to bring us the gifts of summer," the organization says. It will feature live music by Joseph Frame.

You can register for the event here.

"On this, the summer solstice, we celebrate the light, energy and warmth of the sun. The sun is on the ocean; the fire is on the water. The warmth and flow make life. The sun touches our skin and changes us, making the vitamins we need for health. We are structured water reaching for the sun. The sun helps the plants produce the food and oxygen we need to live. We pray with gratitude for water that is life and for the light, energy, warmth and food we receive so abundantly from the generous, self-giving sun," the organization says.

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

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

• Read More: 2023 Guide To Meteor Showers And Other Celestial Events

Also, the July 3 full buck moon is the first of four consecutive supermoons. They’re not that much different from other full moons, but they do appear to be bigger and brighter.

And, who knows, you may get a chance to see the aurora borealis as the sun’s 11-year magnetic cycle goes into overdrive as it approaches what’s known as “solar maximum.” When this happens, the sun’s magnetic fields flip, creating a greater number of sunspots that can set off the ethereal northern lights displays.

Read More: Aurora Borealis Displays More Likely In Active Solar Storm Season | Aurora Borealis Hunting: What’s A Kp Index, More Northern Lights Tips.