'Summer Soulstice' Music Festival Returns To Milwaukee Saturday

MILWAUKEE — Summer events are getting into full swing around Milwaukee, and another reason to get outside and celebrate the weather is coming to the city's east side on Saturday with music, food and more.

Called the Summer Soulstice festival, it celebrates the changing of the seasons. Technically the June solstice, widely regarded as the official start to summer, occurs on Wednesday.

The festival kicks off Saturday with 25 performers spread out around four stages situated on Milwaukee's east side. DJ will be pumping beats in the Black Cat Alley while other musicians sing and perform on the streets around and tons of options for food. You'll find the fun around 2160 North Farwell Avenue throughout Saturday.

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. In Milwaukee, that’s at 10:57 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

On Wednesday, the sun will rise at 5:12 a.m. over Milwaukee and will set at 8:34 p.m., meaning we’ll see about 15 hours and 21 minutes 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