Summer is a comin' today!

Unite and unite
Now let us unite
For summer is a comin' today!

While last year's summer solstice was an evening of fireflies, fairies, and quiet magic in a long sun-lit evening, this year's solstice was a feast of song, dance, and fire. The Revels Summer Solstice festival was actually on the solstice this year.


It began with a parade led by Hels' Morris Dancing team. She joined this team in April and has been enjoying both the dancing and the hanging out with teens. She's on the left behind the man with the hat.










A favorite part of the parade are these butterfly and firefly puppets. At the end of the evening, they reappear, with blinking neon colors, flying in the night.










Fire was a major element at this festival.

Juggling fire sticks while on a balance beam.
















Forging necklaces for children.















Baking bread.











Making pierced-tin lanterns.

At the end of the night, the green was surrounded by glowing tin lanterns.









At around 8:00 conch shells and rams horns called us back together for the final performance of singing and dancing.



The evening ended with fire, dance, and singing. Imagine over 200 people in three giant circles around a fire--teens in the center, men next, women and children in the outer ring. We sang a round and danced to beloved song:

Oh how lovely is the evening, is the evening
When the bells are sweetly ringing, sweetly ringing
Ding, Dong, Ding, Dong, Ding

It was dark, the giant fireflies glowed above us, fire circled about from the juggler-man, and we all shouted a "hurrah" for summer.