Summer Solstice 2019: How Maryland Marks The Season's Start

ANNAPOLIS, MD — The summer solstice marks the longest day of the year — and the beginning of the season of vacation days, sailing, crabbing and other fun across Maryland.

Summer officially arrives in Baltimore at 11:54 a.m. Friday, June 21, at the moment the sun reaches the Tropic of Cancer, its highest point. The summer solstice is also the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.

There will be 15 hours and five minutes of daylight on Friday. The sun rises at 5:39 a.m. and doesn't set until 8:36 p.m in Baltimore.

Here's a few events set this weekend to celebrate the solstice:

Maryland Science Center will hold Solstice, its annual fundraiser. The 21 and older event and is held on the Saturday closest to the Summer Solstice; this year, the event will be from 8 p.m. to midnight on Saturday, June 22. The all-inclusive moveable feast has an open bar featuring signature cocktails, live music, silent auction.

Summer Solstice Bash: Celebrate the longest day of summer with food, yoga, wine, and live music by Guava Jelly. Join Blue Lotus Yoga Studio at Annapolis Sailing School from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, June 21. The school is at 7001 Bembe Beach Road, Annapolis. Tickets cost $35 for members, $45 fo general admission.

Celebrate the Solstice: This is the day with the longest sunlight hours so celebrate with fire and dance, says the Montgomery County Parks Department. Bring a picnic dinner, join a drum circle, and make this your own ritual to welcome summer. Runs from 4 to 9 p.m., Friday, June 21, at Brookside Nature Center in Wheaton Regional Park.

Jellyfish Festival in Ocean City: The festival includes musical acts such as Styx, plus family friend activities, a fitness challenge, skateboard and bicycle zone, and artists. Events are set June 21-23. The core of Jellyfish is the main stage, right off the Boardwalk in downtown Ocean City north of the pier, stretching to North Division Street.

Chesapeake Crab, Wine & Beer Festival: Baltimore's Rash Field. Experience an all-you-care-to-taste extravaganza complete with over 30,000 crabs, lots of beer, arts & crafts, live music and family fun. June 22, 2019.

Maryland Foodie Fest: The family-friendly food festival will be held at Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen on Saturday, June 22, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The fest will feature cooking competitions, food pairings and samples from restaurants throughout Maryland, craft beer and wine, vendors and live music. Maryland Foodie Fest will host three cooking competitions—burgers, seafood and chili—the only cooking competitions in Maryland sanctioned by the World Food Championships.

And put these summer fun events on your calendar:

• Dinner Under the Stars - Annapolis. Make Wednesday nights special with this new Annapolis tradition. Have dinner under the stars on the first block of West St off Church Circle. Call the participating restaurant of your choice to reserve your table. Wednesday evenings now through mid-September 2019.
• Potomac Jazz and Seafood Festival - Coltons Point and Leonardtown - Enjoy jazz, seafood and stunning waterside views for jazz enthusiasts. To celebrate the festival's 20th year, a special Friday concert celebration, Sunday jazz brunches and other activities will take place in downtown Historic Leonardtown. July 12 - 14, 2019.
• Tilghman Island Seafood Fest - Tilghman - Held at Tilghman's Volunteer Fire Co. & adjacent Kronsburg Park, this traditional fest provides steamed crabs, clams, chicken bbq, hot dogs, corn on the cob, fries, beer & sodas for purchase. Children's activities and live music and the popular crab race are part of the day. July 13, 2019.
• J. Miller Tawes Crab & Clam Bake - Crisfield - A Maryland "must-attend, see-and-be-seen political institution," equal parts seafood and schmooze. The annual celebration is named in honor of Crisfield native, J. Millard Tawes, Maryland's 54th Governor. July 17, 2019.
• Howard County Summer Restaurant Week - Restaurants throughout Howard County - Many restaurants participate in thise semi-annual event so check the website. July 22 - August 5, 2019.
• Baltimore Restaurant Week - Baltimore is a foodie town and its restaurant weeks feature more than 100 participating restaurants. Join the fun. August 2 - 11, 2019.
• Baltimore County Restaurant Week - Participating Restaurants are throughout the county so please check the website. August 2 - 17, 2019.
• Baltimore Vegan Restaurant Week - Celebrate the fifth and summer edition of Vegan Restaurant Week: Let’s Make That One Dish (or Dessert). Restaurants are challenged to demonstrate their love and compassion for promoting healthier diets, and reducing environmental impacts. August 16 - September 1, 2019.
• Maryland Seafood Festival - Annapolis/Sandy Point State Park. This Festival has the view, the eclectic music, the sand soccer, paddle-boarding and exciting flavorful foods and contests including the crab soup cook-off. September 7 - 8, 2019.

Here are four things to know about the summer solstice:

1. Native American tribes have long observed the summer solstice and many continue the rituals today. Tribes in present-day Wyoming constructed a "medicine wheel," a stone wheel with 28 spikes, at the top of Bighorn Moutain to observe the solstice. It was aligned with the sunrise and sunset of the solstice and is accessible only in the summer months.

2. Thousands will gather at Stonehenge, a Neolithic megalith monument in the south of England, to celebrate the summer solstice. Stonehenge, built around 2500 B.C., lines up perfectly with both the summer and winter solstices.

3. The summer solstice is steeped in pagan folklore and superstition. According to some accounts, people wore protective garlands of herbs and flowers to ward off evil spirits that appear on the summer solstice.

4. June 21 marks the beginning of winter in the Southern Hemisphere. The forecast high temperature for the first day of winter in Esperanza, located on the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula (the coldest place on Earth), is 8 degrees.