Winter Solstice Community Events

Annual community celebrations for the Winter Solstice spotlight storytelling as part of their event, giving guests the opportunity to both listen and tell. Get your stories ready for these annual solstice community events! Below is a short list of annual events in Western MA (click here for 2017 events):

Winter Solstice Celebration – Center for Cultural Evolution – Colrain, MA
Stories, socializing and tasty treats during this solstice tradition in Colrain! There is also music, puppets and juggling! http://www.roundhouseculture.com

Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary Winter Solstice Celebration – Easthampton, MA
An annual solstice celebration with a bonfire.  People are invited to warm themselves by the fire with hot cider and listen to music as they gather with family and friends. The perfect opportunity to share stories!

Solstice Fire & Stories – Town Common – Ashfield, MA
Singers, storytellers, music, Morris dancing, a bonfire and more!

The UMass Amherst Sunwheel – Amherst, MA
The UMass Amherst Sunwheel has attracted tens of thousands of visitors who wish to learn about solar and lunar cycles. Sunwheels, circular stone structures, are designed such that the stones line up with the locations on the horizon of the rising and setting Sun during solstices and equinoxes. You can witness this event during the Winter Solstice while also learning about the seasons, the phases of the moon, the story behind the building of the sunwheel, and more.

Download our Nov/Dec issue of Learning Ahead: Cultural Itinerary for Western Massachusetts to discover winter holiday traditions being celebrated across the region.