Winter Solstice Bonfire 2022

Join us to celebrate the “shortest day of the year” with a bonfire in the Allerton Meadow! The winter solstice marks the official end of fall and beginning of winter and has been celebrated in a variety of ways for thousands of years, traditionally honoring the imminent return of the sun and symbolizing new beginnings. Gather around the bonfire (lit around 7pm), take a stroll through Holiday GLOW, and warm up with a beverage from the bar (5-9pm).

La Paloma and House of Brisket food trucks will also be available near the bonfire.

No registration is required. A $10/car donation can be made on our online donation page or at the gate.

Paul Winter Consort

The music of the Paul Winter Consort and his 43rd Annual Winter Solstice Celebration will be streamed outside at the bonfire beginning at 6 p.m. You can listen AND watch the concert inside the Mansion, where the cash bar will be open for the evening.

Winter is a prominent jazz musician with ties to Allerton Park, which can be seen in his music which includes the song “Sun Singer.” His work, which has earned him seven Grammy awards, is done in the musical traditions and natural environments of the Earth, which is a great fit for Allerton!

About the winter solstice: “The winter solstice..occurs when either of Earth’s poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the winter solstice is the day with the shortest period of daylight and longest night of the year, when the Sun is at its lowest daily maximum elevation in the sky…The winter solstice occurs during the hemisphere’s winter. In the Northern Hemisphere, this is the December solstice (usually December 21 or 22) and in the Southern Hemisphere, this is the June solstice (usually June 20 or 21). Although the winter solstice itself lasts only a moment, the term sometimes refers to the day on which it occurs.” via Wikipedia

Photo: Virginia Kickle