Summer SOLSTICE 2023
The Summer SOLSTICE approaches on June 21st. Spend the longest day of the year at Mount Auburn, where we’ll be hosting a number of different activities, tours, and concerts for all to attend.
SCHEDULE
10:00am-11:15am | Forest Bathing ($15; walking tour)
Join guest guide Stefanie Haug (LICSW) as we explore Mount Auburn Cemetery by slowing down, being attentive to nature with all our senses, and deepening our appreciation for this special slice of our Cambridge neighborhood. Our Forest Bathing experience will include simple warm-up movements, a natural history of the area, guided breathing and centering awareness, mindful walking with sensory activities, and finding our nature meditation/sit spot.
What to bring: layered clothing, comfortable shoes, small mat or towel to sit on, water.
12:30pm-1:30pm | Midday Sound Meditation ($15; Hazel Dell)
An outdoor Guided Meditation, Relaxation and Sound Experience. Sound Healing practitioner Marlene Boyette welcomes all to be held by the earth, to find refuge, to rest, and to be led through a guided meditation intended to bring the mind and the body into unison, while also engaging the senses. Weaving together the sounds, vibrations, and energy of our natural surroundings with a variety of instruments (including deeply resonant crystal and metal singing bowls and chimes), participants will be bathed in layers sonic acoustics.
The experience will close with an opportunity for all to reflect and set intentions for the new season through dialogue and / or journaling.
What to bring: a yoga mat, blanket or towel, a journal and writing utensil. A limited amount of chairs will be provided.
12:45pm-1:45pm | Cyanotype Workshop (Free; Halcyon Lake)
Cyanotypes are one of the oldest photographic printing processes in the history of photography. The distinctive feature of the print is its shade of cyan blue, which results from its exposure to ultraviolet light.
Cyanotypes were first introduced by the astronomer, scientist, and botanist John Herschel in 1841. The cyanotype process was later used by botanist Anna Atkins Atkins to make the first ever photographic book in 1843.
Join Former MAC Artist-in-Residence Madge Evers for a workshop on how to make your own cyanotype compositions. Evers will teach participants an experimental form of the cyanotype process by which she will create a series of images on paper that use and depict the flora of Mount Auburn Cemetery.
1:00pm-2:00pm | Violinist at Asa Gray Garden (Free)
Join musician Lilly Innella at Asa Gray Garden for an hour of free music. Innella is a wedding and event violinist based out of New England and is a member of the Ashley Jordan Band and the New Hampshire Philharmonic Orchestra. Innella is classically trained and plays a variety of different genres including pop, rock, country, and musical theatre. Drop by! No registration required.
2:00pm-3:00pm | Long Blooms (Free; walking tour)
Join Mount Auburn’s Director of Ornamental Horticulture, Steph Almasi, for a walking tour of the grounds as you explore some of the longest blooming flowers on the longest day of the year.
2:15pm-3:15pm | Vibraphonist at Willow Pond (Free)
Join musician Denver Nuckolls at Willow Pond for an hour of free music. Nuckolls will be playing a vibraphone, a percussion instrument that encourages reflection and relaxation within washes of sound. Nuckolls is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and educator based in the Boston area. When performing, Denver assumes the role of communicator, aiming to inspire honest human connection through the bridging of differing artistic settings and musical styles. Drop by! No registration required.
3:00pm-3:45pm | Yoga for the Mind, Body, and Soul ($15; Hazel Dell)
Led by Artemis Yoga teacher Tracy Affonso.
Tracy’s classes are a fun physical practice infused with a sense of calming energy. She mindfully instructs her students through sequences, while offering them the space to listen to their bodies and move with intention.
What to bring: water, a yoga mat, flexible/comfortable clothing.
3:30pm-4:30pm | Violinist at Asa Gray Garden (Free)
Join musician Lilly Innella at Asa Gray Garden for an hour of free music. Innella is a wedding and event violinist based out of New England and is a member of the Ashley Jordan Band and the New Hampshire Philharmonic Orchestra. Innella is classically trained and plays a variety of different genres including pop, rock, country, and musical theatre. Drop by! No registration required.
4:00pm-5:15pm | Forest Bathing ($15; walking tour)
Join guest guide Stefanie Haug (LICSW) as we explore Mount Auburn Cemetery by slowing down, being attentive to nature with all our senses, and deepening our appreciation for this special slice of our Cambridge neighborhood. Our Forest Bathing experience will include simple warm-up movements, a natural history of the area, guided breathing and centering awareness, mindful walking with sensory activities, and finding our nature meditation/sit spot.
What to bring: layered clothing, comfortable shoes, small mat or towel to sit on, water.
4:15-5:15pm | Mount Auburn’s Medicinal and Edible Landscape | (Free; walking tour)
Come join local herbalist and former Mount Auburn arborist Alex Klein for a saunter through the cemetery where we’ll get to know the medicinal and culinary aspects of some of the cemetery’s planted and wild collections.
We’ll talk some of the historical and cultural uses of our favorite trees, how to use the weeds as food and medicine, as well as some natural history and ecology of this garden landscape. It will be a leisurely stroll, that will venture off the roads at times, including a likely foray into the Dell.
4:15pm-5:15pm | Vibraphonist at Willow Pond (Free)
Join musician Denver Nuckolls at Willow Pond for an hour of free music. Nuckolls will be playing a vibraphone, a percussion instrument that encourages reflection and relaxation within washes of sound. Nuckolls is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and educator based in the Boston area. When performing, Denver assumes the role of communicator, aiming to inspire honest human connection through the bridging of differing artistic settings and musical styles. Drop by! No registration required.
5:30pm-6:45pm | Bluegrass & Folk Concert (Free; Hazel Dell)
Opener: STONEFACE MOUNTAIN. A young bluegrass band from the Boston area who share a common love of music. Their hard-driving Bluegrass sound is influenced by legends such as Flatt & Scruggs, Ricky Skaggs, and Bill Monroe. Stoneface Mountain has been astounding crowds at many popular New England venues for the past five years, such as the Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival, Podunk Bluegrass Festival, Ossipee Valley Bluegrass Festival, Club Passim, and others. They are the emerging future of Bluegrass music.
Headliner: IRA KLEIN(MAC 2022-2023 Artist-in-Residence), KEVIN BARRY, and HAZEL ROYER. You may remember this trio of musician friends from a concert on Bigelow Lawn in September 2022. We liked them so much, we just had to bring them back!
Ira Klein is an award-winning interdisciplinary guitarist, composer, producer, and educator from Jerusalem, Israel. Performing and recording extensively in New England and beyond, Ira aspires to create deeply rooted, fresh, and idiosyncratic contemporary music.
Kevin Barry is a professional guitarist who has toured and recorded with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Mary Chapin Carpenter, Emmylou Harris, Rosanne Cash, and Ray Lamontagne, among others. He has performed with Jackson Browne, Rob Thomas, Sara Mclachlan, Bonnie Rait, and many other national acts.
Hazel Royer is a Boston-based upright bassist, guitarist, and singer. She plays a variety of styles including folk, bluegrass, old-time, rock, and blues. Hazel grew up playing folk and bluegrass music in the Boston music scene with her father, Eric Royer.
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