Plan now for the summer solstice

June 7, 2023

By Kim Komando

It might feel like summer in Phoenix (and many other places), but it’s not official until June 21. There’s no single day with the earliest sunrise and latest sunset. It varies depending on where you live.

You don’t need to go all the way to Sweden for “Midsommar.” (Yes, like that creepy movie.) Check out these solstice celebrations … and yeah, it’s not too late to catch a flight.

Celebrate the summer solstice in style

• If you’re willing to stay up late, the non-profit English Heritage livestreams sunrise at Stonehenge. It starts at 8:49 p.m. Pacific/11:49 p.m. Eastern on June 20.
• Live in New York? Manhattanhenge is where you can see the sunrise shine through the streets of NYC. The most famous spot is the Tudor City Bridge on 42nd Street. 14th, 23rd and 34th streets are killer views, too.
• The most impressive celebrations are in Europe. About 8,000 people head to Reykjavik in Iceland yearly for the Secret Solstice Music Festival. The headlining band performs under the midnight sun. Seriously cool. 
• The solstice is a national holiday in Sweden. The sky never gets truly dark and parties last all night long. 
• A site I want to see: In Egypt, you can watch the sunset between the Pyramids of Giza.
• On the island of Orkney in Scotland, sunrise is in perfect alignment with the Standing Stones of Sternness — upright stones that might be even older than Stonehenge.

🌇 Summer solstice: The one day you can say, “It’s going to be a long day” and no one can tell you you’re wrong.

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