Alaska Summer Solstice Festivals

Summer in the Northern Hemisphere will officially arrive on Tuesday, June 20, 2012 a day earlier then usual due to this being leep year: the Alaska Summer Solstice parties begin. Just for gee wiz, at this same time in the Southern Hemisphere, winter officially begins. Bummer for them.

The the longest day of the year is referred to as the Summer Solstice and here in the Northern Hemisphere that day comes on June 21^st of each year with the exceptions of the Leep Years when he Summer Solstice arrives a day early. In Alaska, and other places up near the North Pole, the days are at their longest and will begin their 6 month trek of shortening daylight from this point on. Inside the Arctic Circle that lies north of Fairbanks by just a short 125 miles, the sun never really sets - even at midnight! Hence the nickname, Land Of The Midnight Sun.

NOTE: For people living in the Southern Hemisphere, on this same day, June 20^st, will be their Winter Solstice, and there shortest day of the year. Talk about being upside down and backwards...

Where To Find The Summer Solstice Festivals In Alaska.

Any True Alaskan town worth its salt has a summer solstice festival these days. This may consist of an all night concert or a fundraiser events like the Abused Women Aid in Crisis Summer Solstice festival in Anchorage that benefits this worthy Women's Charity. If your town doesn't have a summer solstice festival, here are some that really know how to live the Alaskan Life.

For 2012, as the days reach their longest point, the Summer Solstice will be at 9:09 a.m. Alaska time.
Festivals celebrating the Summer Solstice take place all over Alaska, and vary by city as well as region.

Summer Solstice In Anchorage, the Annual Anchorage Summer Solstice Festival is held to benefit the Abused Women Aid in Crisis program. Held downtown in the Town Square’s flower-filled park, the Festival features live entertainment, craft booths selling unique, made-in-Alaska gifts, as well as a variety of local food vendors. It’s a great festival for a good cause! Head on down to this annual Alaskan summer solstice festival held in the Town Square Park located in the park at 4th Ave & Town Square. Organized by the Anchorage Downtown Partnership, Ltd. will bne held on the Sat. closest to Summer Solstice.
Call (907) 279-5650 for more info.

• Alaska Junior Theater - 329 F Street, Suite 204 Anchorage, AK 99501 - (907) 272-7513
• Alaska Zoo - The zoo party will start with the gate opening at 9am and continue to closing at around midnight. Spend some time with the animals with a live band on the lawn playing from noon tell 2p.m. and again from 3 to 5p.m. and once more from 7 to 9 p.m. In the gardens you will find the flowers in full bloom and the critters are always ready for a party. There will be face painting, hands-on animal items at our critter tables, animal enrichment activities throughout the day. Don't miss the scavenger hunt or other games where there are always plenty of prizes and a raffle too.
• Moose's Tooth Summer Solstice Concert and Party - At the Moose's Tooth Pub located at 3300 Old Seward Hwy., Anchorage, Alaska. 99503. Call 258-2537 for more info.
• Anchorage Solstice Midnight Sun Ride - Hit the trail at sunset! Join other bike enthusiasts for a midnight ride that begins at sunset at the Kincaid Chalet and winds down the Anchorage Coastal Trail and ends at the Anchorage Town Square Park. Registration is held at the Spenard Recreation Center, 2020 West 48th Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99517 - (907) 343-4160.
• Music in the Park - 11 a.m. tell 2 p.m. Peratrovich Park, 4th Ave & E St.
  The town park comes alive this summer solstice with the sounds of music during Music in the Park events. This FREE concert series gives families an affordable place to spend the solstice Monday in Anchorage.

Southwest of Anchorage;

Girdwood Alaska - Alyeska Resort

• Fiddlehead Folk Festival - Alyeska's summer music festival is set for June 19th this summer. This family event is held at the Daylodge where a full day of fun is scheduled for the first ever Fiddlehead Folk Festival. The line up of both local and national bluegrass, folk and country acts is quite impressive. The Fiddlehead Folk Festival also hosts a beer garden, some great kids activities and plenty of Alasakn vendors selling their handmade arts and crafts.

Seldovia Alaska, at the tip of the Kenai Peninsula, this tiny town of Seldovia hosts one of the best Summer Solstice Music Festival in Alaska. With two days of great folk music, workshops, entertainment and fun is one not to miss. Billed as Alaska’s secret paradise, Seldovia has retained much of its original beauty and character throughout the years, giving visitors a real glimpse of what small town Alaska is really like. Discover Seldovia and its Summer Solstice Music Festival, then discover the great natural beauty surrounding this little piece of paradise.

• Seldovia Summer Solstice Music Festival A musical odyssey will begin as the annual Seldovia Summer Solstice Music Festival gets off to a great start. Plan to leave the Homer Spit onboard the HMS Tustumena and participate in some musical jamming onboard with festival headliners and friends, have dinner in beautiful Seldovia, camp out of try one of the lodging establishments in town and then attend the fun festival activities on Friday and Saturday. For your return trip, the HMS Tustumena departs for Homer on Sunday.

Moose Pass Alaska Summer Solstice Festival; For the past 20 years, Moose Pass has has been the place to celebrate the Summer Solstice, For two days, the community of Moose Pass gathers together with visitors and campers for a celebration including food, games, music and some good ole Alaska family fun. The Summer Solstice Festival helps to raise money for the local Moose Pass Sportsman's Club.

North of Anchorage

Lighten Up Summer Solstice Festival: Saturday, June 20 from 10am to 8 pm, Palmer Alaska. Check out the Valleys Summer Solstice celebration located at the Palmer Depot. This is a great family event where you can enjoy free carnival games, family style activities, live music and yes, lots of great food too. There will also be a family fun run at 10am that morning. Check out Palmer's Summer Solstice Festivities for a more down to earth Alaskan experience.

Fairbanks offers a full week of Summer Solstice celebrations, including:

• The Midnight Sun Festival in downtown Fairbanks. The annual event is held on the day of the solstice, and features crafts, food, shopping, a street fair, and live entertainment. Many downtown stores stay open until midnight to accommodate the huge crowds that turn out for the event.
• The Annual Midnight Sun Baseball Game, now in its 97th year. The game starts on Friday, June 21, at 10:30pm at Growden Memorial Park, takes a pause at Midnight, then continues on to conclusion without the benefit (or need) of anything except for natural light.
• The Midnight Sun Fun Run - the third-largest foot race in Alaska. The 10k run begins at 10pm, and attracts more than 3,000 runners from around the state, and the Lower 49.
• The Eagle Summit Gathering. Join the crowd on Eagle Summit, a mountaintop north of Fairbanks, and 107 miles up the Steese Highway, for a clear view of the Midnight Sun, which moves slowly across the horizon, but never quite touches the Crazy Mountains in the distance.

Juneau takes their Summer Solstice Celebration in a completely different direction with the Around Admiralty “Spirit of Adventure”Sailboat Race. Each year, the Juneau Yacht Club hosts the running of the “Spirit of Adventure –Around Admiralty Race”, a 200 mile sailboat race around the Admiralty Island National Monument. The Spirit of Adventure race is the longest inland water race on the West coast of North America. It starts and ends in Juneau, Alaska each year on the last Saturday before the summer solstice, which means that while there is night racing, it is never really very dark. The experience of watching the sailboats racing under a full moon, with the red of the sunset in the west and the glow of the dawn in the east, and the moon’s reflection on the surrounding snow-capped mountain peaks, all at the same time, is an experience that will likely remain with you for the rest of your life.

Summer Solstice in Denali Park - One of the most spectacular times of the year to visit the Denali National Park is during the Summer Solstice, when the Park enjoys great weather, continuous daylight, abundant wildflowers, and the remarkable beauty of the Alaska Range during the height of summer. Explore the Park for moose, caribou, Dall sheep, grizzly bear and wolves while traveling into this International Biosphere Reserve. Enjoy some of the more than six million acres that make up the Denali National Park & Preserve - a land area that is larger than the State of Massachusetts! Located in the heart of Alaska’s magnificent and rugged interior, the park is home to Mt. McKinley, North America’s highest mountain. Summer, at the time of the Solstice, is one of the most desirable, and beautiful times to be in Denali National Park.

Denali Bus Tours See bears, caribou and wolves in their natural habitat.	Exit Glacier, Seward AK. Take a drive or ride on a tour bus to the base of “Exit Glacier”.	Bear Viewing Tours Throughout Alaska, bears are one of the top attractions.	Anchorage Wildlife Viewing Be sure to visit the “Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center”, Girdwood.

Alaska Solstice Festival Calendar of Events, Moose Pass, Seldovia, Fairbanks, Talkeetna.