Summer SOLSTICE 2026

Join us for a lively day of events celebrating Summer SOLSTICE at Mount Auburn!

Replenish your mind, body, and soul at Summer SOLSTICE on Sunday, June 21. With offerings of free and paid activities including a mindfulness walks, shifting landscape films, yoga, a cyanotype making workshop, meditation, a poetry reading, and community concert, Summer SOLSTICE will be a restorative and healing experience for people of all ages.

Sunday, June 21, events all day - see below for full list of events and happenings, as well as links to register for ticketed events.

All Day Happenings: 10:00 AM- 4:00 PM

Enjoy all- day activities across the landscape, with outdoor tents near Story Chapel featuring check-in, membership, information about our citizen science program, alongside community engagement and reflective experiences in Story and Bigelow Chapels.

See below for ticketed event programs being offered throughout the day, and click on their individual links to register.

Ticketed: Mindfulness Walk

10:00 AM and 2:00 PM

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. Walking together, participants will be guided with simple meditative prompts to reconnect with the breath, senses, and the subtle energy of new beginnings unfolding all around. As the natural world stretches into bloom all around us, feel your spirit awaken alongside it.

Register HERE: Summer SOLSTICE: Mindfulness Walk Tickets, Multiple dates | Eventbrite

Ticketed: Yoga for the Mind, Body, and Soul

10:30 AM

Guided by Artemis Yoga teacher Liz Gawel, you'll explore grounding poses designed to release tension and create a sense of spacious ease. As you hold these shapes, you'll tune into the sounds and scents of nature, surrendering to the calm that rises from the earth.

Register HERE: Summer SOLSTICE: Yoga for the Mind, Body, and Soul Tickets, Sunday, June 21 • 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM | Eventbrite

FREE: Shifting Landscapes: Film Screenings in Story Chapel

Throughout the day, we will be showing a series of films in Story Chapel. These films explore themes of climate change, sustainability, and the ways in which our landscapes shift and change overtime.

Free to attend, no registration required.

Film 1: 11:00 AM- 11:45 AM

Film 2: 12:30 PM- 1:15 PM

Film 3: 2:00 PM- 2:45 PM

Film 4: 3:30 PM- 4:15 PM

FREE: Bat Net Demonstration

11:30 AM

Join Chris Richardson for a demonstration on bat nets and how they work to protect bats in our environment. Dr. Richardson is an adjunct assistant research professor at Boston University and Biology Instructor at Tufts University. He is also a major collaborator with Mount Auburn's Citizen scientist- naturalist project in surveying the bats in our landscape. Please note that this demonstration does not involve the presence of bats.

Ticketed: Awe Walk

12:00 PM

Join us for a stroll through Mount Auburn as we shift our focus towards all the beautiful things in the landscape. Practicing intentional focus, detailed observation, and childlike wonder, we will take time to appreciate nature in all forms and ask ourselves “What do you notice?”.

Register HERE: Summer SOLSTICE: Awe Walk Tickets, Sunday, June 21 • 12 PM - 1:30 PM | Eventbrite

Ticketed: Mid-Day Meditation

12:00 PM

Join guest guide Stefanie Haug (LICSW) 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 and energy of our natural surroundings participants will have the chance to find solace in the renewing Mount Auburn landscape.

Register HERE: Summer SOLSTICE: Mid-Day Meditation (Summer SOLSTICE) Tickets, Sunday, June 21 • 12 PM - 1 PM | Eventbrite

Ticketed: Poetry Reading & Workshop

1:30 PM

Join poet and former Artist-in-Residence Emily Duggan (2025-2026) for a special poetry reading and workshop to celebrate the Summer SOLSTICE.

Register HERE: Summer SOLSTICE: Poetry Reading and Workshop Tickets, Sunday, June 21 • 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM | Eventbrite

FREE/ Registration Required: Calm-Abiding and Insight Meditation with Venerable Xianshu

2:30 PM

This meditation session will be guided by Venerable Xianshu from The Art of Mindfulness Foundation and will take place in the quiet and natural setting of Hazel Dell. Through simple practices of mindful breathing and resting in the present moment, participants are invited to reconnect with body and mind, and gently reflect on the origins and flow of life.

Register HERE: Summer SOLSTICE: Calm-Abiding and Insight Meditation Tickets, Sunday, June 21 • 2:30 PM - 4 PM | Eventbrite

Ticketed: Cyaontype Workshop

3:00 PM

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.

Register HERE: Summer SOLSTICE: Cyanotype Workshop Tickets, Sunday, June 21 • 3 PM - 4:30 PM | Eventbrite

FREE/Ticketed: Community Concert with Ira Klein and Cate Fern

4:30 PM

Join former Artist-in-Residence Ira Klein (2022-2023) and artist Cate Byrne as they perform a joyful Celtic and Middle Eastern inspired set.

Please note this performance is a pay what you can program, with a suggested ticket price of $10. All are welcome to attend at a level that feels accessible.

Register HERE: Summer SOLSTICE: Community Concert with Ira Klein and Cate Byrne Tickets, Sunday, June 21 • 4:30 PM - 6 PM | Eventbrite