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Arizona State Museum's 8th annual "Marking the Solstice" will serve up a tempting array of entertainment and hands-on fun.

By University Communications
June 18, 2008

Come early and stay late to celebrate the longest day of the year. The Arizona State Museum on The University of Arizona campus is hosting the eighth annual Marking the Solstice event this Saturday starting at 2:30 p.m.

The Arizona State Museum is located on University Boulevard, just east of the UA Main Gate on Park Avenue. The event is free, and free parking is available in UA parking garages.

A 2:30 p.m. screening of “The Mystery of Chaco Canyon,” narrated by Robert Redford, kicks off the celebration. The film explores the astronomical expertise of the Anasazi people, revealed through their architecture at the famous site in New Mexico. After the screening, museum archaeologist Rich Lange will lead a discussion of the issues and questions raised in the film.

The museum’s newest exhibitions, “The Pottery Project” and “Set in Stone,” will be open for viewing until the festivities begin at 4:30 p.m.

Performances on the outdoor, solar-powered stage include:

• 4:30-5 p.m. - Danza Mexica Cuauhtemoc (Aztec music and dance)
• 5:15-5:45 p.m. - The Human Project (cutting-edge American hip-hop dance)
• 6-6:30 p.m. - Flamenco Sonora (passionate and dramatic Spanish dance)
• 6:45-7:15 p.m. - Sankosa (vibrant African drumming with a Caribbean stilt-walker)
• 7:30-8 p.m. - Molehill Orkestrah (lively European Gypsy music enhanced by world influences)
• 8:15-8:45 p.m. - Fushicho Daiko (thunderous Japanese drumming)

Indoor performances include:

• 5:30 p.m. - Frances Delgado, telling stories of Yaqui lifeways
• 6 p.m. - Roni Capin Rivera-Ashford, author of “My Nana’s Remedies” and “Hip Hip Hooray, It’s Monsoon Day!,” reading selections from her books
• 6:30 p.m. - Regina Siquieros, sings songs and tells stories about the saguaro cactus and Tohono O’odham lifeways, followed by a demonstration of saguaro harvesting at Old Main

The spectacular finale at 9 p.m. on the east lawn features the Flam Chen Pyrotechnic Theater Company with the Seven Pipers Scottish Society performing “Rites Ov Spring.” This mythical story includes fire special effects, stilt acrobatics and dramatic choreography, all performed to the intoxicating sounds of Celtic pipes and drums.

Several demonstrations will going on throughout the afternoon and evening, including:

• Discover Energy: Make a sun print, see solar, water and recycling demonstrations, check out a solar electric car, enjoy music and food powered by solar energy (courtesy of The Solar Store and GeoInnovation).
• Discover Desert Resources: Make a clay pot, make fire by friction, harvest the saguaro, create an herb bouquet and learn about plants, minerals and animals of the Sonoran Desert.
• Look to the Heavens: View the sun and stars through professional telescopes from Flandrau: The UA Science Center and Kitt Peak National Observatory.
• Mark Time: Make a calendar stick, construct a sun clock, create a chalk mural or write a poem.
• Celebrate Cultural Traditions: Learn about early Hohokam agriculture, explore American Indian pottery and jewelry traditions, play American Indian games, take a chance at loteria, discover the history and role of maiz, make ice cream, grind corn; make Mexican paper flowers, masks and cordage bracelets; paint your hand with Indian henna, design a paper pot and dress a Frida Kahlo paper doll.
• Eat: Enjoy watermelon and other foods from Trader Joe's, La Indita and Kababeque.