Blow up your beach balls and start packing your picnics, today is the longest “day” of the year. Sunset is at 8:34 p.m and twilight ain’t till 9:06, but if the prospect of applying sunscreen after dinner doesn’t do it for you, just imagine how much energy your solar panels will generate today. Beware, though, it’s all downhill from here. The East Bay has surprisingly few solstice events, but here’s what we could scrounge up:
There’s a Summer Solstice Gathering at 7:45 p.m. at the Interim Solar Calendar in Cesar Chavez Park at the Berkeley Marina. If hiking is more of your thing, check out the 6:30 p.m. hike to Red Hill Top in Fremont’s Coyote Hills Regional Park. If you can wait it out, Saturday will provide 65 musical acts at the 2nd Annual Laurel Village Summer Solstice Music Festival.