Summer Solstice 2018

Date: Sunday June 17

Location:
Overland Park Pond
955 West Florida Avenue, Denver CO 80223

Time: 2-5

The days grow long, the sun burns high, and it’s time to celebrate the Summer Solstice. Join us under the summer sun as we praise the bright and fertile season and mark the turning of the wheel.

As with all our rituals, all friendly faces are welcome. There will be a time for the folk to make offerings to their own patrons, ancestors, land kin, or other such beings. Please make sure your physical offerings are burnable/biodegradable. Offerings of poetry and song are also welcome.

Following the ritual there will be a time for feasting and fellowship. Please contribute to our potluck, taking your own dietary needs in mind as well. We encourage HOMEMADE dishes, made with love. If you’re not a gardener, support your local Farmer’s Market, or see what ingredients are Colorado-made and in season at your favorite grocery store.

Please be aware that this is also Denver Gay Pride Weekend. There will be street closures around Civic Center Park. Prepare your route accordingly.

We look forward to seeing you. And bring a friend!

Summertime...

Summer solstice was HOT here in Denver, but our ritual and fellowship in our favorite park beside the Platte River were excellent. It was good to celebrate with old friends and to welcome new acquaintances whom we hope to see again. Mother Platte is currently running at near-record levels as the late snow pack in her mountains melts in the summer heat, and there was at least two feet of fast-moving water over the lovely platform where we celebrated Beltane, so we stayed up above her banks. We'll be having two more rituals at Overland Pond Park before winter returns, so come and join us!

It's June!

It's June, and Midsummer approaches. Join Chokecherry Protogrove on Sunday June 21st to celebrate the longest day of the year on the shores of our mighty Mother Platte!

We will be gathering to give praise and sacrifice to the three Kindreds and enjoy the company of our community. The chief deities of the occasion will be Baldur and Hodr, honoring the bright light of summer, and the darkness that approaches. Feel free to bring any offerings you wish for any of the Gods, Ancestors, and Spirits. (Please limit your offerings to that which is burnable or biodegradable to reduce our impact on the natural environment which we hold ritual in!) Our celebrant on this occasion will be Pink Pitcher.

We would love for everyone to bring a single piece of firewood from their home spaces to become part of our fire. After the rite we will have potluck fellowship in the park! Please bring a dish to share that suits your own taste. We cannot have open glass in the park, so please bring beverages in cans, or expect to use a cup. Please also bring a non-perishable food item to be donated to a local food bank. We will gather starting at 11 am, and the ritual will start promptly at noon.

Happy Summer Solstice!

Today is the longest day of the year, and Chokecherry Incipient Protogrove will be celebrating Midsummer at Overland Pond Park tomorrow - not much difference, as tomorrow will only be 3 seconds shorter here in Denver. Why do we call it Midsummer? Because in the old Celtic calendar it lies halfway between Beltane (May 1st), when many summer activities began, and Lughnasa (August 1st), the beginning of the harvest season. This is still reflected in the Welsh name for July, Goffennaf - "Summer's End". So a happy Midsummer to you all!

Midsummer

For those of you who can't make it to Mountain Ancestors' Saturday ritual, or would like to celebrate both days, a reminder that Chokecherry Incipient Protogrove will  be holding our first public ritual on Sunday June 22nd at Overland Pond Park, 955 West Florida Avenue in Denver. We'll gather at 11 am, and the ritual will begin at noon.

Mother Platte

Our Indo-European ancestors frequently honored the spirits of their local rivers as gods or goddesses.  Following in their footsteps, we will honor our local stream, the South Platte River, during our Midsummer Ritual, which will be held Sunday June 22nd at Overland Pond Park on her east bank. Denver is located near the south end of the South Platte, which drains much of the northern Front Range, and flows over three hundred miles before joining the North Platte in Nebraska. Truly we should honor her as the mother of our land!