Friday, June 21, marks the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, a day noted for the longest hours of daylight on the calendar. Ancient civilizations worshiped it. Modern meteorologists note it. Montgomery County-ites get out and celebrate it. Join "The Pursuit" of summertime fun. These five suggestions for the upcoming weekend should get you started:
- Orienteering is the sport of navigating from location to location using a mere map and compass (not Siri!). For an intro to this unique hobby, guide yourself to Lower Perkiomen Valley Park on Sunday, June 23, at 10 a.m. for an Orienteering for Beginners presentation. Once the instructors from the Delaware Valley Orienteering Association (DVOA) have finished, you're free to wander the park, Indiana Jones-style.
- Summer means cookouts, and cookouts aren't complete without a sing-along around the campfire (well, at least in the old-time movies they're not). If your guitar is in need of an update, don't fret. Get to the Great American Guitar Show at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center, June 22-23. Hundreds of dealers, builders, collectors, and manufacturers will be on hand, offering new, used, collectible, and vintage guitars, and accessories. It's a great chance to amp up your current equipment.
- On June 22, the National Wildlife Federation recommends you haul out that sleeping bag, grab the kids and take part in the ninth annual Great American Backyard Campout. Designed to address the statistic that only 25 percent of today's kids play outside daily (compared with 75 percent a generation ago), the campout encourages reconnection with the natural world. Sure, you can pitch your pup tent out beyond your own back patio, but for something a little more adventurous, sleep under the stars at Green Lane Park, which has two designated campsite facilities.
- Maybe the thoughts of all that summer sun, heat and humidity encourage you to seek out places to escape it. On June 23 at 4 p.m., you can duck inside the cool, darkness of the Ambler Theater for a family-friendly film classic Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows (1968). A combo ticket is available, pairing the movie with dinner at a nearby restaurant.
The Main Street of Ambler
- And if you prefer inside entertainment to be live rather than on film, this is your last weekend to catch the musical La Cage Aux Folles at Pottstown's Steel River Playhouse. The show - a comedic spin on the guess-who's-coming-to-dinner theme - presents its final three performances June 21, 22 and 23.
Summers slip by at an alarming rate. Before long, the back-to-school ads will start flooding the local paper, and ginger snaps and candy corn will again fill the supermarket aisles. The time is now to get out and make summer 2013 one to remember in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.