News Release
Join the Friends of Serpent Mound (FOSM) for the 16th annual Summer Solstice Celebration festival and be a part of acknowledging the rich Indigenous mound builder heritage and their archeoastronomy of the Great Serpent Mound. There will be three fun-filled days of educational lectures, presentations, workshops, tours, music, hands-on activities and so much more.
The celebration begins Friday, June 20 from 3 – 7 p.m. and continues 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, June 21 and 22. The event is held at Soaring Eagle Retreat, 351 Horner Chapel Road, Peebles, Ohio which is the property immediately adjacent and east of the Serpent Mound Park. Festival parking is free (parking at the Serpent Mound Park is $8) and the two locations are connected via a short walk on the Buckeye Trail.
“Summer starts here,” says Delsey Wilson, Executive Director of FOSM. She continues with, “Our family friendly festival fits your budget-as it’s free, close by and open to the public. There truly is something for everyone. We just ask that there be no alcohol, drugs, guns, or nudity. Also, dogs are allowed on leashes.”
Adams County resident, Nikki Allen of MoonDoggie LIVERee will be presenting on hiking the Buckeye Trail, which is the 1,444-mile-long loop that encircles the entire state of Ohio. She also will have her kayaks on Ohio Brush Creek just below Serpent Mound Sunday morning, where Jeffrey Wilson will be leading a kayak tour of “The Grotto”.
Returning this year, is the hands-on Falconry program. This has been a very popular addition, with the opportunity for a hands-on interaction with the raptors. Then each evening entertainment will be provided by the Black Wolf Singers and Okandada Spirit Wind Drum – Voices of Thunder, with Inter-tribal drumming. You can practice throwing the atlatl, just as the ancients did, with the Ohio Atlatl Association. Each day ends with a tour of the Serpent Mound Meteor Crater. This is a breathtaking view of the 300-million-year-old rim and uplift of a meteor strike that formed the ridges on which Serpent Mound sits.
There are many more learning and entertaining opportunities, so, be sure to check out othe complete schedule. There will also be three food trucks with enough tempting offerings to please every palette, and shopping for unique finds, with about 50 vendors this year.
The Friends of Serpent Mound is a 501c3 non-profit organization. They invite you to visit their website for the full festival schedule at www.serpentmound.org. While there, find out more information on our upcoming Perseids Meteor Shower Event and Fall Driving Tour.
