Report for: Welcome to the Summertime, 2025 Summer Solstice Poetry Party,
Friday, June 20, 2025
The Summer Solstice, June 20, 2025, was very warm. The poets dressed for summer,
although the weather was grey with a bit of rain. Twelve people attended the celebration
to welcome summer, held in the Port Coquitlam Museum and Archives. Mark, our
singing guitarist, entertained people as they arrived for the show. At 4:00 PM, after the
land declaration and acknowledgement of NSG support, all five local poets were
introduced. Each poet read several of their original poem centered around the
Summertime theme. About halfway through the program, we paused to welcome
summer by loudly and enthusiastically ringing the old steam engine bell, which is a
museum artifact. After the bell was rung, we continued with another round of fun
summer poetry. Two additional serious climate-change poems written by Julie were also
included. We continued with several summer jokes and an interactive poem, which the
audience enjoyed participating in. As we continued with the program, the cork flew off
one of the bottles of sparkling juice with a loud “POP”. We joked that the museum
poltergeist was celebrating too. We ended the show with a Summer Solstice toast of
sparkling apple and raspberry juice, and mingled to the Summertime sounds of our
musician, who played songs like “Here Comes the Sun” and “You Are My Sunshine.” A
cheerful bouquet of windmills brightened the refreshment table, and bright yellow
sunflower napkins accompanied the celebration cookies. Everyone had a great time.
There was lots of laughter and camaraderie.
Thanks for the opportunity to put this enjoyable Summer Solstice Poetry Party on for the
second consecutive year.
