Equinox Celebration Tuesday Morning

Town residents will cap off a very mild winter in Marblehead Tuesday when they come together to ring in spring inside the Sun Circle at Tuesday morning.

Sponsored by the Clifton Improvement Association, the seasonal ceremony will begin promptly at sunrise, which will occur at 6:45 a.m.

The Sun Circle is a ‘henge’ or ring created by local sculptor Bruce Greenwald and is situated in such a way that it tracks the position of sunrises throughout the year - particularly the position of the sun at the solstices and equinoxes.

Each year, observers gather and light incense, share poems and songs and vie for position to take a photograph of the sun rising between the pair of columns which mark due east. 

“Gongmaster” Don Orne will lead the ceremony, assisted by astronomer Jim Keating, Sculptor Bruce Greenwald and CIA President Lynn Nadeau, each adding brief comments and explanations which will connect the observance of the equinox with science, art, love and the mysteries of the universe.

The equinox is particularly striking in this location as the sun will rise in the east through the paired columns of basalt. 

“This ceremony connects art, science, love and the mysteries of the universe through the words of a sculptor, an astronomer, and ‘gongmaster’ Orne”, Nadeau said.

The rain date for the spectacle is Wednesday, March 21. Check out the video attached to this post for a look back at .