Labyrinth celebrates final summer solstice before Portal change

In 2024, summer solstice falls on Thursday, June 20, in this part of the world. Sisters Community Labyrinth will hold its annual gathering and labyrinth walk that evening. Typically light in tone and nonreligious in nature, the gathering will have another layer this year: it's the last solstice walk before the land is built out.

"Marking the summer solstice with a community labyrinth walk has become a special tradition," Sharlene Weed said. "It will be our last walk together before significant changes are made to the natural open space to make way for the city's transportation hub."

Weed was part of the Ford Foundation leadership cohort that created the labyrinth over ten years ago. Members got their hands dirty to literally help build the labyrinth, in addition to collaborating on research, siting, fundraising, and obtaining permits. Weed currently sits on the Sisters Community Labyrinth Committee.

East Portal, home of the community labyrinth, is the forested triangle of land at the confluence of Highway 20 and Highway 242. Formerly owned by the U.S. Forest Service, it was purchased by the City of Sisters and will be turned into a transportation hub soon.

Susan Prince, who often initiates moments of contemplation or ritual at labyrinth events, welcomed the coming summer (though not the loss of trees). "Celebrating the longest day of the year is a powerful natural event," she explained. "One that humans have been acknowledging for millennia. Like eclipses and the recent auroras, solstice is an experience shared by all of us and it's sweet to do it in community."

Mature ponderosa trees were cut down this spring and removed from East Portal, marking the beginning of the land's looming transformation. Several labyrinth users visited to pay their respects; Prince wrote a eulogy to a 300-year-old pine that was felled, a heartfelt missive that appeared in The Nugget's letters to the editor.

The treetops were in poor health due to rapid infestation of Ips beetles, also known as engraver beetles. The potential of Ips spreading to other trees "led City Forester Galecki to recommend they be cut down," according to Therese Kollerer of the City of Sisters Urban Forestry Board.

Committee members requested that one of the great stumps be preserved alongside the labyrinth, for possible use as an altar, gathering spot, or educational monument.

Sisters Community Labyrinth Committee runs the labyrinth under the auspices of Sisters Park & Recreation District (SPRD). A group of four adult committee members and one youth ambassador plan and promote activities, raise funds, manage finances, and pay for expenses such as highway signage and City of Sisters event permits, which are now required for public gatherings on the labyrinth site.

Committee member Pat Leiser brings to each event a knowledge of seasonal and planetary events from around the world. Sisters Community Labyrinth's looping, back-and-forth pattern is based on the famous labyrinth at the Cathedral of Chartres in France.

Leiser noted that walking the Chartres pattern "mimics the apparent back and forth pattern of the planets' wanderings around the sun in the night sky," as observed from humans' point of view on the Earth's surface.

"I am fascinated by the early history of mankind's discovery, recording, and creation of monuments and calendars to follow the seasons marked by the summer and winter solstices, and the spring and fall equinoxes," Leiser said.

"These are the beginnings of science," she continued. "These events have been experienced by all of humankind throughout the ages. Many cultures have had or still have holidays or celebrations marking these dates. I appreciate sharing the spiritual connection and wonder of the cosmos whose regularity sustains our life here on planet Earth."

A short gathering will begin at 7:45 p.m. on Thursday, with a labyrinth walk starting at 8:00 p.m. For a celebratory feel, organizers suggest that participants wear white if convenient, and bring flowers and drums or other small musical instruments. Natural, organic items may be brought to place on the boulder at the labyrinth's center.

Participants may want to bring sun hats, either for a dramatic solstice look or to shield their eyes as the sun hits the western horizon. Hats and decorations may be available for use, or bring your own.

Organizers suggest wearing appropriate shoes for walking on a flat surface where pebbles and small sticks sometimes end up underfoot. Because the winding path of the labyrinth is surrounded by rocks and shrubs, pants or long socks may be useful.

Sisters Community Labyrinth is located in East Portal, where Highway 20 and Highway 242 meet, across from Les Schwab and XPress Printing. Driveway access is on West Hood Avenue; some participants park elsewhere along roadsides and walk over. On-site restrooms will be open. Additional information and mailing list are available at http://www.neworegon.org.