The Indy Midsommer Festival is a multicultural celebration of Summer Solstice. Celebrated around the world as St John’s Day by countries in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the celebration is rarely celebrated in the United States. The goal of the event is to introduce non-European communities to the celebration of St Johns day.
European midsummer-related holidays, traditions, and celebrations are per-Christian in origin. They are particularly important in geographic Northern Europe – Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – but is also very strongly observed in Poland, Germany, Netherlands, Ireland, parts of the United Kingdom (Cornwall especially), France, Italy.
Each country has it’s own elements to this celebration but all have the building of a large bonfire in common.
The event will be comprised of at least 5 countries, with the goal of 10 participating in 2017. Each country will make and sell their own ethnic foods and market ethnic items. Countries will celebrate with their own cultural dress, dance and music throughout the event. The event begins at 3pm with the opening of the outdoor activities of the markets, outdoor performance stage and children activities. Traveling musicians, will be wandering the grounds playing ethnic music. Performances will be taking place on the outdoor stage every hour from 4 PM til 9PM. At 9 PM a multicultural song and dance performance will take place in ethnic costumes to light the Midsommer Bonfire. At 10 PM the event moves to the indoor auditorium of the Latvian Community Center where the main band will perform until 1AM. Specialty beers brewed for this event will be a centerpiece of the Festival. Attendees will have the ability to spend time outside in our outdoor pavilion and Beer Garden or around the bonfire or inside with music and dancing.
