We’ll start in the middle, with a video of the lighting of the summer solstice bonfire of 2022. The weather was absolutely perfect and the crowd friendly and warm. Every year the size of the fire seems to come as a surprise.
This year the weather was so cool that a dip in the river was not in the cards.
Rewinding a day, Aubrey provided another great iteration of the smoked salmon Messerhead feast helping to set the FOOD stage. Speaking of FOOD, Chef Michael was down from Chicago with Astro. That means we were spoiled rotten on the food front for days on end.
Salmon feast table
Any solstice that starts with caviar is destined for greatness.
Before.
Prepping for late night tacos
It seems that Chef Michael can’t cook for less than 700. But that’s OK. We just need to make the solstice party seven times bigger. Pork shoulder in the firepit by the shrine.
We had a mid-day break to tour Eli’s fantastic art show at the Barns of Rose Hill. The show continues through July 2nd.
Then it was time for the pre-game Negroni.
And we were officially underway. Esther and Cora presided over the opening.
The sufferin bastard made an appearance
After an outstanding potluck feast, replete with fresh flowers, it was time for one quick song (thanks guitar week fellers) and FIRE.
By far the cutest thing at this solstice iteration was the jumping of the gun by Brantley the marshmallow boy. The fire was still a bit young. But that did not deter Brantley.
The fire burned for two days. In fact, it is still smoking as I write this.
Thank goodness for Alec, David, and Gina. We had a few hours of music by the bonfire.
Rumor has it that absinthe hour stretched from 3am-6am.
The next day happened fast.
Morning after breakfast
The chef outdid himself three times.
Party cleanup was a breeze with Aubrey in charge. The weather cooperated the entire weekend.
What is left of this fire?
Are there coals down there?
Fresh veggies from the Berryville farmer’s market (thanks to Chilly Hollow Farm)
While the
veggies roast, we hang by the fire.
Donkey Hodie says “sup homey?”
Astro has the best home
The garden
Roast veggies
OMG more food
Even moonshine is in a food coma.
What do you do with recd currants?
You make a fresh tart. Then mezcal straight from Mexico City?! Yup.
Morning never arrived for some of the mezcal participants.
And then a visit from Iulie.
Fin.
