solstice fire | Apothecary Shed

Marco. BOILO!

December 13, 2018

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This is how a tradition is born. First a seemingly innocuous cocktail article. Then edition one. Then fun. And here we go down the slippery slope to BOILO.

Step 0. Gather ingredients.

The makings of BOILO

What is that fancy ass ginger beer doing in there? And mace from Grenada?! Yeesh.

Step 1. Combine and boil down for 30 minutes or so.

Boil the BOILO

Step 2. What are we missing?

No really, what are we missing??!

Step 3. Eureka.

Step 4. Let the BOILO steep overnight (or 5 hours, whichever is longer)

Final product steeps

Now we are ready for the solstice! Yes we are.

Burn, baby, burn. Solstice fire 2017.

Burn Baby Burn: 2017 Winter Solstice Fire

December 24, 2017

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Cerbe meets mogli before dark

Music. Great food. Huge fire. Friends. Boilo. What more could you want?

Early birds get to see the lighting

Mmmmmm. Beer.

The lighting

Put it in perspective: 100 feet of flame.

This year the fairy ring of osage oranges turned into a warning line for fire spread. We had to get water buckets and a hose out for the first time ever.

The fire spreads

View from the field

The two (or three) pods making up the solstice party are always a good mix. Food and cheesy Christmas music in the barn. Fire and live music in the field. This year some of the real music moved into the barn during a brief rain.

Lights

Boilo causes time warps

Marco

Boilo

Turn sun turn

Thanks to all who came. An excellent iteration.

Summer Solstice Party 2017

July 10, 2017

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81 in July

The summer solstice weather could not have been finer. 81, sunny, perfect river weather.

kerosene distribution

Post river, it was time to light the fire.

2017 solstice fire

Lighting

The fire was perfectly constructed by JC.

The moon was full.

Children of the fire

Thanks to all who came.

Perfect Weather Window for the 2016 Winter Solstice Party

December 18, 2016

gem fire, party, photography flag burning, nature, photography, shenandoah, shenandoah river, solstice, solstice fire, solstice party 1 Comment

Cold and rainy weather was a real possibility during the winter solstice party. But a day that started with a coating of ice everywhere turned warmer and beautiful before the party started. The next day was rainy. So boy are we lucky!

Before (a fat one)

The sunset was outstanding.

Impressionist evening

Impressionist Shenandoah

Party prep complete! Ready for the hard core solstice revelers. It’s way easier to come to the summer solstice!

Newly resurfaced footbridge

Tiki trail across the creek

Get lit: Winter Solstice fire 2016

After lighting, it was time for music. The music lasted all night, right up to 5am when the weather shifted and it started to sprinkle.

Music at the solstice

We decided that due to rampant political disgust we would burn some flags. Real ones. This is a new thing. Thanks Trump.

Flag burning time

Into the fire with you nazis!

Burn baby burn

And we’ve had it with racism too.

Flag two for the flames

Down with racism

Burn baby burn

Warning: exuberant potty mouth host on a mission (with a nice buzz) in this video!

Then it was back to the keg of dogfish head 90 and the fantastic potluck dinner in the barn. Super fantastic.

TURN SUN TURN.

Thanks to all who came.

After

Turning the Sun 2016 (Summer Solstice)

July 4, 2016

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Before

A gorgeous Virginia summer evening was just what the doctor ordered for the summer solstice party this year. Food, friends, fire, and all night music. Thanks to all who came.

This year featured lots of next gens (over 30) wandering the property. Needless to say, the keg ran dry around 3am. And they ate ALL of the cookies.

So orderly

Absinthe hour ran from 4:45-6:15. We were ushered to bed by the blue.

(Special thanks to Micheal Hobert for some of the photos above.)

Winter Solstice Fire 2015

December 21, 2015

gem dance, fire, mixology, party berryville passage, bonfire, mixology, solstice fire, solstice party, team tartan, turn the sun, video, winter solstice 4 Comments

Winter Solstice Fire 2015

It all started out with champagne, celebrating Team Tartan’s 2015 Leukemia Cup accomplishment with a crop of Timex watches. (About which this.)

bubbles

Burn barrel before the lighting

Then it got dark, the keg was tapped, the cheesy xmas music was put on infinite repeat in the barn, burn barrels were lit, and off we went! Early birds got to see the bonfire lighting. Middle birds got to see music and sparkling guitars. Late birds shut down the bar inside with Berryville Passages at 6am. Are we too old for this? No we are not.

Fire

Who let the banjo player in?

Fire too

Thanks to one and all for coming! We turned the sun around again!

Summer Solstice Sketches by Joel Winstead

July 13, 2015

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What a beautiful day Saturday turned out to be. The river was crystalline (and flowing fast), the beer was delicious, and the night was filled with fire and music. Joel Winstead captured the 2015 solstice party zeitgeist in some sketches.

The Shenandoah on the Solstice by Joel Winstead

Mr Pea on his usual perch (by Joel Winstead)

Music by the solstice fire (by Joel Winstead)

Firelit at the solstice (by Joel Winstead)

Thanks for coming to the solstice party! Support local music; come hear Where’s Aubrey’s CD release concert this Friday at the Brightbox in Winchester.

Solstice Fire 2014

December 21, 2014

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The longest night is over. We turned the sun again. Great solstice party, as ever, thanks to all of you. Of note this year, superior food in the random food pile and really tasty tunes by the fire.

I know, lets do it again!!

2014 winter solstice fire

The night was still and cold, and the fire took a couple of minutes to get going. Jack took some video that was transformed into this time lapse.

lighting (starts small)

Sadly, the keg was dead by 7:30?! It’s impossible to get the beer amount dialed in even after 11 years of practice. Oh well, there’s always bourbon.

Moon Hooch in da House

December 20, 2014

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Moon Hooch at the Bright Box

Moon Hooch is a supremely talented band built around two saxophones and a drum kit. Phenomenal talent and energy. The band kicked off its new tour with a show in Winchester, Va at the Bright Box. The show was great.

Such tight polyrhythm. Mike Wilbur and Wenzl McGowen both play a mean sax.

Moon Hooch sax overload

The drummer, James Muschler, is incredibly talented and a joy to dance to.

Moon Hooch 12.19.14

James Muschler drummer for Moon Hooch

Encore! We hope to see you again in Virginia.

After the show, it turned out that the band needed a place to crash. So we offered up Coal Stove Sink, some beer cheese, breakfast, some fiddle, and delicious cocktails (not necessarily in that order). The guys were delightful.