Susanville’s annual Fall Solstice happens Monday, October 30th, at precisely 7:30a.m., when sunrise aligns with Susanville’s Main Street and for just a few minutes following sunrise, buildings on both sides of the street are illuminated equally, with odd shadows that parallel the street from the Elks Lodge all the way down to the big bend at Mesa Street.
It’s a unique event that happens twice a year just by natural coincidence – depending on the year it occurs on October 29th or 30th and then again on February 10th or 11th.
“But the Winter Solstice isn’t until December,” some people feel the need to point out. But this is not that, this is the Susanville Solstice. Relax. It’s completely made up. But we love it.
When you think back over time, the hardest, worst winter storms always seem to happen between the end of October and the middle of February, so these two solstices are actually a pretty good bookend for our Susanville winters.
So, what do you do on a Susanville Solstice morning? Well, lots of us meet uptown to take pictures. The show only lasts a few minutes and there are so many unique things to photograph during the alignment.
In past years photographers, including world-famous-outdoor-adventure-photographer Randy Robbins, show up with their cameras to shoot the unique scene about ten minutes before sunrise. It’s like a fun, very short, party to celebrate the occasion.
This year Robbins will open his gallery at 800 Main Street for the short festival, with a great photo opportunity for everyone right outside his door.
Remember to dress warmly, because it gets pretty cold standing around on Main Street waiting for the sun to come up.
The weather experts at the National Weather Service office in Reno are saying we should have clear skies Monday, and we might get a beautiful sunrise to take pictures of so grab your cameras and come join us on Main Street. See you there!
