In celebration of the shortest day of the year, more than 100 residents gathered at Cochrane Memorial Park for the second annual Winter Solstice Walk, hosted by the City of Yelm Parks and Recreation Department.
The winter solstice, on Tuesday, Dec. 21, was celebrated in Yelm with a candlelit walk on the Cochrane Park trail. At the conclusion of the walk, participants received a cup of hot apple cider to warm up after a walk through the winter air.
Line Roy, Yelm’s communications and recreation coordinator, said she was happy with the strong turnout and added the event has been well received both years the city has hosted it.
“It’s one of my favorite events of the year because it’s just so beautiful. We celebrate the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, and we celebrate the new year ahead,” Roy said. “It signifies the start of the longer days ahead of you on the shortest day of the year. It’s the end of the dark times, and it should be celebrated.”
Roy said the event will return in 2024 and hopes to see more residents turn out for the celebration.
“The walk was in the most nature-centric part of the park,” Roy said. “It’s a really short walk, and we had beautiful weather. It wasn’t too cold. It didn’t rain. We let people use the self-guided walk at Cochrane Park to have a good time at their own pace, too.”
People can stay up to date with different city-hosted events in Yelm by following “City of Yelm Parks and Recreation” on Facebook.
“The event provided an opportunity for everyone who came out to reflect,” Roy said. “It’s going to become lighter for longer outside each day moving forward, and I think a lot of community members are looking forward to that.”
