It took five years to bring back celebrating the sun to WhiteRockLake — mainly because, well, it’s just been too hot.

But this year Earth Rhythms’ Summer SolstiCelebration had more options than ever before at its June 27 event at the BathHouseCulturalCenter.

“The Bath House helped underwrite it [Summer SolstiCelebration], and we have an air-conditioned building to fall back on,” Amy Martin, executive director and creator of the event, said last week. “Even if it got really hot, at least there would be air-conditioning to go to, running water and shows inside.”

Summer SolstiCelebration started in 1993 in Deep Ellum and was mostly a poetry roundtable event. Martin said the event moved to White Rock Lake as a large hand drum festival in 1995 after the bond issue passed for dredging the lake and “became the celebration for that and much to my surprise, 1,000 people showed up.”

From that point forward the event was off and on with several turns of events happening in between — whether it was Martin leaving in an ambulance because of heat stroke or hosting a more laid back Moonlady Festival in cooler temperatures, or breaking the world record for phooning (a frozen running position). All the while, the event roamed all over the lake each year and then stopped five years ago.

“I think we were in total denial about the weather issue,” Martin joked.

But with more options this year, the drum circles continued outside around the Bath House grounds, venders were added and several performances carried on inside. No matter where you chose to enjoy the festival, the energy level didn’t waiver.

Just ask local writer Beth Freed, who wrote a personal piece about the event on her Facebook page.

“Some folks were gathering with candles to fill in a giant peace sign that had been chalked in the grass. I grabbed a candle and joined the chorus in a round of ‘Let the Sun Shine (In)’,” she wrote. “I felt a little silly, I must admit, but maybe that’s from the big, goofy grin I had on my face.”

That sense of community is one of the main things Martin wants people to know about Summer SolstiCelebration. It is well beyond being a pagan event which most people think of, she said.

“Celebrating the solstice goes back a long way. Written history says that it began with the Egyptians,” Martin said. “If you are connected to the earth, you will be better connected to community.”

But it remains to be seen if Summer SolstiCelebration will return in the future, even though there was a desire in the community to bring the event back, according to Rodney Steman, one of the original board members of the non-profit Earth Rhythms that hosts the event. The concern is if the payoff of the small non-profit putting extensive work and money into the event is worth it.

Although he said the turnout was less than he expected, Steman stressed the importance of having an event that celebrates spirituality and diversity. One consideration would be hosting concerts with national artists such as chantress Deva Premal.  

“There is a very large undercurrent of non-traditional spiritual paths in North Texas,” he said.